Scarlet Ohno Turnip
Gorgeous red turnips for pickling are only half the story. I don't even harvest the roots most of the time, although they are excellent. I just like the greens so much that I keep picking them--glossy-smooth, mild, and juicy, with no rough hairy texture, and an excellent flavor. I hope you'll give these a try. Since I live in zone 7 and turnips overwinter for me, I've been planting more turnips lately and less kale. They grow faster, they are more tender, and the flavor is more complex. And, the flower shoots in spring are sweeter than kale shoots, sweeter than broccoli, and more tender than either. Plus they have a nice purple-red-or-pink color. It was only after I had been eating the shoots for about a month this spring that I remembered that the Italians have bred a whole class of vegetables that are turnips meant for overwintering and eating as flowering shoots with leaves. That's what spring raab and rappini are--turnips bred for a big crop of flower shoots in spring. (Turnips are Brassica rapa. Regular broccoli are Brassica oleracea.) This strain is Frank Morton's re-selection of a Japanese red turnip, selected with smooth productive greens in mind. 45 days greens, 55 days roots. 120 seeds