My radishes have gone over. Again.
This is a fairly common occurrence. I usually plant too many radishes at once and I rarely remember to plant in succession.
Invariably, when I want them they aren’t ready and once they’re ready I don’t want them.
And they don’t wait.
Radishes do everything at speed. They are quick to germinate, quick to grow, quick to mature. And ultimately, quick to send up flower stalks in their rush to produce seed.
The radish, once the flower stem starts to appear, is useless. The root becomes woody and unpleasant to eat.
I used to find this extremely frustrating: pulling out yet another whole row of bolted radishes with their annoyingly prickly stems.
And then one day, my perspective changed completely.
Trawling the Internet looking for something or other, I discovered an interesting fact. The developing seedpods of the radish plant are edible.
So, I left a row of bolting radishes to see what would happen.
They quickly produced small white or pale pink flowers which were very popular with visiting pollinators.
Before long, green pods started to appear behind the dying flowers.
What were once small radish plants, now boasted several flower-covered stems about two feet tall. The seed pods grew fast.
The first taste was something of a revelation. The little green pods have the classic radish flavour (with the hint of spice) but the texture is more like biting into a fresh French bean.
Since then, I willing let most of our radishes go to seed. They are prolific in their seed pod production and if you keep picking, they keep going for ages. The pods are best picked small as they become chewy quite quickly as the seeds develop.
Most of ours get eaten straight from the plant but we do add them to salads. I managed to pickle a jarful last year too.
This year, after learning that Clair always roasts radishes, I will be cooking some pods to see what they’re like. Apparently they are good in curries and stir-fries but can make a tasty side-dish on their own.
So if your radishes have bolted this year, maybe don’t rush to pull them out. Maybe let them do their thing and try radish seed pods. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Kirsty
– Having way too much fun!