Has anybody grown rat's tail radish?

[HonoluluGirl]

I just bought some rat's tail radish seeds. How large do the plants grow? Are they bushy or viney? Do I have to stake or trellis them? How much space do they require? Can they be grown in containers or should I put them in the ground? Thanks!

[!potatoes!]

they get pretty tall. in relatively high-wind places they should probably be staked. they definitely don't need trellissing. mine get to be 3 or 4 feet tall, less than a foot wide at the base, but they spread at the top as all the flowers come. not uncommon for them to be 2 or 3 feet wide at the top. never tried them in containers.

[HonoluluGirl]

Thanks !potatoes!. I can't wait to try them out. I plan to pickle them. How do you eat yours?

[!potatoes!]

both fresh and pickled. the pods can get fibrous relatively quickly in hot weather, and pickling makes that even more noticeable, so make sure to pick while the pods are still tender.

[imafan26]

So, that is what they are called! I have them growing wild in my garden, they reseed readily. They are a kind of daikon. They get 3-4 feet tall and start blooming. The root is small and hard and totally inedible. It is hard to even cut the root. They don't really need a support they stand up by themselves. The flowers are held high up and are fairly open so unless the winds are kicking up more than the usual trades they hardly notice. They have a little bitter bite and Filipinos make a salad with them.

[!potatoes!]

the ones I've grown definitely have standard european radish leaves, and not daikon-type leaves. I've actually also seen mention (haven't grown them myself) of another variety of podding radish - I think it was called Madras? rumored to have better flavor.

truth is, all radishes will make pods, but these 'podding' varieties are special in that 1) they don't make an edible root and 2) go straight to bolting/flowering.