Thanks. I am going to give them a trial this winter, left in the ground and covered with leaves (with purple tops, I pull them out of the ground and cover them), and see if they can stand those conditions. These are the most benign storage conditions except for voles (ground does not freeze under leaves, and they are in root contact with the moist soil), if they do not store that way, they do not store period. Right now they are just out of the soil (on Jay's recommendation, I bought a maxi packet). Probably they need to be seeded at the same time as bok choi (mid-August here) for the Fall-Winter edition.

Your extension agent may be able to tell you when the cabbage root fly is active in your area. Covering with floating row cover, in soil which was free from plants in the cabbage family the year before, may be the best protection in spring. I have better luck with turnips in the fall here (though I haven't seen maggots). Hakurei and Oasis are similar, and I think Oasis has a little more vigor and crack resistance in cold or rainy weather. White Lady comes close to these in flavor and texture, and may be earlier (thus avoiding the cabbage maggot in some instances). Pinetree notes that Tokyo Cross often escapes the maggot because grows so fast that you can pick it before the worms are a problem. I think White Lady could be tried this way, too. Tokyo Cross is as mild as the varieties above, but not as sweet or flavorful. Near here, commercial turnips are sown in September while it is still quite warm (or hot) and harvested as the weather cools down (if all goes according to plan). As noted above, August would likely be a good time for you to plant. Henry Field is selling a variety that looks similar to the "summer turnips" above called "Frosty Sweet". It is supposed to resist bursting and bolting, but I haven't tried it. I also like a variety called "Just Right" for fall. This variety is rather late in forming a substantial root (though tops grow quickly). When the root finally forms, it remains tender and tasty to a large size. "Just Right" is more cold-tolerant and weather-tolerant than Hakurei or Oasis, and is only recommended for fall. I plant them just after the others, and harvest them into quite cold weather. I get them from Twilley's, a commercial catalog with no on-line catalog. I think you could call and order seeds even if you didn't want to bother with a print catalog. They also sell "White Lady", as does Park. All of the varieties above (with the possible exception of Frosty Sweet) have tops which are far sweeter and less "turnipy" than standard turnip greens, and without the hairs. Makes me wonder if they are a cross between turnips and something else. The tough midrib should be removed from larger leaves. Here is a link that might be useful: Cabbage Maggot This post was edited by carolync1 on Tue, May 28, 13 at 15:24

Just got around to this thread again and saw Chandra's comment on the blood type book. Since I was the one who first mentioned it when someone asked if it was possible to eat too many tomatoes, thought I would throw in my two cents. I am from a cattle raising family. My 84 year old father still raises cattle and so my family eats grass-fed beef and has for over 40 years. I married a man from a hunting family and tried for a brief time to at least limit his consumption of red meat. "Three days a week is enough," I said. "No, we need it every day." he answered and meant "sometimes twice a day." So when friends loaned us the book 15 years ago, I knew I'd been beat. "See," he said, "We're supposed to eat a lot of red meat." I still insist on one chicken day a week--homegrown chickens--and one or two fish meals a week--being Norwegian, he loves Kippers and Sardines and I love Salmon having been raised near Seattle. I also make sure to fix a lot of salads and of course we do raise a BIG garden and he eats a lot more veggies now than he was raised on. I went through a period where I blood tested "allergic" to wheat so dropped it from my diet completely for 2 years--along with eggs and milk. (Hardest thing I ever did.) At the end of the two years my Dr gave me the go ahead to replace those foods carefully and I now eat all three but in much less quantity than before. Being an okie, I don't think I could give up cornbread, and especially now that George has introduced me to homegrown meal corn. (DH prefers wheat bread, both yeast raised and biscuits.) And like Chandra DH and I are blood type O so all four children are too. I have read after two or three DRs who follow the blood type system and for a while thought I would too, but just couldn't keep it up. One thing I did notice for what it is worth though. He says lentils are very bad for Os. Whether that is why I can't eat them I'm not sure. But every time I have tried, they make me feel really bad, very sluggish and sleepy and headachy. Green/raw onions do the same thing but I can't remember if they're supposed to be bad. For my family, I find it hard enough to just put a healthy diet on the table, limiting sugar, processed foods, additives etc without worrying too much about the blood type diet.

Contact me next year. I will be planting broccoli and cabbage at the end of July and possibly a month later if I get the high tunnel. But I think you need to back up your dates. Cabbage planted 7/25 with this amazing fall is just full enough to cut small heads. I have enormous heads on the broccoli right now. I direct seed turnips mid August and tried kohlrabi this year at that time but it wasn't early enough. I may start those inside next season. I farm in Big Lake.