Radiant Radishes

UPDATE: We have radishes! It is day 36 and this is the first radish that is ready. All the others that I planted in the first round are still quite a bit smaller. I will leave them in the soil for another week or two due to the cold, rainy weather conditions because there is still a lot of rain in our 7-day forecast and they are in need of a bit of sunny weather to grow to their potential.

As for Round 2, you can see in the above picture that I left the remaining seeds in a not-so-waterproof container and the seeds started sprouting inside the packet. The conditions in the tub were wet and had a greenhouse effect on the temperature where they were stored. So I separated them the best I could and planted them in a bit of a clump (not ideal) to try to give them a chance. It's definitely time to thin the seedlings out now to get the most yield out of all those prematurely sprouted seeds.

White Icicle Radish...I was given these beauties, so decided to research the seeds a bit and try planting them in my late winter/early spring garden. The weather has been cooler and rainy-er than it was last year so my garden is off to a slow start this new year.

In researching radishes, I found many many varieties of radishes as you have probably imagined. For white radishes, Daikons seemed to be the prevalent variety and are very popular in Asian cuisine. But to answer your next question...no, White Icicle radishes only bare a superficial resemblance to Daikons, and are quite distinctly different. Both are the same species, but Daikons were developed in East Asia (Japan, Korea, China) while White Icicle is a European type.

White Icicle radish is a cool-weather crop, but can tolerate warmer temperatures than other radishes. They are typically harvested as short-maturation crops as well - 20 to 35 days (Daikons are 70-80 days), and at that time ought to be 3" to 5" long or so. Radishes left for longer periods, given good conditions, will grow much larger, but often at the expense of flavor (they get hotter and earthier) or texture (they get woody, starchy, or pithy, or develop a hollow core). The seed package suggests waiting a week or two between seed plantings so that you can sow your radishes continually from spring to mid-summer. When do you plan to plant your White Icicles?

I planted a line of radish seeds (in front of the sugar snap pea starters) that just broke ground a week or so ago. It will be important to thin the sprouts out leaving 2 inches of space between plants. "Leaving enough space between radish plants will encourage root development, as radishes that are grown too close together may only develop their leafy tops and very little edible root." https://homeguides.sfgate.com/white-icicle-radish-seeds

Try this Quick Pickled Carrots and Daikon (Radish) recipe...I plan to but with White Icicle Radishes! Let us know how they turn out for you. https://thekitchengirl.com/quick-pickled-carrots-and-daikon

QUICK PICKLED CARROTS & RADISH

Step 1. Julienne carrots and radish into match sticks

Step 2. Place into sterilized pint-sized mason jars

Step 3. Boil vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pour over veggies in jars

Step 4. Allow to cool for a bit and serve immediately

Step 5. Cover remaining veggies with lid and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks

• 1 cup Carrots (julienne cut)

• 1 cup White Icicle Radish (julienne cut)

• 1/2 cup White Vinegar

• 1/2 cup Rice Vinegar

• 1 cup Water

• 1/4 cup Sugar

• 1 tsp Kosher Salt

What to LOVE about Quick Pickled Carrots and Radish…or quick pickled anything:

• The finished product is in your hands in under 30 minutes, and becomes even more awesome with some quality time in the fridge.

• No need to use a hot water canning method…just whip these up anytime you need them.

Happy healthy eating and continued good growing!

#radish #veggiemagic #superfood #gardentherapy #communitygardens #beginninggardeners #quickpickled #gardennerds