The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
When easy-to-grow vegetables aren’t
This year, for the first time ever, I planted radishes. There were two reasons for this. First, early on in our relationship about eight years ago, my husband told me that he likes radishes — the crunch they provide in salads along with that spicy pop of flavor. Now finally seemed like a good time!
Second, my understanding was that radishes are super easy to grow. Since these crispy, bright red roots are on every list I’ve seen of the best veggies to plant with young children, that second reason is perfectly understandable, yes? So, I’ll tell you what happened.
About a week ago, I went out of town to visit family. Before I left, I made sure to let my husband know that the radishes should be ready to start harvesting while
I was away. When I returned, I found no radishes had been pulled. I was also surprised to discover that some of the plants were now a foot or more tall, which is not usual. I immediately pulled up a few of the tallest plants and found that the roots — while displaying that signature “radish red” — were not the expected, round, radish shape at all, but just slightly bulgy, elongated hints at what they might have been.
What had gone wrong with this “super easy” vegetable? My first thought was that there is probably too much nitrogen in the soil. Nitrogen encourages leaf growth, which is perfect for leaf-dominant things like lettuce and corn but not for root crops. I had planted the seeds in one of the new raised beds, full of fresh potting soil and nutrients. Huge rookie mistake on my part.
But when I went digging for answers, I discovered that there’s another cause that may be at work, and that’s spacing. I thought that I’d allowed at least two inches between seeds, but in reality some of the spacing was closer than that. I remembered that I had planned to thin the plants once they germinated but I’d been distracted by an onslaught of other pressing things and didn’t get back to the radishes until weeks after I should have taken care of that little — and I do mean little — task.
I learned that here’s a third possibility to explain the poor root growth, and that’s pH. From what I read in searching for information on the internet, radishes are okay in neutral soil (pH of 6.5 to 7.5) but might do better in soil that is slightly acidic, i.e., a pH of around 6.
I’m pretty sure that too much nitrogen is the culprit in this case, possibly compounded by the other two factors.
Overall, this just goes to show that even for “easy” vegetables, it pays to read about and understand the specifics of how to grow them, and shows that even a seasoned gardener can make mistakes. Plus, mistakes can lead to unexpected outcomes. In this case, I learned that “Used raw, radish greens make a peppy pesto, a flavorful swap for lettuce in sandwiches, and a great addition to the salad bowl. Radish greens also make a quick and easy side dish when sautéed with garlic and oil.” Something new to try. (https://foodprint. org/blog/how-to-use-radishgreens-and-daikon-greens/)
Pam Baxter is an avid organic vegetable gardener who lives