Skip to content

Ditmars Bronze Top Turnip

Original price $4.00 - Original price $4.00
Original price
$4.00
$4.00 - $4.00
Current price $4.00
B. napus - Historic Nova Scotia heirloom. Once a commonly grown variety, this seed hasn't been commercially available since the mid-1900s. I'm honoured and excited to be re-introducing them! Beautiful roots with yellow flesh. They're outstanding keepers for winter storage. 125+ seeds (0.5 g)

-Grown by Annapolis Seeds

Their story:
This seed was brought to Annapolis County by the Ditmars family; loyalists who moved from New York to Deep Brook (near Bear River) in the 1780s. They thrived in the soil of Deep Brook, and were widely grown in the community for both human and animal consumption.

By the early 1900s, the Ditmars and other farming families grew and sold seed of this variety. Seed was sold wholesale to the seed companies of the day, and it became a bustling little industry in Deep Brook. Ditmars Bronze Top was a widely grown variety all across the country, and by 1939 was a registered variety at Agriculture Canada. From what I can tell, it was the standard bronze-top variety, while Laurentian was (and still is) the standard purple-top.

Eventually, a bad outbreak of club root ended production in Deep Brook, and other varieties took over the seed market. It continued to be grown on a small scale by the Ditmars family, and a few years ago was gifted to me by Diane (Ditmars) Price. I'm pretty sure this variety hasn't been offered commercially in at least 60-70 years, so it's exciting and humbling to play a role in re-introducing it.