Senga's Blog
Eco-chic Outdoor Living & Exterior Design
Feb. 17/2010 The Planning Stage: Easter Egg Radishes
Happy Easter - The Healthy Way 
The radish, often overlooked and underestimated – at least in my opinion. And it wasn’t until I did a little more research into the merits of the radish I realized the plethora of possibilities both taste and health wise. While my previous blog regarding the Heirloom Radish ‘Nero Rondo’ goes into greater detail the ‘skinny’ (it is perfect for those wishing to shed pounds) on this spring root vegetable is:
1) It is fast growing vegetable – catering to those who are convinced that they have a permanent ‘brown thumb’ as it would take a lot of effort to ‘screw this up.’ Plus this vegetable caters to the impatient as seed to harvest is less than a month.
2) Health Benefits: Tonics, Poultices and Detoxifier.
3) The wide range of colours and shapes including purple has a great visual appeal on a plate.
4) It does not require dedicated garden space. It can be grown and harvested amongst other vegetables that take longer to spread out and mature into its allocated space.
5) It is a great way to introduce young children with nature. Growing, and producing foods they can eat is the perfect way to engage children in nature. Catch them while they are young and you will cultivate a future generation will be less inclined to worry about the latest ‘x-box’ and more engaged and concerned with their environment.
Easter Egg Radishes Information You Need to Know
Botanical name: Raphanus sativus ‘Easter Egg II Blend’
Other Names: Easter Eggs
Country of Origin: Varies
History: This is a blend of different cultivars to produce a branded name of sorts – offering a colourful and funky alternative to the mainstream red radish.
Description: A blend of all radish colours and shapes – red, white and purple with white insides
Best harvested: Harvest while still young and you can pick 2-3 times a week, they do not have long shelf life and become seedy if harvested late
Time to Plant: Cool season: March 15th – April 30th and again August 15th – September 15th (Hint sow minimum: 4 weeks before last spring frost and 6 weeks before first fall frost and avoid sowing or growing plants in summer heat)
Where to Sow and Grow: Outdoors in cool weather and ample moisture, Semi Shade, 10mm deep x 30mm apart.
Maturity: 28 Days
Taste: Mild flavour
Place in the Square Foot Garden: On my edible green roof I will interplant plant this crop with slower growing vegetables such as my Heirloom Tomato ‘Black Krim’ or Heirloom Egglant ‘Rosa Bianca.’ This vegetable can be tucked into any spare spot of soil.
