Radishes

Adenn1 · May 31, 2006

I have never grown radishes and wonder if they are worth the effort. My wife loves them in her salads...and I just wonder if home grown are better than the standard radishes one gets at the store.

Any varities that stand out? I have some room in front of my tomatoes and thought I could try some.

Thanks much!

timcunningham · May 31, 2006

The only experience I have had with radishes was this year. I grew a "White Box Radish" seeds from seedsavers.org. I grew them in my square foot garden, 16 radishes per 1 foot square. Radishes grow very quickly 30 days DTM. I usually don't like the kind of radishes you get in the store, as they give me heartburn. But the White Box Radish was much milder and had an excellent taste.

In my opinion, radishes are very hassle free thing to grow. They also add a nice touch when you have company, ask them to go pull a couple radishes for the salad. They will be impressed with how fresh your food is.

shelleybean · May 31, 2006

I like Hailstone, another white variety.

They're really the easiest thing to grow. You should do it.

**coronabarb** · May 31, 2006

Yes, on the pods! I have wild radish plants that grow as weeds here. I harvest the pods while young and put in salads and stir-fry. I sometimes eat them raw while working around the garden...spicy!

landarc · May 31, 2006

By pods, are you talking about the seed pods? Do all radishes have edible, and delicious, pods?

love the avatar C-Barb, reminds me of a couple pups I knew.

feldon30 · May 31, 2006

If radishes were hard to grow and took up a lot of time and space, then yes, I'd say just buy from the grocery store.

But since you can grow a lot in a short amount of time in a small space and grow varieties that the grocery store has never heard of, I'd dedicate a couple of square feet to em to make the wife happy.

**coronabarb** · May 31, 2006

Have any of you grown Daikons? Now there's a serious radish.

landarc · May 31, 2006

My Grandmother used to grow them in her garden. I tried once, but, am too lazy to dig deep enough, so I ended up with mishapen, ugly daikon.

mathfed · March 28, 2007

My advice with radishes is to only grow what you think you can personally eat, or stagger the plantings so you don't have a lot being harvested at once. I grew a small section of them a few years ago. They were good. The family was excited to eat them. They ate a few, and decided they had their fill. There were a LOT of radishes left. I ended up taking a baggie of them to work every day to eat as a snack. I haven't grown them since. They are one of those veggies where a little goes a long way, at least for my family. I don't think we have even brought any home from the grocery store since I grew them. If you don't buy them often, you probably won't want to eat handful after handful of them.

shelleybean · March 28, 2007

Mathfed, I have 36 feet of radishes in my garden right now but I can easily eat a dozen at a time, twice a day. I love them with nothing but salt. I keep the Rolaids handy though.

honu · March 29, 2007

Jeff, Thanks for the info and gorgeous photo! I see that Evergreen and Kitazawa Seeds sell the hybrid hattorikun.

Shelley, do you eat them raw or cooked by the dozen? Do you leave the skin on?

shelleybean · March 29, 2007

Raw with the skin on. I have not tried them cooked yet, but I have enough to experiment!

cottonpicker · June 1, 2006

I've grown Daikon (my wife who is Chinese calls them LoBok) as a Fall crop. Did very well for me & as you mentioned, deep digging is necessary for a good quality product.
LarryD

Althea · June 1, 2006

Radishes are defintely worth growing and they are really no trouble at all. They germinate in cool weather so you can plant them very early spring and by the time they are ready - about a month, you can plant something else in the space after harvesting the radishes.

We had our first of the season last night, Cherrybelle, a red variety. Yummmmm!

Adenn1 · February 21, 2007

Just an update...I did find room last year to try two types of radishes: Cherrybelle and French Breakfast. I had problems of trying to grow both in heavy clay soil...some did not form a bulb or came out very small. I did put some down one end of the bed where the compost bin was...so the soil was lighter there...they came out much better. The French Breakfast radishes had a pretty good "zing" to them...much more than the Cherrybelles. Did make my wife happy and I will try more this year...and will make a greater effort to find a spot with lighter soil.

May 31, 2006	#1
Adenn1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 559	Radishes I have never grown radishes and wonder if they are worth the effort. My wife loves them in her salads...and I just wonder if home grown are better than the standard radishes one gets at the store. Any varities that stand out? I have some room in front of my tomatoes and thought I could try some. Thanks much!

May 31, 2006	#2
timcunningham Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Middle Georgia Posts: 241	The only experience I have had with radishes was this year. I grew a "White Box Radish" seeds from seedsavers.org. I grew them in my square foot garden, 16 radishes per 1 foot square. Radishes grow very quickly 30 days DTM. I usually don't like the kind of radishes you get in the store, as they give me heartburn. But the White Box Radish was much milder and had an excellent taste. In my opinion, radishes are very hassle free thing to grow. They also add a nice touch when you have company, ask them to go pull a couple radishes for the salad. They will be impressed with how fresh your food is. __________________ Visit my site: tomatoindex.com a database of over 2700 varieties. Vote for your favorite.

May 31, 2006	#3
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	I like Hailstone, another white variety. They're really the easiest thing to grow. You should do it. __________________ Michele

May 31, 2006	#4
coronabarb Tomatoville® Recipe Keeper Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Roseburg, Oregon - zone 7 Posts: 2,821	Yes, on the pods! I have wild radish plants that grow as weeds here. I harvest the pods while young and put in salads and stir-fry. I sometimes eat them raw while working around the garden...spicy! __________________ Corona~Barb Now an Oregon gal

May 31, 2006	#5
landarc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Left Coasty Posts: 964	By pods, are you talking about the seed pods? Do all radishes have edible, and delicious, pods? love the avatar C-Barb, reminds me of a couple pups I knew. __________________ Lets see...$10 for Worth and $5 for Fusion, man. Tomatoes are expensive! Bob

May 31, 2006	#6
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	If radishes were hard to grow and took up a lot of time and space, then yes, I'd say just buy from the grocery store. But since you can grow a lot in a short amount of time in a small space and grow varieties that the grocery store has never heard of, I'd dedicate a couple of square feet to em to make the wife happy.

March 28, 2007	#9
mathfed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Carlsbad, NM Posts: 38	My advice with radishes is to only grow what you think you can personally eat, or stagger the plantings so you don't have a lot being harvested at once. I grew a small section of them a few years ago. They were good. The family was excited to eat them. They ate a few, and decided they had their fill. There were a LOT of radishes left. I ended up taking a baggie of them to work every day to eat as a snack. I haven't grown them since. They are one of those veggies where a little goes a long way, at least for my family. I don't think we have even brought any home from the grocery store since I grew them. If you don't buy them often, you probably won't want to eat handful after handful of them.

March 29, 2007	#11
honu Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Hawaii Posts: 270	Jeff, Thanks for the info and gorgeous photo! I see that Evergreen and Kitazawa Seeds sell the hybrid hattorikun. Shelley, do you eat them raw or cooked by the dozen? Do you leave the skin on?

June 1, 2006	#13
cottonpicker Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: SE PA..near Valley Forge Posts: 839	I've grown Daikon (my wife who is Chinese calls them LoBok) as a Fall crop. Did very well for me & as you mentioned, deep digging is necessary for a good quality product. LarryD __________________ "Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause". Victor Hugo

June 1, 2006	#14
Althea Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: z4MN Posts: 261	Radishes are defintely worth growing and they are really no trouble at all. They germinate in cool weather so you can plant them very early spring and by the time they are ready - about a month, you can plant something else in the space after harvesting the radishes. We had our first of the season last night, Cherrybelle, a red variety. Yummmmm! __________________ Solanaceae Hugger

February 21, 2007	#15
Adenn1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 559	Just an update...I did find room last year to try two types of radishes: Cherrybelle and French Breakfast. I had problems of trying to grow both in heavy clay soil...some did not form a bulb or came out very small. I did put some down one end of the bed where the compost bin was...so the soil was lighter there...they came out much better. The French Breakfast radishes had a pretty good "zing" to them...much more than the Cherrybelles. Did make my wife happy and I will try more this year...and will make a greater effort to find a spot with lighter soil. __________________ Mark