Growing Turnips in Containers

Quick facts

  • Container: at least 40 cm wide and 25–30 cm deep, with drainage holes

  • Best approach: grow them as baby turnips, thinned to 10 cm apart

  • Varieties: quick types such as 'Tokyo Cross' or 'Temari Red'

  • Compost: multi-purpose compost

  • Time to harvest: about six weeks for early turnips

  • Key moment: regular watering, as dry compost gives small, woody roots

Turnips are ideal for pots because they're fast, compact and don't need a deep container. Pulled small, they're sweet enough to eat raw, and the leaves make a peppery bonus crop. A single pot can give several quick harvests from spring to autumn.

Choosing a container

  • Size: at least 40 cm wide, and about 25–30 cm deep so there's room for the roots and enough compost to hold moisture.

  • Drainage: holes in the base, with the pot raised on feet or bricks.

  • Troughs and window boxes: these work well if they're deep enough, as turnips are happy in a row.

Standard grow bags are shallow and dry out quickly, so they only suit baby turnips pulled very small.

For more on choosing pots for vegetables, see growing vegetables in containers

Choosing a variety for pots

Quick-growing early varieties are the best fit for containers. Both of these hold the RHS Award of Garden Merit:

  • 'Tokyo Cross': a very fast white turnip with crisp roots

  • 'Temari Red': small scarlet roots with white flesh, which look striking on the plate

Sowing turnips in containers

  1. Fill the pot with multi-purpose compost and water it.

  2. Make shallow grooves about 1 cm deep across the surface.

  3. Sow the seed thinly and cover lightly.

  4. When the seedlings are big enough to handle, thin them to about 10 cm apart. Eat the thinnings as salad leaves.

Sow early turnips from March to June. You can also sow a pot in July or early August for autumn roots, which is a good way to reuse a container once a summer crop has finished.

For sowing times, see when to plant turnips in the UK

Watering container turnips

Turnips need steady moisture to grow fast and stay tender. In a pot, compost dries out quickly, and turnips that go short of water make small, woody roots, often split and are more likely to bolt. Check the pot every day or two in warm weather and water when the top few centimetres feel dry.

For more detail, see how often to water turnips

Where to put container turnips

A sunny spot is best, though turnips cope with a little light shade. They grow best in cooler weather, so spring and late summer sowings usually give the best roots.

Protecting container turnips

Turnips belong to the cabbage family, and flea beetles find them in pots just as easily as in the ground. They leave tiny round holes in the young leaves, especially in dry weather. A cover of fine insect-proof mesh over the pot keeps them off, along with cabbage root fly.

Harvesting container turnips

Start pulling roots when they're about 4–5 cm across, taking the biggest first so the others have room to grow. Ease each one out by the base of its leaves. Don't leave them to grow much beyond 7 cm, as they turn woody.

You can also pick a few young leaves from each plant as a peppery salad crop while the roots grow.

For more detail, see when to harvest turnips

Sowing again

Once a pot is cleared, refresh the top layer of compost and sow again. With sowings every few weeks from spring to August, a couple of containers can keep you in turnips for much of the year.

If your turnips aren't forming roots, see why turnips don't grow

For the whole growing season, see how to grow turnips in the UK

Common questions

Can you grow turnips in pots?
Yes. Turnips are one of the easiest root crops for containers. Use a pot at least 40 cm wide and 25–30 cm deep, and grow them as baby turnips thinned to 10 cm apart.

How deep does a container need to be for turnips?
About 25–30 cm deep is enough for baby and early turnips. Deeper pots hold more moisture, which helps keep the roots tender.

How many turnips can you grow in a pot?
In a pot 40 cm across, thin seedlings to about 10 cm apart. That gives room for around a dozen baby turnips.

Can you grow turnips in grow bags?
Only as baby turnips pulled very small. Grow bags are shallow and dry out quickly, so a deeper pot gives better roots.

Container size, spacing, varieties and care based on RHS guidance.

 
laura tennant