Burpee Watermelon Radish

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We are beginning to harvest the first of the Burpee watermelon radish. This is an heirloom variety that takes about 35 days to produce 3 inch roots. My daughter and I took the first one out of the garden today. It has a dark pink hue towards the top of the root along with a silky white base. The flavor of the watermelon radish lacks the bite of the traditional red radish but still holds some zing.

An interesting little trick is to sew your radish seeds with your carrots. The radish arrive much earlier and when harvested provide much needed space for you carrots thus doubling up on your garden space.

Radishes are well known to be high in Vitamin C and calcium, especially the greens. They are credited with assisting in digestion and being a member of the brassica vegetable group, which also includes cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli, are believed to help protect against certain type of cancers.

Tobias Whitaker blogs for Mother Earth News and Grit Magazine. Click on the Mother Earth News logo at the bottom of the page for all of his post. You can also find him on Facebook at Seed To Harvest: Bossy Hen Homestead  https://www.facebook.com/seedtoharvestbossyhenhomestead/ which is a central location for his homesteading blogs and his homeschooling blog, A Mile In Her Shoes: Tales Of A Stay-At Home Dad found here https://amileinhershoestalesofastayathomedad.wordpress.com/