For all that he’s an assistant professor of biological sciences, Jacob Palmer admits that he’s not really a gardener.
But the Vestal home that he shares with his wife came with a large fenced-in yard and tomatoes that reseeded themselves from the previous year. This spring, they picked up some free seeds from the Vestal Public Library, tossed them in the garden and hoped for the best.
There were beets, squash that turned out to be ornamental, and six turnip seeds which, when planted, resulted in turnips.
“We ate two or three turnips and that was enough turnips for one year,” he recounted. “We realized that we didn’t really like turnips.”
The last turnip remained in the yard, where it grew. And grew. And grew.
Until it was the size of a slightly deflated volleyball, at which point he brought it into work and set it down on a bench in front of the Biology Department’s Administrative Offices. And then a yellow envelope appeared with an invitation: “Guess how much I weigh!” To date, more than 100 people have entered. There are, as far as Palmer knows, no actual prizes.
“We don’t even know how much it weighs. No one has a scale,” he said.
At this size, the turnip is probably a bit tough for stew. Fun fact: before pumpkins made their way to the British Isles, jack o’ lanterns used to be carved from turnips — although Palmer admits that he doesn’t have the artistic skills to pull this off. If you do, you’re welcome to try — after the official weighing, of course.
According to Palmer’s research, the largest turnip ever recorded in the U.S. came in at 40 pounds.
“I would say it’s probably halfway there,” he observed. “Maybe it’s not exceptional, but it’s fun.”
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