Hello I live in Michigan as well. Where in Michigan do you live? I'm trying to grow vegetables myself via container gardening. As far as a good retailer that offers a wide variety of Asian vegetable seeds and are reputable I don't of any stores in Michigan that really stock a decent variety of the seed varieties you're looking for. However I do know of an online store that specializes exclusively in the sales of asian vegetable seeds. I will give you the link. The name of the seed retailer is Kitazawa Seed. I know you can grow daikon radish in Michigan; it matures very quickly (about a month to 45 days depending on the variety you get). To my knowledge it's also called icicle radish and if you look hard enough you should be able to find a seed store or hardware store that carries this. White radish likes cool weather and hates hot weather. If it becomes too hot it will bolt which essentially means it will start to create flowers. This will make the radish pithy and very spicy. Unfortunately regarding the other varieties of vegetables you want to grow, I can't really help you there as I've never grown them myself. However here is the link to the seed company I was talking about: http://www.kitazawaseed.com/

let me list 5 tips on growing larger and huge veggies:: 1)prune your plant regularly so that number of fruits remain low on your plant..Those few fruits will get maximum energy and will grow huge 2)Use open pollinated seeds from giant Veggies(Most Important) 3)Provide your plants with steady source of water...It is known as drip irrigation in gardening terms 4)Keep check that your plant is problem free, Eliminate well all kind of diseases and germs problems from the plant 5)Always make use of natural nutrients and fertilizers

aok27502- There are any number of vegetarian recipes that work well as substitutes for ground beef in recipes. These are three recipes I have in my file. #1 Ground Beef Substitute 1 c. lentils 1 c. rice 4 c. water Cook like rice and use as a substitute for ground beef. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #2 Ground Beef Substitute 1/2 c. quinoa* 1 vegetable bouillon cube (or beef flavored) 1 c. water 2 T. olive oil 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped 2 t. minced garlic 1 (15.5) can black beans (UNdrained) In a saucepan, bring 1 c. water and bouillon cube to a b oil. Add quinoa, stir, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until water is absorbed (approx. 20-minutes). Meanwhile, heat olive oil in skillet over med. heat. Add onion, stirring to coat, then garlic. Saute until translucent. Add beans and bring to a simmer, until heated thoroughly. At this point mash some of the beans with a potato masher. Once quinoa is cooked, mix it into the beans. Flavor to taste or to the purpose you will be using the substitute. Makes six 1/2-cup servings. *If you happen to have red quinoa, it has better color than white quinoa for this recipe, but either will work. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #3 Ground Beef Substitute http://veggieconverter.com/whole-food-vegetarian-ground-beef-substitute-recipe/

I wouldn't use 5-1-1 in a raised bed, it is a "Potting Mix", and not meant to be used in garden beds because drains too fast and won't hold enough water There is a difference between a potting mix and garden soil. 5-1-1 works better in a pot that has a solid bottom to trap some moisture through adhesive and cohesive forces of the water. Here is a good article (copyed and pasted) Why the Earth Is Not Like a Pot by Brent Walston Introduction In bonsai we work very hard to create and maintain highly aerated soils, yet when we plant in the earth, the soil is incredibly dense. How can this be? The answer to this and other soil mysteries are below. A Pot Isn't Like the Earth The major difference between a pot and the earth is that a pot has impermeable sides and bottom. This reduces air exchange in two ways. First is the obvious, air cannot pass through the plastic, thus we have a contained volume of soil encased 75% with air tight plastic or high fired ceramic (low fire ceramic will breathe). This is why I design my soil mixes and other environmental factors to 'dry out' the pot once a day during the growing season. Each time the plant is thoroughly watered, it pulls a new charge of air in behind it as the water drains. Secondly, we have to visit our old pot size argument again. When a downward moving table of water reaches an impermeable layer (in this case the plastic pot bottom) it will not drain until the layer just above the impermeable layer (pot bottom) is saturated. Once this lower layer of soil is saturated, excess water will drain out, but a column of saturated soil will remain since the moving table of water has stopped at the impermeable layer. This means that the soil in the bottom of the pot remains saturated at this lowest level after watering, and stays saturated until something happens to change that condition. That 'something' is primarily absorption from the roots in the bottom of the pot, the secondary factor is (or should be) evaporation. You will probably want to read this paragraph again, and perhaps a third time, it is not obvious. Over Potting Most of the water in the pot is removed from the pot by absorption by the roots and not by evaporation. If you overpot, it will take a long time for roots to colonize the bottom of the container and consequently it will take much longer for the saturated layer to become fully aerated (the only factor at work is evaporation). Overpotting will generally lead to too wet conditions and eventually root rot. This phenomenon is also true of planting in the earth, but only when stratification of the soil is present to cause an impermeable layer, such as when you are planting on a layer of clay or hardpan, or you create a boundary between two dissimilar soil types. Otherwise, there is no impermeable layer and the water continues its downward movement into the earth, creating no saturated layers. This is why (along with the absence of impermeable walls) that we can, and do use denser soils when planting in the earth: no saturated layers are formed (until the water table is reached). Creating Aerated Earth Soils I have seen saturated layers created in the earth kill plants just as heavy soils in pots do. I was once asked to examine a dying Rhododendron which was planted in a straight fir bark bed. I knew that the area had heavy clay native soils. I dug up the Rhododendron, and sure enough, about a foot down was a layer of solid clay and the fir bark layer just above it was saturated with water. Other loose experiments I have been conducting involve using highly aerated soils in growing beds. From the above argument you can see that we can use heavier soils in beds, but will using the same highly aerated potting soils that we use for containers improve growth rates? I think the answer is yes, I have had Chinese elms grow about twice as fast in a highly aerated bed than in a creek side silt bed loaded with natural nutrients from yearly flooding, but comprised of mostly fine silt. The problem with the highly aerated beds is that they will require a lot more water and nutrients than a good garden soil, for example. And again, you must be careful not to create a boundary between a dense soil and the amendments at the bottom of the bed or you will create a saturated layer at the bottom. You can usually avoid boundaries by loosening the native soil at the bottom of the bed and mixing a smaller percentage of the amendment in with the native soil. This will give you a transition zone rather than a sharp boundary. What About that Saturated Column Thing? Ok, just how high a column of saturated soil do you get in a container? The height of the column of water retained in the soil by an impermeable layer is related to size of the particles. Sound familiar? The denser the soil, the higher the column will be and the more water will be retained. Large particle, highly aerated soils will not support a large saturated volume. This is what we mean by 'well drained'. You can test this for yourself. Take a regular sponge, soak it with water. Rest it in your hand horizontally until the water stops running out. Then tilt the spronge upright. You are now increasing the saturated column. The sponge density won't support a column that high and water will drain out. This experiment also shows that pot shape is related to water retention. A broad shallow pot will retain more water than a tall narrow pot of equal volume. Although it is counterintuitive, a shallow pot will retain more water and 'dry out' more slowly than a tall narrow one (of equal volume). Another reason we use such coarse soils for bonsai, and also why bonsai can survive in such tiny containers on very hot days. And finally Soil physics may not be obvious, but knowing what goes on under the surface is bound to lead you to more successful bonsai.