2023 Root Crops (end of season notes)

Beets were awesome – do again with insect screen, trap, and thinning protocol.
Daikon was perfect – only planted as a late crop again (with first planting of radishes); thinning was good, allowing each plant to mature.
Jerusalem Artichokes in new location this year, tall plants, but not a great harvest, possibly too crowded; consider moving back to corner near hydrant?
Potatoes all produced well, had to cut seed potatoes into many pieces, a few didn’t come up but transplanted volunteers from previous year into the bed (and they grew!), virtually no potato beetles, gold variety came out a week earlier working out well for planting the cabbage seedlings.
Radishes early crop: staggering planting over 3 weeks spread the harvest over 4 weeks, with some grub damage; late crop: staggering planting over 2 weeks worked well to spread harvest over 7 weeks. Wasabi variety was reasonably successful, but there wasn’t much interest in the harvest.
Rutabagas generally did well, a few did not mature, no aphid damage.
Salad Turnip spring crop did well with 3-weeks to second planting, but had more than usual grub damage (wet weather?); fall crop germinated well with 2 weeks between plantings, but most of the seedlings died – not sure why.
Sweet Potatoes all three varieties produced well, harvested at first sign of predation (only lost 1 tuber) though soil was wet and heavy, seedlings had some critter damage during hardening off.