Shogoin Kabu (聖護院かぶ)

A beautifully large turnip variety from Kyoto prefecture (named for the Shogoin temple), this delicious vegetable can reach well over 5 pounds!

Shogoin Kabu dates back to the 1500’s or 1600s, and is famous for making probiotic-rich senmaizuke pickles. (It’s also excellent simmered in miso).

Plant this in mid-to-late summer for harvesting in fall and winter (about 50-days). Note that these vegetables become even more delicious the longer they sit in the ground over cool fall/early winter weather, so as long as the critters are leaving them alone, these are great to leave in place. (They can also be harvested and cold-cured outside in the fall, hanging the roots by their foliage – this is the traditional curing process, which helps reduce moisture for excellent pickling).

For fresh eating, don’t toss the greens of this great vegetable. They are even more nutrient dense than the roots – and quiet good stir fried, or finely chopped and cooked with rice.

Approximately 200 to 400 seeds (1.0 grams).