Old Dog, New trick

Used Watermelon radishes to mark the carrot rows this year. Grew like gangbusters so I had a surplus to give away. Gave some to a church brother who really likes radishes.( I grow Icicles just for him) His mother-in law thought they were turnips and cooked them in the traditional southern style, boiled tops, with cut up roots. They went crazy over them shared the secret with others, now I am overwhelmed with requests. Guess I will have to plant a big patch this fall. I thought they pretty good raw as radishes go, but I would never have thought of cooking them like a turnip.

Goes to show you can teach an old dog new tricks! Congratulations Farmerdill! I'm trying to imagine what they would taste like.

Nice!

Farmerdill,
Is there an advantage to growing and using the radishes instead of turnips? Better tasting? Matures faster? Just curious.
Betty : )

They do mature faster. They taste slightly different cooked and of course a whole lot different raw. Raw, it is a little sweeter, but still has the bite of a European radish. Whether it is better than a turnip depends on ones taste buds. I have grown oriental radishes off and on for 60+ years but I will have say this is the best one that I tried.

Ive just been thinking about that book from the 70s - - - The One Straw Revolution. In fact I checked it out on Amazon.com where it is now selling for $75.00. I guess that makes it a very important book, if no one can afford it. This is a book about a city guy in japan who inherited an orchard on a steep mountainside and had no idea what to do with it. The One Straw Revolution is his description of what he came up with to manage his inheritance.

Anyhow, what i remember most about the book is the guy's use of radishes - diakon radishes to crack up hard soil so that it was fit to plant. Daikon radishes can grow to 2.5 ft and they are so persistent they can be used to crack up rocky soil. Radishes also are a gold mine of nutrients. I never heard of "watermelon radishes" though. What is the source of those, Farmerdill?

Evergreen seeds has vended them for several years. http://www.evergreenseeds.com/orientalradish.html I picked these up on a Burpee seed rack at Walmart. They are also known as Chinese Roseheart

Here's what radishes can do for you:

http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/us/en/nutrition/vegetables/524507922?remake

thanks for the info, Farmerdill. I will watch for those.

Ok. I found the "Watermelon Radish" also listed as "Beauty Heart" and "Chinese Red Meat". Now I can see where it got these names because the inside is bright red. I've read that it's best for fall planting. I'd like to give it a try as a fall crop.

Thanks for the info. I've been looking for a different radish to try -- other than the usual icicle and china rose.

it sounds like and in-side-out radish, red on the inside and white on the outside.

Cooked radishes are great. I tried a reciped a few years ago--very simple. Slice the radishes and sautee in butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until tender crisp but not crunchy. Nice side dish.

Farmer Dill: I pulled up one of my watermelon radishes that has been in the ground since February and it is no where near the size of yours. Should I just pull them up and thow them away because of the heat we have been having?

Don't know, They certainly should have sized up by now. Mine were planted in March. They take a bit of room, need to be six to 10 inches apart. Did you crowd them. Since I used them to mark carrot rows, they were about 18 - 24 inches apart. If they are big enough to use, try eating them. Unlike European radishes they don't usually get tough and pithy. The other option is to let a couple bolt and save seed for a fall crop. They really are better as a fall crop.

I definitely did crowd them. Just threw a handful of seeds into the garden. I will wait til fall.

Thanks

this may be the only way I'll appreciate radishes. thanks, FDill!

Holycow!..
Theres some huge radishes!...

Thanks for teh new "trick" Farmerdill!!... I liek radishes anyhow, so I may look for these to plant in teh fall! (I'll admit to being on teh squeamish side abotu cooking them ,tho...)

Nin

sliced and sauteed radishes in salt and butter are yum, delicious!

GGG

... ya sure GGG?
Can you sautee them with , say, olive oil and still have em be tasty? Im trying to cut my dairy out almost completely.

still cynical, but wavering-
Nin ;)

When radishes go to seed the bees love the blossoms and when the seed pods form they are good in salads and stir fry dishes. They taste just like the radishes. I let mine go to seed because the bees were having such a good time and then later just had too many things to do to bother pulling out the plants. When I tasted the pods I was pleasantly surprised. They are nice and tender when they are immature.