Get Planting!

I finally got out to do some gardening! I was going to take a video for you guys but A) I hate being on video and B) it sounded like a horror film with all the chainsaws, lawn mowers and barking dogs. Such sweet ambient sounds we have in the city...

Step 1: Get out everything! If you're doing this indoors, and are anything like me, it will probably get a little big messy. Be like me and have a pair of gardening gloves out, and then completely disregard them and get mud all over everything!

Also if you're growing the plant in a container indoors or on a balcony, you will want to be sure to have a plate to catch the water (since your container MUST have drainage holes in the bottom). One trick to keep the soil from coming out and any bugs from going is by placing a bit of fabric (weed barrier or garden fabric) on the bottom to cover the holes.

In my case, it's all outdoors so I don't mind it being messy.

Step 2: Fill your container.  Fill it up so you don't have a lot of lip since that might cast a shadow and you want the seeds to get as much light as possible. If you're feeling ambitious you can mix a bit of fertilizer in to give it an extra boost.

You want the soil to be somewhat moist but not drenched, so whether you do it in the pot you're growing it in or in a separate area, that's up to you. I chose to add some water directly in the pot and stir it around to make sure the moisture is in all of the soil. Do NOT pack the soil in. You will want it to be fluffy and easy for the roots to grow in. A light little pat to even the surface is ok but NO MORE.

Add some moisture but not too much! 

Step 3: Poke holes 1/2" to 1" deep and ~1-2" apart.  Radishes don't need a ton of space but it will vary depending on the variety you get. Follow the packet instructions for spacing. Generally they are at this depth and distance apart. 

You can use your finger tip line as a rough estimate, unless you have freakishly huge hands. 

 Step 4: Plant the seeds! Here are some of the seeds I'm planting. Keep in mind that my hands probably err on the side of "freakishly small" so the seeds may look bigger than they would in your hands.

There are different methods as to how many to plant per space, but I personally stick to a more traditional method of planting three per space. If they are good seeds, they will all germinate and you will be faced with the horrifying task of eliminating two so that the strong one survives. But you never know, sometimes people get crappy batches and only one will survive out of the three.

Aren't they cute?

Step 5: Cover them up!  Lastly, you'll want to cover them with about a 1/4" of soil. It doesn't need to be an exact science, but you do want the soil on top to NOT be packed, but to remain a light...dusting.  Remember that this little sprout has to have the strength to push through the soil that you put on top.

If the soil looks a little dry go ahead and give them a light spray of water on top, but I want to emphasize that the seeds don't want to be drenched, just simply moist. MOIST. Don't we love that word? :P

And voila! That's it! Plop it in a sunny spot, either in partial shade, or full sun. If you're growing them indoors, set the light to go on for ~6 hours. Right now is the perfect time to start these in California. The longer and warmer days will cause the radishes to "go to seed" or to "bolt" which means they will shoot up like daisies, and flower...something that sounds nice, but if you want to eat them it isn't nice.

Keep the soil MOIST, don't let it dry out. If you do this all correctly with the adequate amount of light and temps around 55-75 degrees, then you should be seeing them pop up within 3-4 days! I'll update when mine start springing up.

All radishes in this lane!

 I'd love to see your progress! If you can take a moment to share with us on the FB page I would appreciate it! Also feel free to throw out questions or suggestions!

Ready to Roll! Here are my supplies.

I made a quick stop to Home Depot to gather the supplies I need. I browsed the containers they had there, and there is quite a selection. I wound up buying a $5.97 #5 Nursery Pot. It's pretty large and I should be able to plant quite a few. Of course I'm not stuffing ALL of these radish seeds in that pot. Fortunately, I have the luxury of a big ol' garden bed that I can take advantage of as well.

If you don't have a container or don't want to spend the money on one, get creative! You can plant them in just about anything, as long as you can poke some holes in the bottom for the water to drain in (and preferably 6" deep). Here are a few ideas to get the ball rolling. Who knows, maybe I'll make a contest for "most creative".

• Old coffee cans
• Old yogurt containers
• Milk Jugs
• Soda bottles
• Rubbermaid Storage containers

If you work in the Bay Area with me, I'll be happy to provide some small containers that I have lying around the house, and to give any spare seeds. We could even group up on soil buying.

Step One - OBTAIN MATERIALS!!!

Welcome to the Radish Green Project! I wanted to start an easy project for those that are interested in growing their own food. Gardening can be overwhelming, so I will try to break it down in steps and will have a support group to show pictures and to troubleshoot. In the end we can find who is local to each other and share our harvest!

Some of my first breakfast radishes. Harvested WAY too late, lol...

Why Radishes?

• They are easy to grow! 
• They grow well in containers
• Spring radishes only require 20-30 days 'til harvest!
• Several varieties to choose from! 
• It's rewarding to pull them from the ground
• A good source of vitamin C, antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and are only 16 calories per 100g.
• Even if you don't think you like radishes, give it a shot. I didn't like them before I started to grow them, now I love them! You can kind of adjust the sweetness/spiciness based on when you harvest them and of course which variety you choose.

Sound good? LET'S DO THIS. 

First thing's first. What do I need? Really, only five things.

RADISH SEEDS.  Duh...

Here are some links! Be sure to check the details, as some take longer to grow, are winter crops, or work best in certain zones. Which zone am I? 

• Baker Creek (my favorite place to buy seeds!)
• Seed Savers
• Etsy although germination rates may be spotty, check the reviews of each seller
• My personal favorites are the French Breakfast Radishes, and the De 18 Jours Radish (18 days! A great one for beginners)

The French Breakfast Radish

de 18jours radish

CONTAINER

At least 6" deep, and I recommend a width at least 10" so you can plant several, with drainage *some varieties may need a deeper container. You easily can build your own, use the soil bag like this guy did, or here are some quick cheap containers I found online that will do the trick. You can also go to a local nursery and probably get free nursery pots that they are just going to chuck out.

• Small Cedar Boxes
• More Cedar Boxes
• Smart Pots - Fabric round containers. Or a single one here. 
• Grow Pot (just another fabric pot)

There are many solutions, from growing them in 5 gallon buckets, or repurposing wine boxes, etc...just be sure the material is food safe and has drainage holes.

SUNLIGHT 

Full sun (all day direct sunlight) or partial shade. Partial shade means at least 4-5 hours of direct sunlight, or a full day of even dappled sunlight.

Example of dappled sunlight

The less sun it has, the more the leaves will grow bushy and the root will be small.

Radishes like temps between 50-70 degrees. If you have a nice sunny windowsill that would be great!
If you don't have sunlight, you can try to set up a small growing station indoors. I have something like this. We just used regular florescent bulbs and they worked just fine...

Our indoor setup for our seedlings

SOIL

• Well draining soil. Bagged potting soil for vegetables is ideal.
• If you are ambitious and want to mix the "perfect" soil, we use this "recipe" called Mel's Mix from the Square Foot Gardening Guide.
• It's also all bagged up and ready to go at Home Depot here

WATER

Yes, you need water! Try not to drown the seeds, the soil only needs to remain moist.

That's all for now. Gather all your stuff, pick out your seeds, I'll be posting another post shortly and we can get ready to plant them next weekend February 7th (with wiggle room)! Any questions, just ask me directly or check out our handy dandy FB Page I made. I'm still a newbie myself, so if you have additional tips or tricks please let us know! Also, don't forget to shout out which variety you are planting, so we don't have too many of the same kind and can trade varieties once we harvest.