Homeschool Garden Club - Radishes

radishes have gone out of favour with a lot of people because of their peppery flavour. I love them as lunchbox items as they don't need too much fuss and easy to pop in to the mouth and eat.

They are quick to grow and can be sown in a space that needs filling for a short while, until a later crop can go in.

We will be sowing a few this week, even though it is now autumn, the cool, most soil is ideal for a quick harvest.

Plant Your Radishes Outside

Radish prefer open sunny site - do not plant in a shady spot or all you will get is leaf.

1. Clear away any weeds and fork the area over.

2. You could add a little general purpose granular feed.

3. Firm the ground gently and make a line with your finger or dibber.

4. If your soil is a little dry, dribble some water from your watering can along the line and let the water soak in.

5. Sprinkle your seeds from your hand like we learnt in our garden lessons.

6. Cover over gently with the soil around the drill.

7. Then label the line.

8. cover the line with some newspaper if you have it. Take it off once the seeds start to germinate.

9. Keep watered and weeded. If you water well they don't become too peppery.

10. You can begin to harvest once the radishes are are 1 to 2cm they are small and better than then the bigger more woody ones. So don't leave then to get too big.

Radishes are one of slugs and snails favourites, so you need to pick over the area often to remove the weeds and remove any slugs and snails you find.

Finally, when you pick them they can be eaten after washing. Chop off the leafy bit at the top, and the roots off the bottom. Wash well, under the tap, until they are clean.

You can store them in the fridge until you need them by popping them into the fridge they will keep up to a week, but best eaten before then. If you have a glut then the Orchard Training Cookery Club has a very nice Caramelised Radish recipe to make with them as a vegetable dish for dinner, which once made - can be frozen.