Tag: radish

These little, colorfully red vegetables are quick and easy to grow, attributed as the ideal starting point for encouraging children to garden so that they do not get impatient!

Radishes are assumed to have first been grown wild in Southeast Asia, thousands of years ago. Ancient writings in Egypt suggest that they were cultivated before the pyramids were even constructed, suggesting that this little red vegetable has been around a pretty long time, developing over the years to become the little red vegetable we love today. In Ancient Greece, radishes were revered so much that gold replicas were made to impersonate them as an offering to the god Apollo. Radishes first appeared in England during the 16th century and are actually referred to in Shakespeare’s work in ‘King Henry IV’.

Radishes are a fast germinating and growing crop that can be sown in soils averaging 10C-18C. During the winter months, one must allow 6-7 weeks for the crop to mature but as the temperatures rise and the sun (hopefully) shines, you can pick your radishes less than a month after sowing. As the cycle of growing and harvesting is so quick, to have a continuous supply of radishes throughout the year they should be sown successionally every fortnight.

Radishes grow best in full sun with a soil PH 6.5-7.0, making it an ideal vegetable for my sandy soil. From my own experience, I have discovered that radishes become plumper and redder when sown in well-fed soil. I have planted them this year in ground that was used for potatoes last year that has been freshly fed with well-rotted manure and mulch and they have done marvelously. I am now sowing them between other vegetables as a catch-crop as they are an ideal companion plant (they have few pests, are small and quickly harvested and moved out-of-the-way from the other crops. This saves space in the garden rather than dedicating one large patch to them that they do not need. The only plant I have heard of that disagrees with radishes is hyssop).

Daikon or Mooli radish are winter oilseed radishes from Asia. These are long, white radishes instead of the small red ones we are used to buying in our local supermarkets. These varieties are important parts of East, Southeast and South Asian cuisine that are steadily becoming more popular in England as we branch out on our exotic vegetables with funny names.

This year, I sowed my first lot of radishes in February under the cover of fleece. They were ready for picking by early April. Seed packets recommend sowing radishes from February to September, early and perhaps late sowings made under cover to optimise the health of the plant in case of frost damage preventing the growth.

The types I have grown recently are: ‘Cherry Bella’, ‘Esmerelda’ and ‘Polenza’. All of these have had the same taste, appearance and success in growing.

Plant radishes 1/2 inch deep, 2 inches apart. Keep them well watered and fed to get a great harvest. If you do not water them regularly, the roots you want to eat will split and if they are not fed very well, they will not grow to a reasonable size. They can be stored in the ground and picked and used fresh from the garden but the longer they are left, the ‘woodier’ the texture of their skin will be. If this happens, cut them very finely or peel them, otherwise experiment with cooking them in a dish.

Radish roots are most often used in salads though the tops can be eaten too. They can be sautéed as a side dish or thrown in a stir fry to wilt. They are also often included in soups. Raw radish has a peppery taste (caused by glucoseinolates and the enzyme myrosinase combining when chewed) and a crisp texture, adding flavor and seasoning to your salads. ‘Veg Patch’, ‘River Cottage’, suggests using the peppery radishes in a raita alongside a curry: slice 200g radishes into a bowl. Combine 100g goats cheese with 300g natural yoghurt, a little at a time. Fold in the radishes and a couple or tsp of mint, if you would like, and season with a little salt and pepper. Eat it alongside a curry or use as a dip for naan bread, poppadoms or chappatis.

Radishes are a good source of fibre, vitamins C and B6, folic acid, potassium, iron (not so much, but a little), calcium, magnesium, copper and riboflavin.