Rat's Tail Podding Radish is a new one for me this gardening season, although I've always planted regular radishes in early spring.
These seeds, from the Hudson Valley Seed Library, grow plants that are about 4-5 feet tall and produce 1-6-inch pods streaked with purple, rather than the root crop of regular radishes. The pods add a snappy crunch to salads or a stir-fry, and make good pickles, too.
I've been enjoying the young pods tossed in salads, such as the one, above, which is a total garden salad: fresh young lettuce leaves, red cabbage, nasturtium leaves and petals, purple basil and even a yellow plum tomato that missed the blight!
The plants are handsome specimens, growing tall and stately with lovely purple and white flowers. I've left regular radish plants go to seed in the garden and they do produce seed pods, but they are not quite like these.
This plant is about as tall as I am, sending out its trademark, ratlike pods.
The plants are canoodling with the Dino Kale, which is also from HVSL. I love the pebbly look of these delicious kale leaves, which are also referred to as Italian kale. I should combine the two bedfellows in a recipe, seeing as they like each other so much.
Gardens are such inspiration, like a classroom on food. Some crops thrive, others fail, but it's all a learning experience.
I've had such fun with the art pack seeds from HVSL this season. The beautiful paper packets are made locally by Treeo Design in Gardiner, which makes an incredible array of other paper products. The seed library sponsors a contest each year for artists to submit designs to be featured on the art packs.
The design for the Rat's Tail Radish was created by Ayumi Horie. It's colorful and playful, casting a favorable light on the image of those tails on creatures despised by so many of us.
I hope to save some of the seeds to return to the library at the end of the season, which will be credit for new seeds for next year. What a great concept for local gardening.
Check them out for a little inspiration.
I grew up eating 'rat's tail radish' known as 'moongrir' amongst some South Asian communities. Every year my mother would grow some in the small garden. She used to do a Indian style curry with carrots and peas. I tried to grow them for the first time last year, they did not grow well in the garden plot and were too tough to consume. Yours do look much better though, I may try again next year.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting tale, Mango. They are an unusual type; I plan on saving some seed for next year.
ReplyDeleteThis is so new to me. I wonder if we have them at the markets in MN? What a sweet, funny post. All looks so summery and scrumptious.
ReplyDeleteI bet you could find some in your neck of the woods, Claudia. They are a fun veggie, with a funny name.
ReplyDeleteBarb,
ReplyDeletelove your blog. Getting ahead of things, with all the rain y'all have had, what is up with the apple season...esp Mcintosh?? We have great apples down here in Va, but as a former CT yankee coming up to visit my veggie girl in school this fall, I look foward to crisp October apples...any info would be great!!
What a neat plant to try next summer..with clear blue flowers too. I had planned to grow radishes just to let them go to seed, because the flowers look very much like phlox, which do poorly in DC. We grew the sweet, exotic looking Italian Kale last summer, to eat, and tobacco as a joke. The tobacco turned out to have exquisite pink flowers that last and last. Next summer I'm seeing blue rat tail radish beside the pink tobacco and the pinky white radish flowers.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping the plant will reseed for next season, Anon. I picked those flowers, as well as the ones from broccoli, to get me through the late season of fresh bouquets for the house. They are great plants.
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