GardenTurnip variety
Gilfeather Turnip
✓ In your garden
Gilfeather is a white turnip, ready in about 85 days. Roast or mash the sweet-peppery roots and cook the tender tops like greens — two crops in one. Turnips like cool weather; sow directly in spring or late summer and thin the seedlings. Fall roots, sweetened by frost, are the best.
“A fast, mild root — and the tops are good eating too.”
Growing basics — shared by every turnip
Gilfeather grows like any other turnip. The full picture — how deep to plant, spacing, feeding, pests, harvest — lives on the Turnip page so it's maintained in one place.
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Spacing (in row)
- 2–4 in
- Row spacing
- 12–18 in
- Planting depth
- 0.25–0.5 in
- Soil pH
- 6–7.5
- Water
- Moderate
What is Gilfeather good for?
- Roasting & mashingSweetens with heat. Great
- Raw & slawsCrisp and mild picked young. Great
- The greensCook the tops like mustard greens. Great
From how it grows — kitchens vary.
What Gilfeather is known for
Mother Earth Gardener describes this as:
- keeps a long time after picking
That is a research or extension body rather than a seller.
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Want the full 10/50/90% odds + nearest stations? Open the frost tool →When to plant Gilfeather in your zone
Zone 6bGreenhouse or cover on: your start slides ~4 weeks earlier and your harvest stretches ~3 weeks later (shown striped).
Planting seeds straight in the ground only works where the season's long and warm — most gardeners start seeds indoors or buy young plants, or you'd pick your first tomato right as frost hits.
Comfortable — first ripe fruit lands around mid Jun, well before your typical frost (~late Oct).
- Plant seeds outside
- late Mar – early Apr
- Growing
- early Apr – mid Jun
- Picking
- mid Jun – early Jul
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP above for yours.
Growing Gilfeather — the things that trip people up
- Turnips grow fast in cool weather — sow in early spring and again in late summer for a fall crop. Thin the seedlings so the roots have room, and pull them young and small for the sweetest, most tender roots.
- A fall crop caught by light frost is the sweetest of all; heat and age make roots woody and strong-flavored.
Gilfeather turnip at a glance
| Type | White |
|---|---|
| Days to ripe | 85 days after you plant it outside |
| Color | White |
Extra fields from seed-catalog listings and university growing guides. Days to ripe and disease resistance shift with your climate and seed source — double-check with your local extension office before you buy.
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Common questions about Gilfeather
How long does Gilfeather take to grow?
About 85 days from sowing — turnips are a quick crop, and the greens are ready even sooner.
Can I eat the Gilfeather tops?
Yes — turnip greens are a Southern staple, cooked like mustard or collard greens. Some types are grown mainly for the tops.
Browse more turnip varieties →