Radishes

Our garden is looking much better than when we first started. Our collards are chugging along, our lettuces are green, and our radishes are ready to pick! We decided to yank a handful out of the ground yesterday to see how they were doing.

They were just about perfect. They were a smaller variety than the average grocery store radish. We wiped of the dirt, bit into one, and it was absolutely delicious. No harsh "bite" like most of the radishes I've ever eaten. And at just over a month to grow, they were super quick too!

Rotten radishes

Another vegetable that's not doing so well--- first the beans, then the squash, and now the radishes. The tops have been yellowing, so I pulled a few up to see how they were doing. I think they've been in the soil so long they started to rot.

Why'd they fail? I think our soil compacted too much, and it's been way too hot here. We'll pull these ones up and plant a new batch elsewhere.

Radish seeds

Earlier this week I mentioned that I was expecting a few things in the mail, and I'd post about them when I got them. One of the three packages I was expecting came today.


We now have over 700 Cherry Belle radish seeds.

This is my first experience buying seeds from somewhere other than SeedSavers.org or Home Depot. They were pretty cheap ($1.49 and free shipping), and I got them on Ebay, so I'm definitely unsure about how this will turn out. I can't really plant them yet, because I think these radishes will be better of sown directly into the garden in Sarasota, but I did plant six to see what kind of a germination rate I'm working with.

The great thing about radishes is that they're so quick to mature. This particular variety should be ready to pick 21 days past planting. I don't know any other kind of vegetable that moves from seed packet to table that quickly.

Our hopes for these radishes? Maybe making some "potato" chips by slicing them thinly and baking, or putting them in salad.