A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Plant pests and problems Just lost all my Turnips ....

I just had to pull and throw out all of my turnips today. I went out to harvest them and found them all mostly rotten and eaten (and being eaten) by tiny white worms or grubs!! I dont know what they were but they ruined several pounds of otherwise beautiful turnips. Does anybody have any idea what they could be and how to prevent them next year? I planted both Blanc De Crossy and Purple Top White Globe (heirloom) varieties. What confuses me more is the radishes I planted next to them (which I harvested not too long ago) and the carrots are all fine so far. I do not use any chemicals in my garden and this is the first time planting in this soil??? Any help would be great!

Everything I've read says that these worms start in the soil and the soil will have to be treated before you plant next time but tonight I saw this online "Harvested the best batch of turnips I’ve ever grown last night! I’ve been plagued with root worms in past years, rendering my turnips fit only for greens. I covered them from the start with row cover, though, and this year I got big, beautiful turnips with no root worms. Still a fair bit of leaf damage, though…I’m thinking slugs."

Yup, there are cabbage worms and cabbage maggots, yuck. Your soil should be treated this fall and again in the spring. My grandfather used to use Diazinon.

Evaya, what have you decided to do?