Why I plant radishes!

[Bobberman]

One of my favorite crops s the radish! I grow it mixed with most seeds I plant in the garden. It helps brake dry caked soil so smaller seeds like carrots can grow! Besides being a good food crop I lt it go to seed because the pink and white flowers bring bees and butterflies. the flowers make the garden pretty and can be used to shade tender crops. The radish pods can be eaten when they are small and used in salads! The radish leaves are loved by my rabbits! radish seeds are cheap and pulling radishes several times in the summer helps wih a nice compost! It also seems that the radish keeps bugs away from some plants when mixed with them! I also like the black radish or many of the later ones that last twice the time of a regular 28 day radish!. I always mix lettuce radish and carrots in the same bed which makes the radis very tender and slower to bolt! Lastly the pods make pleny of seeds even for the same summer planting!

[TZ -OH6]

They are also a good trap crop for flea beetles. The beetles prefer the radishes over adjacent tomatoes, peppers, potatoes etc.


When I lived in Los Angeles these was/is a fire road in Palos Verdes where radishes grow wild and I could munch on pods as I hiked...pretty flowers too.

[jal_ut]

Oh my, you forgot the most important reason. I love to eat those tasty, tangy roots.

[DeborahL]

I grow them for the greens for my pet rabbits, I eat the radish if it's not split. Usually they split.

[garden5]

I like the idea of using them as sort of a green-manure crop for the compost. I've never heard of the black radish, however, soil Ill have to look into that one.

[Bobberman]

I like the idea of using them as sort of a green-manure crop for the compost. I've never heard of the black radish, however, soil Ill have to look into that one.

+++Here is a great link that will get you acquainted with radishes and even the black radish! Winter radishes are ones that grow over a longer period without getting tuff! All these radish have different flowers and you will be impresses how they make a garden pretty and smelling nice! If you eat the early radish and keep them from dry soil they will be very taste within the first 40 days of growth!
+++
https://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/radish.cfm

[Geoffxyz]

The main reason I like growing radishes is that they are the fastest vegetable or herb to grow that I know and I grow 60 different crops!
Radishes have been known to be ready in 3 weeks but can take 6 weeks!! Geoff

[garden5]

Thanks for the link, BM. Now that I think of it, I do believe I have noticed winter radishes before, just did not pay all that much attention to them.

One radish known to get ridiculously huge is the dikon radish.

There is another one, the Sakajurama Giant (probably spelled that wrong ), which gets even bigger, but only grows in certain soils in a region of Japan.

[csvd87]

Mmmmm radishes, a great crunch addition to salads, especially potato salad.

[Odd Duck]

If you haven't tried radishes roasted or sauted, you don't know what you're missing. Quite tasty and a very different flavor than raw. Tends to make them milder and softens the "bite", somehow makes them a creamier texture once tender. Try them in veggie soup (YUM) and in a mixed, roasted root veggies.

I've never really cared that much for radishes, just used them as a trap crop, mostly, until someone suggested them cooked. I started looking around, found some recipes and went from there.

[Bobberman]

If you haven't tried radishes roasted or sauted, you don't know what you're missing. Quite tasty and a very different flavor than raw. Tends to make them milder and softens the "bite", somehow makes them a creamier texture once tender. Try them in veggie soup (YUM) and in a mixed, roasted root veggies.

I've never really cared that much for radishes, just used them as a trap crop, mostly, until someone suggested them cooked. I started looking around, found some recipes and went from there.

+++I agree tht there are ways to eat radish to make them aste better. Take for instance the Daikon Chineese radish! Next time you go to a Chieese reaturant check the salad bar and see if there is a yellowish white radish abut the size of a silver dollar in a clear sauce. They are really good and taste nothing like a regular radish. Hre is a link to a group of them!
+++

https://www.evergreenseeds.com/orientalradish.html

[DeborahL]

I like a simple radish sandwich. It's buttered dark bread, radish slices, and S&P. Really good.
The butter mellows the radishes.

[applestar]

I don't know about "regular" radish, but daikon is known to contain amino acids and enzymes that aid in digestion. Along with wasabi (highly antibacterial/antiviral), it's the reason they're served with raw fish sushi and sashimi as tiny matchstick/slivers, as well as grated with cooked fish in Japan. Daikon does wonderful things to clear (not creamy/heavy saucy) soup/stew -- try with strong-flavored ingredients like chicken thighs, pork, or seafood.

I'm thinking there's no reason regular round radishes couldn't excel in soup/stew as well, though I tend to think of them as winter fare and not have them as often in the summer.

[garden5]

I've never thought about roasted radishes! That sounds good.

Apps, did you know that in Japan they add wasabi to toothpaste because of its antibacterial qualities? Unfortunately, the wasabi you often find at Chinese restaurants...buffets especially...is nothing more than colored horseradish .

[digitS']

I have had some problems with radish and for a long time didn't think I should risk eating them. This is despite my mother teaching me about sliced radish on buttered homemade bread . Really, a lot of the problem with radish heat and coarseness is just a timing of harvest issue.

Daikon radish, cut in strips, is also a good sandwich ingredient. Any radish, can be used to add some crunch to stir-fry. The entire plant can be cooked that way.

I also allow some radish to go to seed every year in the garden. I don't get 2 crops from those radishes, in fact, I've been surprised how long it takes them to live out their full life and mature seed. Still, there is a variety that I have saved for about 15 years and allowing some to go to seed was how I learned that the seed pods are wonderful!

I'm not sure if it matters at all what variety you use for the pods. It is, once again, the timing that is important. The pods that are just beginning to develop seed are the tender ones. The stalks have pods in all stages of development late in their season. You just have to leave some and take others .

Steve

[Dixana]

Roasted root soup YUM.
Place parsnips, rutabagas, celeriac root, radish, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, onions and carrots on a tray, drizzle lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. (edit to your tastes) Put on oven until lightly browned.
While those are boasting, add some some chickpeas and veg broth and herbs (to taste) to a pan and heat to a boil
Take the still warm veggies and throw them in a food processor with the liquid. Puree. Serve warm with bread chunks for dipping.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
I'll only eat radishes if they're cooked first, same with onions and celery. Too much bite for me. Yet, I'll eat enough garlic to make me toxic to vampires.......