Even poor gardeners can grow the rich-in-vitamins turnip.(Originated from Knight-Ridder Newspapers)

The turnip is not the food fad it was 300 years ago when it even became an art form, but it still finds a welcome in the garden and on the table.

This ancient vegetable is valued not only for its roots but also for its leaves. The greens are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, including calcium.

In addition, turnips are so undemanding that even the rankest beginner can grow them and almost any soil suits them.

Like mustard, cabbage, and other members of their family, turnips do best in cool weather, and seeds should be sown around the time of your area's last average killing frost.

Some varieties you can plant will reach usable size in about five weeks. Harvested as one-inch rootlets, they have a mild and spicy taste different from mature turnips.

Baby turnips are, in fact, gaining popularity in some parts of the country, and the Shepherd Seed Company of Felton, Calif., for one, is marketing seed of a special little Japanese turnip to meet this demand.

To many growers, it is not the roots but the young leaves which are the best part of the turnip. Steamed or boiled, turnip greens are a healthful bonus for the home-gardening family and in the pot combine well with mustard greens and ham hock to impart even more flavor.