Posted by admin on April 16, 2009
Growing Cherry Bell Radishes is almost as fun as you can have vegetable gardening. This is a pretty standard radish, similar to Sparkler. This radish is disease resistant, fast growing, and prolific. I like that any bugs that get on leaves generally do not bother the radish itself. Many people choose not to eat radishes from the store since they are a root vegetable, so often higher in pesticides. But, at home these can easily be grown organically with an organic fertilizer
in the ground or in a pot. The roots do not generally go deeper than 4 - 5 inches, so if using a pot, it does not need to be too deep. In fact, if using a large pot, some plastic bottles or old containers from your recycling bin can be used in the bottom of the pot before adding soil to help save on the amount of potting soil you will need.
When potting, I would recommend using potting soil for sure, since it is lighter and better drained than many other kinds of topsoil. Here is a sample of a good potting soil.
When planting, I place seeds about 2 inches apart. For sure I recommend not putting more than one seed together, since as the radishes grow, they can compete and deliver a smaller radish vegetable. The space allotted for each plant is important. It is generally not a good idea to plan to thin plants later since radishes grow fast. Also, since the germination rate of radishes is generally high, and the germination speed fast, they deliver radishes fairly fast from seed to production.
Cherry Bell Radishes generally germinate within less than a week. You can usually harvest them within less than a month. If you want to make them larger by using more organic fertilizer and waterings, they may take a bit longer to mature. The longer one waits to harvest them, the slightly tougher they can get. There is a certain point where they are full size, and if not harvested, they may split and go to seed.
Planting Cherry Bell Radishes, I lay the seeds on the soil and sprinkle a centimeter to half inch of soil on top. If sprinkling a centimeter, then as the radishes mature, the red color of the radish can be seen above ground partially. If planted an inch in depth, the red on the radish cannot usually be seen from above ground. When harvesting radishes, I would recommend pulling off any soil and putting that back in the hole. After that I would recommend cutting off the tiny root at the bottom as well as leaves at the top and composting them.
To wash radishes before eating, they can be put in a strainer, or a handful rubbed/rolled together between the hands under water. Radishes can be used in salads, dishes, and eaten on their own. The photos below show radishes growing in a pot, and one radish pulled out of the soil. Purchase 600 Radish Cherry Bell Seeds from Amazon.com.
Growing Cherry Bell Radishes in a Pot
Radish
Posted by admin on
Romaine Lettuce ‘Parris Island’ has been quite the performer so far. I would recommend starting out this lettuce from seed. We found that given good spacing between plants, at least 6 inches, this romaine lettuce produces and produces. Either it can be cut about an inch from where each of the leaves grows, to wait for all new leaves to grow, or better it can be picked from the outside in.
Always leave at least ten leaves in the inside to give the plant strength and photosynthesis. The outer larger leaves can be picked for a nice salad. We would recommend growing lettuce staggered, meaning starting new lettuce from seed every month. This ensures that as any heads of lettuce no longer perform, others are coming in. Romaine Lettuce ‘Parris Island’ matures in about 70 days, and likes well drained soil. I fertilize with an organic fertilizer
every month, and mix compost and aged manure into the soil. Purchase Organic Parris Island Lettuce 400 Seeds 3 Grams.
Romaine Lettuce
Posted by admin on April 15, 2009
Growing Dwarf Blue Curled, Vate’s Strain Kale can be a pleasure. If you didn’t have Kale until recently, as is the case with me, you’re in for a nice surprise. Kale flavor reminds me of a cross between broccoli, spinach, and cabbage. It is generally a deep green or blue. The leaves look a bit like lettuce or parsley, but more firm, and whitish at the edges. Kale is generally not eaten raw, but rather cooked in a bit of oil in a pan. Some varieties, such as this one, have so much flavor that no salt or seasoning is needed. This variety at times tastes as if salted, at other times tastes as if it has been seasoned, and yet other times just tastes nice and green and leafy. I believe the flavor comes from how it is growing. The better the soil it is growing in, the more flavor it will have.
Kale is easy to grow from seed. It generally sprouts within a week or two. I plant Kale plants close to each other, and thin them out within a month or two once they get 2-4 inches in height. They don’t mind being transplanted. Kale loves full sun. I generally have found that Kale does best for eating when I pick the outer larger leaves and leave at least 5 inside to keep growing out. As you can see, to have a notable size snack of Kale, you’ll need to grow a number of plants. You can fit about ten mature plants in a 5 gallon pot. From seed to full grown, this variety of Kale takes about 60 days. Roots go about 6 inches deep.
I put compost in the pot when planting seeds, and top off the pot with 2 inches of sterile soil on top. This makes sure the seeds will germinate when planted in the top half centimeter, and also gives them great nutrients once they are growing further. To fertilize, I always prefer an organic fertilizer. The numbers will be lower, but it will still work well.
Kale is also very beautiful. My favorite thing about Kale is that it is disease resistant. Cabbage worms and other insects do like Kale, so just be on the lookout for them.
Growing Kale - Dwarf Blue Curled, Vate