Radish went to seed; getting HUGE

PunkRotten · Tue Jan 24, 2012 6:56 pm

This is a Salad Rose Radish. It has got flower buds and flowers everywhere. The immature flowers almost look like broccoli.

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DeborahL · Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:22 pm

Wow, would my pet rabbits ever love that ! I grow radishes because the greens are good food for them.

applestar · Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:39 pm

That's great! The flowers will attract beneficial insects like hoverflies and syrphid flies, robber flies, etc. And once the radish seed pods form, you can pick them and eat them -- don't worry, you'll have plenty to allow to mature for seeds as well.

PunkRotten · Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:45 pm

I am not sure how the seeds develop on a Radish. This is my 1st time doing this. Could you explain how it works?

digitS' · Tue Jan 24, 2012 9:33 pm

Patience, PR.

First the flowers then the pods . . . then, those pods you don't eat

will develop seeds within them, the seeds will mature, and the pods will dry.

You can bring them in where they can dry more thoroughly and after a week or so - thresh 'em out into seed.

[img]https://i38.tinypic.com/mhdl5l.jpg[/img]

This is bok choy seed. I also save seed for radish. I only need to do that every other year - just like the bok choy. The viability is good enuf for 2 years without any decrease in germination that I can see.

But remember - - you want some of those pods for snacking

! Pick them while they are still tender. If there's a tiny white flower still attached, that's fine. You will quickly learn how tasty they are. I like 'em better than the roots!

Steve

Bobberman · Tue Jan 24, 2012 9:58 pm

The radish is under rated. Its one of the quickest producer 28 days in some cases. It also is a bulldozer for weak seeds by sprouting quick through crusted soils. A single radish with many flowers can produce hundreds of seeds! Rabbits do love the leaves! Radish also make a nice cover crop! I have both white and pink flowers from differet types of radish! I mix radish with lettuce and carrots all the time! Radishes are great for compost!You can buy a 1/4 pound of radish seeds from Shrumway HPS catalog for $3.95 and use it for cover crop that can be plowed under in less than a month!

PunkRotten · Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:44 pm

This is how the Radish looks now and lots of pods are growing everywhere. When do you know a pod is ready to eat?

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soil · Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:54 pm

if you want to save seed let them start turning brown and drying out before harvest, but not too long that when you touch them they shatter. for now enjoy the bees and other pollinators that visit your plant.

Bobberman · Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:57 pm

Nice picure . Thanks

applestar · Tue Feb 28, 2012 7:04 pm

Pods are good to eat as long as they are tender enough. They get hard and woody like old bean pods or straw when older and beyond eating. There is alos a midpoint when they're no longer palatable fresh but can be cooked. But like over mature beans, they can get too stringy to eat even cooked.

PunkRotten · Tue Feb 28, 2012 7:13 pm

I tasted one already kind of tastes just like the roots. Sorta spicy and watery.

PunkRotten · Tue Feb 28, 2012 7:16 pm

soil wrote:if you want to save seed let them start turning brown and drying out before harvest, but not too long that when you touch them they shatter. for now enjoy the bees and other pollinators that visit your plant.

Yeah the bees are on it all day. I even caught a hummingbird sipping some nectar from a few flowers too. Also brassica aphids have tried to attack it but I spray them with water. Seems to work pretty good.

digitS' · Tue Feb 28, 2012 7:50 pm

The younger they are, the less spicy. But, I think they always taste like "a radish."

You can eat the leaves but most varieties have hairy leaves which distracts from enjoying them raw. It took me a long time to learn that the hairs kind of disappear when they are stir-fried.

Yes, aphids move in on these things as they flower! I often decide that it is a good idea to spray them with insecticidal soap.

Steve

BTW - the picture in my earlier post just showed the "broken link" sign. I had to right-click it and click "reload image." It is in a Tinypic gallery but this has been happening with my Picasa pictures, as well. I wonder what's up with that . . . maybe, it is only in my computer

.

PunkRotten · Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:17 am

Yeah I heard about eating radish leaves but only good when they are young/tender cause they will get rough/hairy.

PunkRotten · Sat Mar 03, 2012 5:43 pm

Well I think this radish adventure is over now. The damn wind beat the hell out of it

The main stem is cracked. I don't think it can hang onto life anymore. Will pick what pods I can and then rip it out and maybe get a pic and measurement of how massive it grew.

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