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Beo
06-11-2008, 09:50 AM
I love these veggies, does anyone else include them in there gardens or as a food source. I tote them into the woods and put them in my infamous wilderness stew and use them as a trail snack with my parched corn.
The radish (Raphanus sativus) is an edible root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family that was domesticated in Europe in pre-Roman times. They are grown and consumed throughout the world. Radishes have numerous varieties, varying in size, color and duration of required cultivation time. There are some radishes that are grown for their seeds; oilseed radishes are grown, as the name implies, for oil production.
Radishes are rich in ascorbic acid, folic acid, and potassium. They are a good source of vitamin B6, riboflavin, magnesium, copper, and calcium. One cup of sliced red radish bulbs provides approximately 20 Calories or less, coming largely from carbohydrates, making radishes, relative to their size, a very filling food for their caloric value.

The Radish is a cool-season crop which grows best in spring and fall. It requires 3 to 6 weeks from seeding to harvest.
Soils - Because radish grows so rapidly, a rich, fertile soil is essential. For an early crop, sandy or sandy-loam soils are preferred. The soil should be free of stones, clods, lumps, and undecayed organic matter. Thorough seedbed preparation is essential to insure uniform depth of planting.
Fertilization - Follow soil test recommendations. A general recommendation would be to broadcast 50 lb of nitrogen (N), 100 lb phosphorous (P2O5) and 100 lb potassium (K2O) per acre before planting. If radishes follow a heavily fertilized crop, the amount of fertilizer is reduced.
To be mild, tender, and attractive, the radishes must be grown rapidly. Slow growth or checked growth results in roots that are tough, woody, pithy, and pungent.
Some of our North Carolina soils are low in boron and result in radishes that have dark spots on and in the root. On such soils, 2 lb of of actual boron per acre should be added to fertilizer before the fertilizer is applied.
Varieties - The most popular varieties are those that have bright red or red and white round roots, such as Cherry Belle, Early Scarlet Globe, Champion, Comet, Cherry Beauty, Red Boy, and Sparkler White Tip. White Icicle is the most popular long-rooted spring type. The winter varieties are long and larger rooted, requiring about twice the growing time as the spring varieties. The winter varieties - April Cross, Everest, Omny, Long Black Spanish, and Round Black Spanish - are usually grown as a fall crop for winter storage.
Planting - Radish will withstand rather cool weather. It can be planted in the early spring and throughout the summer in the mountains. In the Coastal Plain, radish can be planted from February to mid May and August to October. Drill the seed 1/2 inch deep in rows 6 to 9 inches apart. With 18 plants per ft in rows 9 inches apart, it will take 20-25 lb of seed per acre. For commercial plantings, it is best to get graded seed to ensure uniform emergence and growth. Larger seeds germinate first and result in earlier marketable roots. The larger winter varieties are spaced 2 to 4 inches apart in the row.
Some small growers are still bunching radish for sale. The radishes are pulled and banded in the field. About 8 to 12 roots are put in one bunch. The bunch should be firmly tied with tape, string, twist-ties, or rubber bands. Bunched radishes are promptly removed from the field, washed thoroughly, packed in cartons, baskets, crates or hampers, and iced for market.
The ideal size for radish roots is 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches in diameter. The quick-maturing spring varieties become pithy and pungent if they are not harvested as soon as they reach edible size. A good yield of bunched radish is 2,500 dozen bunches per acre (about 25 bunches per 30 ft of row). A good yield of film packed radishes (8 oz. bags) is about 15 to 20 bags per 30 ft of row.
It is an excellent remedy for thinning mucous, clearing sinuses, blocked nose, mucous related migraine etc. Raw radish can be grated or chopped and chewed. It also helps to reduce gas formation and indigestion. Some people have a low level of stomach acids and get flatulence on consuming non-vegetarian foods. Radish helps prevent such indigestion. It also helps reduce phlegm and corrects sore throat due to phlegm. Radish has a cooling thermal nature. In the summer season, some people exhibit heat signs like nosebleeds or headache or skin rash. Radish juice helps to correct such disorders. Its juice helps in detoxification and cleanses the body. If you want its mucous reducing benefits you can eat 2-3 radish daily, either grated or chopped. You can even extract its juice. But this tends to be very pungent.

crashdive123
06-11-2008, 10:42 AM
Yep - love radishes.

Rick
06-11-2008, 10:49 AM
You bet. I've pulled most of them already. Only a few left in the ground. I'm ready to start round two!

skunkkiller
07-08-2008, 09:26 PM
rick plant row one again.

Rick
07-09-2008, 07:52 AM
Another option to radishes is nasturtium flowers. They taste like radishes to me. Plus, they have this really spicey burst of hot that goes away just as quickly and the stamen is sweet as sugar. Weird flavors to be wrapped up in one plant.

trax
07-09-2008, 11:26 AM
I also seem to recall that they were one of "Animal's" favorite foods (of Muppet fame, or maybe it was Sweetums's anyway...) so how can you go wrong? Love radishes

Gray Wolf
07-09-2008, 08:44 PM
Radishes are great, I snack on them instead of junk food.

Rokas
07-10-2008, 04:38 AM
Well the simplest dish with radishes is black bread with butter and on top of them sliced radishes with a little bit of salt! jum! But I don't think that in USA or Canada are dark bread.. so try with white..

Gray Wolf
07-10-2008, 08:14 AM
But I don't think that in USA or Canada are dark bread.. so try with white..

Almost every bakery or large grocery store, that bakes it's own breads, besides for the pre-packaged breads has black breads. Actually Peppridge Farms packaged breads even has black breads. Either German black bread or Pumpernickel. I love Black bread with cream cheese!

Rokas
07-10-2008, 09:51 AM
Almost every bakery or large grocery store, that bakes it's own breads, besides for the pre-packaged breads has black breads. Actually Peppridge Farms packaged breads even has black breads. Either German black bread or Pumpernickel. I love Black bread with cream cheese!

Me 2 :D And it's not bad with honey! mmm...