Turnips and other things Turn Up
5/12/08 - 2nd Day - Midday. Today I went out to the garden to check things out, and I noticed that a bunch of the turnips were looking really big. I don't really know anything about turnips, never grew them before, so I got online to see if I should pick them. The guide I read said "between 2 and 4 inches" and many of mine were definitely pushing up on 4 inches, so I went out and picked a bunch. Here is my pile. Like I said, I don't know anything about turnips, so I read up a bit and decided to can this bunch. I got three quarts of cubed up turnips out of this pile, and Danielle is canning them right now. Ok, so somebody tell me how to make a delicious meal out of these. I did take the greens and I divided them up between the rabbits, chickens, and pigs. The pigs loved them. I probably have another two or three times this many turnips still in the garden that didn't seem big enough to pick. So what I have learned is this... Turnips grow great here. I planted these as seeds, and they came right up quickly and they were ready to pick in only a bit over 50 days. Since we have a long growing season here, this means that a couple of beds could be planted in these, they could be harvested, and then the beds can be reused for another spring crop as early as mid-May. I will be considering what else to plant in that bed over the next few days. I would think if a whole double-dug raised bed were planted in turnips (I only planted about 1/2 of one bed), then about 20-25 quarts of turnips could be preserved, and still the bed could be used for a spring planting.Well, time for some bad news. As usually happens for some reason after Ranchfest, we get a string of hard hits all in a row. Our favorite ranch animal, the blind goat "Helen", got killed by some wild boars (we believe). This picture is of our youngest girl Sarah with Helen back in 2006.
We have had several wild pig sightings, and there were many signs on the land, especially back by the creek and by the back pond. Well, the other night helen got off her leash and, being blind, she ended up back by the pond. Danielle found her body the next day and she had been pretty well devoured, so we believe it was the hogs that got her. We plan on trapping them soon, and if you are on my private email list I will be emailing you about that. Then, we had just gotten Danielle's van out of the shop (which cost $317) and got it inspected and state-approved, etc. (another $100+) when my truck's brakes cratered on me. They had been leaking for some time, then all of a sudden they locked up and brake fluid started gushing from one of the rear wheels. This will likely be a very expensive fix. Now, we had planned on taking our time to replace the tires on Danielle's van since we had the truck, but now we have a van with shot tires, and a truck with shot brakes.Did I tell you I got turnips?
More later.
Your servant in Christ Jesus,
Michael Bunker
posted by Michael Bunker at 5/12/2008 09:11:00 AM
7 Comments:
Can't say I've tried any of these, but here's 95 recipes:
http://www.justvegetablerecipes.com/inxtrp.html
Their main site is www.melborponsti.com. They have 300+ recipes for Spam...if you like Spam. :-)
If all else fails, I think I have a recipe for turnip wine. :) We like to call things that grow well here or in any given year "manna from Heaven." I remember the first year we were here I literally planted with a sharpened stick. That year the yellow summer squash was lovely. David would come home every evening and I'd say "Guess what's for dinner." He'd say, "Ummm, squash???" One year we discovered mustard greens. We had a bumper crop. David insisted he absolutely didn't like mustard greens. I cooked up a bunch and he said "Why are we growing any other green?"
I'm so sorry to hear about Helen and the troubles with the vehicles. This, too, shall pass.
Let me know if you need the wine recipe. David and I talked about it just the other day as my turnips, though far behind yours, are looking very promising. :)
Judy
Turnips are great root cellar vegetables that are in the "most tolerant of light frost", category. My root cellaring book says this:"You can leave turnips out in the frosty garden row later than rutabagas, but not as late as carrots unless your winters are fairly mild. Bring them in before a heavy freeze, lop off the tops, and then treat them just like carrots, storing them in damp sawdust, sand or moss. They also keep well in buried boxes and barrels and in leaves in the barn or garage. Your STORAGE turnips should be grown from a SUMMER planting, for if they are held over from the spring crop, they will be strong flavored and woody by fall."
Don't know if you've grown rudabaga or not, but that's easy too, and stores well. Book says "(2-4 months). They must be kept moist as they'll shrival easier than carrots. Burying them in damp sawdust, sand or moss seems to work best. You could also wax them to retard moisture loss, as stores do, but we'd use beeswax for this, not paraffin or other hydrocarbons."
I mainly use turnips raw in salads, and diced in soups, (rutabagas in soup too). 2 simple recipes for cooking fresh turnips are in the root cellaring book. Haven't tried them but they sound fine~ Here they are:
Quick Shredded Turnips
4 medium-size turnips, chilled
1/3 cup cooking oil
Shred turnips on four sided kitchen grater. Brown in hot oil, turning after 5 minutes. They cook quickly. Allow 10-12 minutes.
Serves 4
Scalloped Turnips
4 medium-size turnips, sliced very thin
1/2 cup hot milk
1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds
Spread thin sliced turnips in shallow baking dish. Pour hot milk over them. Bake at 400 degrees F for 40-60 minutes, until tender. Sprinkle sunflower seeds on top just before serving. Serves 4.
Your turnips and other vegies you've shared pictures of look great! Keep up the good work.
One question I asked ages ago, but it didn't post properly...I saw pails in your root cellar pictures that I assume are your grains. Since they are supposed to be stored cool and dry; have you noticed any problems with the grains? If not, I may try storing some of my unopened pails there, to free up some closet space. Thanks for that answer ahead of time!
So sorry to hear of Helen getting killed. Kinda hard when the animal has been a favorite! Mean old hogs!
Beth
Andi,
Thanks for the recipes. I'll try some of them.
Judy,
Sure, I'd like to see the recipe. I have to say that Turnip wine doesn't sound very good, but you never know. and if turnips grow so well here, and are ready so early - maybe...
What was so bad about Helen being killed, is that we were only one day away from finishing the fence for the pasture we were going to keep her in. But apparently God had other plans for it.
Beth,
Thanks! I have the same Root Cellaring book, and I have meant to do a mini-review on it. It is very good, but it is designed mainly for northerners. Our root cellar issues and problems are completely 100% opposite of those that the book deals with. The book assumes that you need a root cellar to keep things from freezing in winter, which we do... a few days a year. But a well insulated shed would do the same thing here. We need a root cellar (mainly) to keep things cool in the summer. Grains and such ought to be kept in a cool dry place, but frankly there is no cool dry place here unless you have A/C. So the unopened wheat/rice/etc. must stay in the root cellar. We have had no problem (yet) with the moisture though. I do plan on designing and building a cool "dry storage". It is doable, but we just don't have one yet. Wheat kept on our porch or under our cabin would spend a good part of the year well over 90 degrees and sometimes over 100, and that would really shorten the life of the wheat.
Thanks for the Recipes!
Michael
I'm sorry about your goat. But, I'm glad you have an abundance of turnips! :-D You know, I have never eaten a turnip in my whole life, that I know of... I keep saying I will try one, but I haven't, yet. Someday...
Michael, just boil those turnips in salt water until tender then put butter on top to melt. Fresh turnips taste soooo much better than anything you may have gotten from the store in the past.
So sorry to hear about your goat.
Manette
I like to eat turnips raw and sliced with dip, fried in butter and a little oil like fried potatoes and I would try fixing the greens like wilted lettuce or spinach with bacon, vinegar and seasonings - s & p. It has been a couple years since I grew turnips and I don't remember if I tried the greens like that or just thought about it. I bet turnips greens might be good juiced too.
I know I didn't do that before but maybe read about it.
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