This might sound like a very basic question, but....

This year I'm trying to grow some vegetables. One of the first I've planted
was a row of turnips. They grew fine until a about a week ago, now several
of them have suddenly shot up to about three feet tall and have some
'flowers' on the top. Have these 'bolted' What should I do? All my gardening
books don't mention this.

Pleased bear in mind that I'm a complete newcomer to this.

--
Steve

In article , Steve B
writes
This might sound like a very basic question, but....

This year I'm trying to grow some vegetables. One of the first I've planted
was a row of turnips. They grew fine until a about a week ago, now several
of them have suddenly shot up to about three feet tall and have some
'flowers' on the top. Have these 'bolted' What should I do? All my gardening
books don't mention this.

Yes, your turnips have bolted - i.e. they are running to seed. It means
that the root will not develop any further, and unfortunately there is
little you can do about it now. You could try one or two of the roots to
see if they are edible, but they usually become hard and woody. Those
which are not bolting may continue growing properly, so you could give
them more space by taking out all of the bolting plants.

There are several possible reasons for turnips bolting. Seed should be
started in situ where the plant is to grow - if seedlings are raised,
then planted out, they will be likely to bolt. Erratic access to
sufficient moisture can be another cause - ground too wet, then too dry,
then too wet again. Another reason can be trying to push the plants on
too early with too many nutrients - they prefer to grow on steadily at
their own pace. There is also the possibility of distorted growing if
they have been sown in soil used previously for brassicas - turnips are
in the same family and can react to the same diseases.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

They should be kept moist to avoid this. I expect you've had dry then wet or
the other way around and it triggers off the plant to try and survive by
producing seed

Robert
"Steve B" wrote in message
...
: This might sound like a very basic question, but....
:
: This year I'm trying to grow some vegetables. One of the first I've
planted
: was a row of turnips. They grew fine until a about a week ago, now several
: of them have suddenly shot up to about three feet tall and have some
: 'flowers' on the top. Have these 'bolted' What should I do? All my
gardening
: books don't mention this.
:
: Pleased bear in mind that I'm a complete newcomer to this.
:
: --
: Steve
:
:
:

Hi. Thanks for the exhaustive reply. This is a real shame, since these were
coming along the best of all the veg I've tried! Unfortunately, I can't
pinpoint any particular fault from all those you've listed; They were
planted 'in situ' As far as I know they haven't dried out or been soaked, I
haven't fed them much and this is the first time for five years that the
ground has grown anything at all! The roots are about 1" across and about 3"
long. I'll pull them up and see if they'll go in a stew. I really want to
try to eat Something from the garden.

On the plus side, in the last week the rest of the veg has stormed along! My
carrots look healthy with tops about 3" high, the runner beans and 'bush'
beans have taken well, onion sets are obviously thriving and there's a few
'strange stuff' (scorzonera, swiss chard and salsify) which seem to be
growing their heads off!

One dissapointment is the lettuce. None of those I've sown have germinated
at all! I'm thinking of starting some off in trays the greenhouse and
planting them out later.

Thanks again for the info, it might not have sorted it this time but ts much
appreciated - knowledge for the future..

Steve


Alan Gould wrote in message
...
In article , Steve B
writes
This might sound like a very basic question, but....

This year I'm trying to grow some vegetables. One of the first I've
planted
was a row of turnips. They grew fine until a about a week ago, now
several
of them have suddenly shot up to about three feet tall and have some
'flowers' on the top. Have these 'bolted' What should I do? All my
gardening
books don't mention this.

Yes, your turnips have bolted - i.e. they are running to seed. It means
that the root will not develop any further, and unfortunately there is
little you can do about it now. You could try one or two of the roots to
see if they are edible, but they usually become hard and woody. Those
which are not bolting may continue growing properly, so you could give
them more space by taking out all of the bolting plants.

There are several possible reasons for turnips bolting. Seed should be
started in situ where the plant is to grow - if seedlings are raised,
then planted out, they will be likely to bolt. Erratic access to
sufficient moisture can be another cause - ground too wet, then too dry,
then too wet again. Another reason can be trying to push the plants on
too early with too many nutrients - they prefer to grow on steadily at
their own pace. There is also the possibility of distorted growing if
they have been sown in soil used previously for brassicas - turnips are
in the same family and can react to the same diseases.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.