農書卷五
Page 10

By planting successively from spring through autumn, one can achieve three harvests, providing a constant supply of quality pickles 葅 (zu): Salted or fermented vegetables, a staple for preserving nutrients through the winter. To harvest the roots, use fields where barley or wheat were previously grown. Sow in the middle of the sixth month, and in the tenth month, just as the ground is about to freeze, plow them out. One mu A traditional Chinese unit of land, roughly 1/15th of a hectare can yield several cartloads; those harvested early will have thin roots.

There is another method for planting large quantities of turnips near a market town: use one qing Equivalent to 100 mu, or approximately 15 acres of fertile land and sow them at the start of the seventh month. If sown in the sixth month, the roots will be large but the leaves will be eaten by insects; if sown at the end of the seventh month, the leaves will be lush but the roots will remain thin and small. By sowing at the start of the seventh month, both the roots and leaves will thrive.

An edict from Emperor Huan of the Han Reigned 146–168 CE; his reign was marked by several natural disasters stated: "Floodwaters have caused a disaster and the five grains have not ripened; I order that all affected commanderies and kingdoms plant turnips to supplement the people's food." Indeed, this crop can tide one over during bad years and provide relief during famine 飢饉 (jijin): Severe food shortage; specifically, 'ji' refers to a lack of cereal crops and 'jin' to a lack of vegetables. When dried and then steamed for eating, they are both sweet and delicious. In a year of disaster, one qing can keep a hundred people alive.

New Manual of Essential Agriculture

Plowing the land should include adding manure
Cover it evenly back and forth
Early Autumn