Cupid’s arrow struck me with a deep abiding love of brassicas a long time ago, and my affection has never dimmed.
From my childhood obsession with broccoli to my modern love of komatsuna, both oleracea and rapa are the loves of my life.
Which is why when a seldom eaten but much loved member of the species Brassica rapa enters my local garden center- I go wild.
This lovely specimen came in on a Sunday. She was sultry and lush and by the way she walked into the store I knew she’d be trouble.
This- is Koji. Also known as Tatsoi also known as Yukina savoy. She’s a woman of many aliases.
It’s basically a sort of Brassica you harvest as spinach or Swiss chard. Tasty and easy.
She is trouble though- those lovely crinkled leaves can hide bugs if you’re not careful. I anticipate many inspections of her undercarriage unless I want those grey cabbage aphids.
Annoyingly when I took this beauty on the bus home I lost her nametag, so I have no close up on the tag like I like to give you. Dames like her always like to be anonymous.
Doesn’t matter- I know how to treat a brassica right.
Those six pretty little plants are right at home in the front part of my new bed, and I’ll stop the hard-boiled detective cliches now.
I’m actually pretty excited about this one, as I’ve eaten it sporadically but never grown it.
Ah Brassica rapa- you never disappoint.
The Neanderthal Gardens 
Well, if you had not told me about it earlier, I would not have seen this coming. Really . . . I don’t know what it is. I have heard of it before, and seen many varieties in the market, but not grown it.