Here is an example of the permaculture principle of productive edges. Loyal readers may recall that I seeded the field next to the cottage with Deer Forage Mix, which included some turnip and sugar beet seed. On most of the field the tubers are I'd say golf-ball to tennis-ball sized, but there is an edge where they are larger, softball-sized. This productive edge developed alongside a rut created by the skid-steer track as it drove over a pile of straw. I don't understand why but you can see the extra-lush greenery and fat turnips jumping out of the ground even in this crummy cellphone photo:
The biggest of them was almost the size of a cantaloupe. The deer are eating the greens but leave the tubers alone. I decided to try and make a turnip soup. You can see how big the thing is next to my six quart crock pot there.
The soup turned out not bad. In addition to the turnip I used two onions, a bunch of potatoes, chicken and chicken stock, and a tablespoon of Mrs. Dash.
It turns out turnips have mainly carbs. They are filling and nutritious and it's better if you eat the greens as well, according to nutritiondata.com. They don't taste as good as potatoes but are hardier and easier to grow I'd say.
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