---
title: Snowball Turnips
created: 2026-05-24
updated: 2026-05-25
type: entity
tags: [root-vegetables, heirloom, open-pollinated, chicken-friendly, goat-friendly, rabbit-friendly]
sources: [raw/articles/seedvault-home-page.md]
---

# Snowball Turnips

## Overview
Round, white-fleshed turnips for bunching. Crisp, tender, sweet flesh. Fast-growing cool-season crop, popular in southern areas.

- **Category:** Root Vegetables
- **Price:** $3.12
- **Variety Type:** Open-pollinated

## Growing Instructions

### Sowing
Cool weather crop — plant 3 weeks before last frost in spring or after hottest summer for fall. Direct sow in rich soil (pH 6.0-7.0), full sun. Sow 1/2" deep in rows 12-18" apart. Thin to 4-6" apart.

### Germination
5-10 days at 45-85°F

### Care
Apply mulch to conserve moisture and control weeds. Watch for pests and remove immediately.

### Harvest
35-50 days for roots (2-3" diameter), 20-30 days for greens.

## Soil & Conditions
- **pH:** 6.0-7.5, well-drained. Tolerates poorer soils than most root vegetables.

## Seed Storage
- **Viability:** 3-4 years cool/dry. Store below 40°F.
- **Pre-treatment:** None required. Direct sow preferred.

## Yield
- **Per Plant:** 0.5-1 lb per plant
- **Harvest Season:** Early fall or spring
- **Note:** Also harvest greens for eating
Biennial. Allow plants to bolt in year 2. Isolate ¼ mile from other brassicas. Harvest when seed pods brown and rattle.

## Pest & Disease
Flea beetles (use row covers), cabbage worms, clubroot (raise pH above 6.5). Rotate brassicas every 3 years.

## Harvest & Preservation
2-3" globes. Store at 32-40°F with high humidity for 2-3 months. Greens: harvest separately within days. Roast, mash, or pickle.

## Companion Planting

### Good Companions
- **[[provider-green-bush-beans]], peas, [[butter-crunch-butterhead-lettuce]]** — Share soil depth, complementary nutrients

### Part of: Cool Season Mix
- See [[companion-planting]] for full combination details

## Related
- [[seedvault-market]]
- [[grow-guides]]
- [[seed-catalog]]