Turnips may be a bit of an old fashioned veg, but small, young turnips and their green leafy tops are secretly gourmet vegetables.They're one of the less troublesome members of the Brassica family to grow, and should be grown quickly and kept well watered. Harvest them before they get too large for the best flavour. The smaller the roots, the sweeter they are.

Early sowings are best made under cloches. Turnips grow best on rich well manured soil but will grow on ordinary fertile soil to which plenty of well rotted compost has been added.

Sow seeds in succession from March to mid summer direct into growing site in seed drills 2cm deep with rows spaced 30cm apart. Successional sowings should be made every 2 to 3 weeks to prolong the harvest period.

As soon as first rough leaves appear, thin to 10cm apart . Harvest from when roots are golf ball size, pull alternate roots to maximise crop production. Water regularly during hot dry weather to prevent roots from going woody