Radishes

B00kemdano 4/5/2012, 1:47 pm

I've been looking forward to homemade cole slaw, and just can't wait for my garden anymore, so I bought veggies and made some cole slaw.

My radishes look pretty big, and some conflicting things that I've read indicated that they might be ready to harvest, so I picked a couple, intending to put them in my cole slaw.

Here's what they looked like:
Radishes Imag0112

I cleaned them up and sliced one for a taste, and it wasn't so great. It mostly tasted like dirt, and wasn't very zingy, like I like my radishes.

Can anyone tell me if they're not ready, over-ready, or just an oddball variety? It's from Burpee's Fordhook Collection, Cardinal Radish.

UnderTheBlackWalnut 4/5/2012, 2:24 pm

Wow - I'm impressed - Last year my radishes didn't bulb, hoping for better results this year... Smile

I hope others will have more to add. From what googled, there are several things that can affect the heat of a radish...variety (Cardinal says it's "mild pungency" on one website), size (picked when larger, they are spicier), outside temperatures (hotter temps mean hotter radishes).

B00kemdano 4/5/2012, 2:28 pm

UnderTheBlackWalnut wrote:...(picked when larger, they are spicier)...

I also read this. I'll leave the rest of them in a bit longer. Smile

This radish situation made me realize that I'm still a noobie flying by the seat of my pants. I haven't been keeping any kind of record of when I planted what, and, thus, when I should expect to harvest. Embarassed

I guess I'll just feel lucky if anything works out this year, and plan a little better next year. Very Happy

Too Tall Tomatoes 4/5/2012, 4:51 pm

If you think your radishes might not amount to anything, maybe you can salvage the greens. They might be tasty in a salad.

AvaDGardner 4/5/2012, 4:59 pm

LOL...I picked my icicle radishes a few days ago. Picked them all. 3 or 4 were almost ready (on the small size), and the rest were tiny (and mostly replanted).

We ate some of each. The baby ones were smokin' hot. The large ones were hot. (And I wanted icicles to be mild!).

Our weather's been on the cool side (65-75), a few days excepting.

Sounds like "mild pungency" isn't for you? Wanna trade seeds?

Lavender Debs 4/5/2012, 5:18 pm

AvaDGardner wrote: ...snip...Our weather's been on the cool side (65-75), a few days excepting.

Ha! In the PNW that would be really hot weather in April (75 would be smoken hot ...we would all be running to costco for a new AC). For us that is way too warm for good radishes.

Your cool side is our go swimming in the river weather. If it gets much above 55-60'ish it is too hot for radishes and spinach here.

Debs....trying to imagine a place where 75 is on the cool side. I bet early tomatoes would actually be early!?!

AvaDGardner 4/5/2012, 6:17 pm

Well, having grown up in the midwest and humidity, the feel of temps near the ocean is really different.

In the midwest, 60* is comfy, here you need a jacket (7 mi inland).

At 80* (here) the windows and doors are open, and the air begins to run lightly to stem the tide. In the midwest, you'd feel the pressure.

Hot (here) is 85+.

Smokin hot is 90+.

I'm surprised PNW is that different!

Daniel9999 4/5/2012, 8:36 pm

The Pacific Northwest can be way different sometimes....if you think the heat is funny you should see happens when we get snow some places here.

Portland, OR gets one inch of snow and the Oregon News stations carry on like its been hit by a blizzard of epic proportions....... Rolling Eyes

Lavender Debs 4/5/2012, 10:40 pm

Summer 2011 in the PNW .....you could count the number of days above room temp (68*F) without taking off your shoes (or at least your pretty wool socks). There is a reason we are famous for wearing wool socks, cargo shorts with long johns and a flannel shirt WITH sandals (In summer we add sunglasses)..... gotta be careful of hypothermia

Debs .....we are known for high-volume sales of sunglasses.....it's like torture when the clouds blow off.

JK 4/6/2012, 11:10 am

Ive read that radish greens can be used in salads but the greens on my radishes are incredibly spiky.

Picked a full colander worth of leaf lettuce, spinach, and beet greens yesterday. Went to get a few radishes to go with it and jerked my hand back cause I thought something had stung me... it was the radish greens! Is this common for radish or are mine just weird?

B00kemdano 4/6/2012, 4:01 pm

I picked up a packet of "German Giant" variety radishes today. I'll replant that square and see how these do.

Too Tall Tomatoes 4/6/2012, 11:32 pm

JK wrote:Ive read that radish greens can be used in salads but the greens on my radishes are incredibly spiky.

Picked a full colander worth of leaf lettuce, spinach, and beet greens yesterday. Went to get a few radishes to go with it and jerked my hand back cause I thought something had stung me... it was the radish greens! Is this common for radish or are mine just weird?

I never heard of spikey radish greens but apparently some varieties are like that. I just did an internet search and I was surprised.

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