Spice up a salad with radish; easy to grow in small spaces
Radishes adds texture and spice to any salad, are easy to grow and you can have a crop all summer from just a few pots outside or on a sunny windowsill. They are also a good way of introducing children to gardening. Just remember to keep them watered, as if they dry out they become hard, woody and inedible.
If you want to grow something a little different try growing mooli, this is a large white root which resembles a parsnip but tastes like a mild radish. As this is a large root it is not suitable for growing in pots unless they are at least 45cm (18”) deep and wide enough to accommodate several roots. It is a component of Asian food, being used either raw in salads or cooked in stir fries.
You will need:
- rake
- seed
- watering can with a fine rose
- label
- pot
- seed compost
- sieve
- tray or saucer which holds water to stand the pot in
The variety we have chosen is ‘French Breakfast’ a good reliable variety.
If sowing in the ground make a groove in the soil with the edge of the rake.
Sprinkle the seed thinly down the row.
Rake the soil to cover the seed.
Water in with a fine rose.
If growing in a pot: fill the pot with John Innes Seed compost to within 1cm of the rim.
Sprinkle the seed thinly over the top.
Sprinkle a thin layer of sieved compost over the top.
Stand in a container of water for 15 – 20 minutes until damp.
Remember to always keep damp.
They should be ready to harvest in approximately 4 weeks.
