I bought a packet of rat-tail radish seeds. How big do the plants get? Do
I plant them the same time as early spring radishes, or wait until the
ground is warmer and little chance of frost?

Thanks, regards,
Bob

zxcvbob wrote:

I bought a packet of rat-tail radish seeds. How big do the plants get? Do
I plant them the same time as early spring radishes, or wait until the
ground is warmer and little chance of frost?

Thanks, regards,
Bob

We've grown them for a few years. The plants get pretty big, at least
a metre tall. Not sure how early they could be planted, we've always
waited 'till after the last average frost date, end of May here.
Harvested when immature, the seed pods are great in stir fry dishes,
left too long they're ... tough.
Ross,
Ontario, Canada.
New AgCanada Zone 5b
43º19' North
80º16' West

Ross Reid wrote:
zxcvbob wrote:


I bought a packet of rat-tail radish seeds. How big do the plants get? Do
I plant them the same time as early spring radishes, or wait until the
ground is warmer and little chance of frost?

Thanks, regards,
Bob


We've grown them for a few years. The plants get pretty big, at least
a metre tall. Not sure how early they could be planted, we've always
waited 'till after the last average frost date, end of May here.
Harvested when immature, the seed pods are great in stir fry dishes,
left too long they're ... tough.
Ross,
Ontario, Canada.
New AgCanada Zone 5b
43º19' North
80º16' West


Thanks Ross,
Do they spread very much, or grow straight up? I guess what I'm really
asking is how much room to give each plant. The seeds came without any
cultivation instructions.

-Bob (44º02' North)

Hello,

We have grown these for the last 4 years and aquired them through
Pine Tree. We direct sow Aprilish in a prepared bed (double dug/aged
horse manure) giving a 9" spacing. They have grown 36" - 42" tall and
are "bushy" the top half of the plant. Our bees really enjoy them and
at the farmers market they sell very well for Asian cooking. I like
to just eat them. If you pick them young (depends on variety) they
are fun to toss on salads or to pickle with hot peppers (I like the
Jamacian Mushroom or as they are called in our house "ouchie mama's").

They seem to thrive in clay soil that is low in organic matter as well.
The seeds seem to be very easily saved from year to year.

We like them and I hope you do also!

Sharon
zone 6ish

zxcvbob wrote:
I bought a packet of rat-tail radish seeds. How big do the plants get?
Do I plant them the same time as early spring radishes, or wait until
the ground is warmer and little chance of frost?

Thanks, regards,
Bob

zxcvbob wrote:

Ross Reid wrote:
zxcvbob wrote:


I bought a packet of rat-tail radish seeds. How big do the plants get? Do
I plant them the same time as early spring radishes, or wait until the
ground is warmer and little chance of frost?

Thanks, regards,
Bob


We've grown them for a few years. The plants get pretty big, at least
a metre tall. Not sure how early they could be planted, we've always
waited 'till after the last average frost date, end of May here.
Harvested when immature, the seed pods are great in stir fry dishes,
left too long they're ... tough.
Ross,
Ontario, Canada.
New AgCanada Zone 5b
43º19' North
80º16' West


Thanks Ross,
Do they spread very much, or grow straight up? I guess what I'm really
asking is how much room to give each plant. The seeds came without any
cultivation instructions.

-Bob (44º02' North)

They seem to spread quite a bit. Not like a single stalk growing
straight up, more like a bushy shrub. Just checked with the boss and
she says she plants them about 12 inches apart and they have no
problem filling in the spaces between.
They will produce a lot of seed pods. Make sure you keep them picked
and they will continue to produce. Also, pick the pods when they are
relatively young and tender. The tend to toughen as they age.
We originally bought the seed from PineTree in 1999 or 2000 and have
saved some of our own seeds since then.
Ross,
Ontario, Canada.
New AgCanada Zone 5b
43º19' North
80º16' West