The Cherry Belle

Cherry Belle Radish (From our Garden!)

Easter Egg Mix (Johnny's Seeds)

Why we LOVE radishes:
     Pictured to the left is the Cherry Belle Radish, bright red flesh on the outside, tender peppery white flesh on the inside.  This radish is exactly what most people think of when they think of radishes. 
       Radishes are wonderful little veggie plants.  They come in many shapes, sizes, and colors.  (Pictured on the left you can see two other varieties that we are growing on the farm).  Radishes I recently discovered are not only awesome fresh but when they are are roasted, boiled, or sauteed, they take on a milder flavor profile much like a turnip.  Radishes are also awesome pickled as well.
     Not only are radishes a delightful addition to meals, they also have many other uses.  Since it only takes a radish about 25 days to harvest,  they are"quick crops" and can be planted in between rows of other crops without overcrowding and actually providing several benefits to the plants that it is planted near making radishes good companions to for most plants.  One way they can be beneficial is as a method of weed suppression, using its foliage blocks out sunlight to weeds that may want to come up.  Another benefit is that they can be used as a 'trap crop' as a method of natural insect control.  For instance flea beetles really like the foliage of the radish plant and the cool thing about radishes is that leaf damage doesn't really hurt the production of the part of the radish that we eat. 

Watermelon Radish (Johnny's Seeds)

      Last week we planted our eggplants and when we checked on them a few days later we noticed a small flea beetle outbreak.  We are using a variety of methods to helps save them including hand squishing, Neem oil/hot pepper juice spray (thanks Austin!), and also planting a trap crop of radishes down the center of the bed hoping that we will be able to save them. 
     So when you are enjoying your radishes this spring and summer make sure to not only give thanks for your happy tummy but also for all the wonderful ways it benefits the garden.