first radish of the season

I'm a bit late in posting this. i pulled my first radish and picked my first peas of the season last weekend. The radish a nice little French Breakfast radish. Very crispy and mild. Yummy!

today's harvest

That's a Black Spanish winter radish.

cheers to the harvest - winter radish martinis

My first homegrown winter radish!

These are a special group of radish that need to be grown while day length is shrinking. They should be planted in late summer to mature about 2 weeks after the first frost. I pulled a few of mine a little early, but more are still in the ground. I planted these when my popcorn started to tassel - around the 25th of July.

The mix I have is from Sand Hill Preservation Center and includes three types: China Rose, China White and Round Black Spanish. The Round Black Spanish is very wonderfully black and round. It keeps solid as a baseball until April - even after slicing. I bought some from the supermarket last year, and this was very true. The Sand Hill catalog says, "Vegetables of this type were essential and popular 100 years ago. Today's instant gratification society and modern shipping methods have replaced this wonderful type of radish."

The flavor is very much like a spring radish. Spicy and crisp. Refreshing whiteness in a martini! We added dried cranberries and papaya for a spicy/sweet and colorful drink.

Cheers to the harvest! The land has been good to us again.

mishapen radish

Last year I gad such beautiful radish. This year I over did it with the manure and have lots of funky root vegetables.

radish martini !!

I am hosting a CSA distribution site this summer for Picadilly Farm. The first distribution was this week. They have beautiful vegetables! Lettuce, spinach, hakuri turnips, arugula and beautiful spicy radishes. Definitely worth toasting to!



Topic: martini!

the year of the radish

I picked Raphanus sativus, the lowly radish, as my best crop of 2008. And I made a Year of the Radish award button to add to my sidebar. Congratulations to the Radish!!!





Radish: Well, this has to be my crop of the year. Mainly because I have tried and tried to grow radish for many many years. I'd get plants with skinny little roots, lots of root worms. Not this year. I had radish all season long. Big ones and little ones, red ones and whites and pink ones. It was ones of my first and my last crops. I still have a dozen in my fridge - the only vegetable left from my garden. I think the difference this year was growing them in the full sunlight of my new community garden plot. I have to conclude that radish need more sun than my side yard has. Too bad there's not much you can do with radish - but I still think they are great in a martini! Next year I am looking forward to more Easter egg radish and trying some French breakfast and Misato rose radish.

radish (Raphanus sativus)

radish taste test

I have three types of radish in my fridge now, so we did a side-by-side taste test. From left: my home-grown salad radish (var. Easter egg mix), Daikon radish (CSA grown) and the pink is also CSA grown - a winter radish called Misato rose. The lower photos are both the winter rose radish.

Winter radish are larger and slower growing than the standard salad varieties. And they keep longer.

Our taste test results: they all taste like .... well, radish.

The salad radish has the sharpest flavor, Daikon a bit milder and Misato rose the mildest. Misato rose is also the most crisp, Daikon a bit less so and salad radish the least crisp. (Of course, the salad radish here is an end-of-the-year, two-week-in-the-fridge one. I bet a freshly pulled spring radish would compare better.)

I would like to try to grow a few winter radish next year in my garden. I tried a round black winter radish from the super market last year. Very nice. I was not successful in getting any seeds of this variety to sprout, but will try again. I'll try Misato rose and black round winter radish. Just a few of each for salads and martinis.

The Daikon is very nice, but its a bit scary to have so much radish in one place. Too big. I'll skip this one.

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)

radish (Raphanus sativus)

today's harvest

When I harvest now, I need to reach down under the thick salt hay cover. The best crops I have still growing are arugula, escarole, kale and radish. Not many beets left and the lettuce has been killed by the cold. I harvested as much as I think we can eat as cold weather is coming.

radish (Raphanus sativus)

radish - easter egg mix

Here's one of my favorite varieties of vegetables this year! Nicely shaped, beautiful colors, mild flavor, crisp texture. Yummy!

radish (Raphanus sativus)

round black Spanish radish

Last year I bought some radish seeds called a round black Spanish. Well, they didn't even sprout for me, but I'll try again this year and give them more sun. In the mean time, I was surprised to come across the same radish in my local supermarket. It was grown in Vermont.

It turns out that the round black Spanish radish is a nearly forgotten vegetable. It is quite bitter when eaten fresh, but is a good keeper and mellows with time. I was a bit hesitant to try it, but I found it delicious! A nice sweet taste and definitely lots of radish flavor.

I'm finding these days that my tastes have become quite seasonal. I like the taste of summer vegetables in the summer and winter vegetables in the winter. The round black Spanish radish is a nice winter vegetable - perfect for this time of year. I put it on a green salad with apples and onions. Also, not bad in a martini, though this may be an acquired taste. I like the icy white look of the rolled radish and cocktail onions.

Topic: martini!

radish (Raphanus sativus)