Inside of watermelon radishes
I have been an avid vegetable gardener for many years and I love to try different vegetables along with the normal veggies in the garden. This past season, for my fall Victory Garden, I planted watermelon radishes – I will be sure to plant them again next fall. These are wonderful!
Turnip (left) and watermelon radish (right)
Watermelon radishes are much bigger than the normal red radishes that you find in seed packets. I had some grow close to the size of a baseball. The majority of them were about 2-3 inches in diameter. The outside of the root has greenish colored shoulders and the interior flesh is a beautiful purple-rosy red. It is an Asian heirloom and sometimes called Chinese red meat radish. You can plant them in the very early spring, but keep in mind that they prefer cool weather. I wait to plant them in September in central Ohio.
I harvested the last of them just before Thanksgiving and they are still in great shape, stored in my garage (cool temperatures). They are beautiful when sliced and have a milder taste than most radishes. Cooler temperatures and a frost actually gives them a sweeter flavor.
For Thanksgiving, I cut mine into smaller chunks and roasted them with garlic and sea salt. They were absolutely incredible! You can also slice them thinly or shred to add to salads. Try them.
There are several seed companies who offer these: