Purple Top Turnip

Purple Top Turnip is a cool season, brassica that is most commonly used in grazing systems. We use them frequently in "hay to graze" mixtures when a farmer wants to plant a mixture to cut for hay and then graze the re-growth. Typically, the turnips remain small enough when the mixture is cut for hay and then after the biomass is removed they are able to capture more sunlight and start to produce for grazing. They are tolerant to the cool temperatures so extended grazing periods into the late Fall and Winter can occur. Purple Top Turnips are also great in cover crop systems focused on goal(s) related to soil health. We refer to them as a "nutrient bank" in those mixes because they can locate and store nutrients from the soil and then release them through decomposition the following year.