In a list of America’s favorite vegetables, potatoes, corn and carrots are on top, and radishes are No. 46, just behind lima beans. Yet we have become accustomed to seeing one-inch pinkish-red ball-shaped radishes in grocery stores. We can all describe radishes.
But wait! Some markets offer radishes of a similar color pattern but two inches or so long called French Breakfast Radish because Parisians munch radishes with croissants and coffee to start the day.
Gardeners who study seed catalogs, however, learn quickly radishes come in a plentitude of colors, shapes and sizes – not just small and red, pink, purple and white but also green, yellow, black and enormous. One increasing in popularity is an Asian variety called a Watermelon Radish because it has green skin with a red center.
A bit of history
Radishes belong to the mustard or brassica family along with cabbage, broccoli, arugula, kohlrabi, cauliflower, kale and others. Though radishes are grown worldwide, scientists have deduced they must have originated in southeast Asia because that is the only region where truly wild varieties are naturalized.
Cultivation of radishes began almost 5000 years ago. They are mentioned in records as early as the 3rd century BC, and early Greek and Roman writings even mention the variety and variations of pungency. Gold radishes, replicas of radishes made of gold, along with silver beets and lead turnips, were prepared as offerings to the god Apollo. Historians claim laborers who built the pyramids in Egypt were paid with onions, garlic and radishes. Egyptians used radish oil before olive oil was even discovered.
A mid-16th century German botanist wrote of a radish weighing 100 pounds and being three feet in length. Not long after that radishes made it to North America with early Massachusetts settlers.
In Oaxaca, Mexico, radishes are celebrated. For more than 300 years, on December 23 locals observe the Night of the Radishes, a festival where they carve elaborate designs and scenes in oversized radishes. It’s a serious competition. The original idea was to attract customers to farmers’ markets, and now thousands of visitors stand in line for a chance to see radish sculptures. The city dedicates farmland for growing radishes specifically for the competition.
Easy to grow
Radishes are popular with kindergarten gardens because with adequate care, seeds sprout in less than a week and root mature in about a month. Cherry Belle, commonly sold in supermarkets, is a small red variety that matures in only three weeks, and de 18 Jours is a French variety, maturing in 18 days.
Most varieties prefer cooler weather, so they can be one of the first vegetables planted when weather breaks in spring, but there are many winter varieties which take longer to mature and should be planted in late summer.
Unless a gardener wants dozens of radishes at one time, a clever strategy would be to plant a few seeds at a time every week or so during spring in different spots in the garden. One trick is to plant a few radish seeds along with carrot seeds, which take longer to sprout. By the time carrots are popping through, radishes are almost done and have marked the carrot row.
By the end of May in warm climates such as our corner of Arkansas, it might be too hot already for spring varieties. The plant will suddenly shoot up a stalk that might reach three feet high if you let it, and the flowers turn into seed pods which are edible up to a point. There is a variety called Rat’s Tail Radish grown for the seedpods and used in stir fries and pickles.
According to Getting the Most from Your Garden in Organic Gardening, “Radishes repel cucumber beetles from cucumbers, act as a trap crop for root maggots, and are good companions for beans (bush and pole), kohlrabi, lettuce and peas.” The same source also mentions hyssop and radishes do not get along, but who grows hyssop? What does one do with hyssop?
Cute as a button and good for you
Radishes are a good source of vitamin C, which rejuvenates the immune system, and they contain moderate amounts of magnesium, calcium, folic acid and vitamin B6. Leaves are edible and nutritious, though tough and fibrous. The organicfacts.net site lists 19 health benefits of radishes that make a person want to eat some now: “Radishes are very good for the liver and stomach, and they act as a powerful detoxifier. They purify the blood and eliminate toxins and waste. Radishes also reduce the destruction of red blood cells that occurs in people suffering from jaundice by increasing the supply of fresh oxygen to the blood.”
The site goes on to state because radishes contain roughage, they aid in digestion. Juice from radishes act as a vulnerary for the kidneys and urinary system. They are filling but low in calories which means a person concerned about weight might eat less if radishes are part of the diet.
Since radishes are rich in anthocyanins, vitamin C and folic acid, they contribute to treating cancers of the colon, kidney and stomach. Like other brassicas, “radishes have a major impact on the genetic pathways of cancerous cells. They alter the pathways so much that they can cause apoptosis (cell death) thereby eliminating cancerous cells from reproducing.”
Because of its potassium content, radishes can reduce blood pressure, radish juice rubbed on an insect bite or bee sting will reduce swelling and pain, and radishes are particularly effective at protecting the liver and gall bladder.
Varieties and uses
Long cylindrical radishes were the predominant choice until the mid-20th century when small ball varieties took over in our continent. Even 30 years ago, seed catalogs in the United States offered few choices other than red, white or pink small balls or slender carrot-shaped varieties.
But word got out about radishes. The Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog features 43 varieties of radishes originating from Italy, Sicily, China, Japan, Taiwan, India, France, Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic as well as the good old USA. There are round ones that are green inside and out, others completely pink and high in antioxidants, and white ones for growing in cold frames.
Some are cylindrical, both tapered or blunt-nosed, and of many colors. Pusa Jamuni from India is a purple winter variety that can also withstand heat. Opolanka from Poland starts dark red at the top and fades toward white. Others are entirely white, and some have black skin. Violet de Gournay is an exotic winter variety from France that can be traced to the mid-1800s and has deep violet skin with white flesh. It reaches ten inches in length.
Asian varieties include Chinese Green Luobo from northern China which is rather large like the more famous daikon radishes from Japan which are white, mild-tasting and as long as 24 inches. Full Red Radishes from India, according to the Baker Creek catalog, “tolerate extreme heat and will grow to be absolutely massive without compromising quality. We grew this radish in Missouri summer and found it to be an extremely reliable crop.”
The winner for biggest radish is easily Sakurajima Giant from southern Japan, which routinely grows to 15 pounds but can balloon up to 100 pounds in one season.
What to do with your radishes
There are as many uses for radishes as there are cultures that grow them. In Japan they are pickled, shredded and dried, or grated and mixed with soy sauce and citrus juice. In China, folks make daikon cake or add radishes to soups. Sweet and sour carrot and daikon is a common condiment in Vietnam. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, the young leaves are added to spicy fish dishes, and other regional recipes abound throughout Asia and the Mideast.
If you pickle radishes, they taste like kim chi. You can roast them and their pungency will abate, or slice them up and mix them with risotto. You can dice them and put them on a taco, or, don’t forget, you can eat them raw with your lunchtime sandwich.
University of Arkansas Research Assistant Professor Trenton Roberts studied the use of daikon radishes as tillage radishes, which means planting them in a field in late summer so they mature over the following months leaving cavities in the soil as they die and disappear. This process makes it easier for the crops that follow to send roots deeper into the soil.
There are hundreds of varieties of radishes around the globe, and they comprise two percent of the total global vegetable production. An interesting perspective came from the Radish Facts website which stated, “The annual amount of radishes sold in the UK equals the weight of 40 blue whales.” Who knew! And they are probably more nutritious.
So . . .
Radishes are an ideal crop for a home gardener with limited space or lots of space. They are nutritious and colorful with a proud history, and the radish department in the grocery store is usually not crowded. Respect the humble radish. As E.B. White wrote, “Our garden is coming along well, with radishes and beans up, and we are less worried about revolution than we used to be.”