Fresh from the Rain

After a few warm dry days, our stormy weather returned. We had temperatures near 90 at the end of last week then a cold front came through and dropped us to about 60. I think Colorado Springs had a record low for the high temperature yesterday. Today warmed back up to around 80 or so, at least until our afternoon storm arrived. We've gotten another 2 inches of rain this week! Last July was apparently one of the driest on record. This July is the total opposite!

Between rains, I went out for a few pictures.

The daikon seed pods are finally starting to dry.

My first blush of tomato color! Strangely, this is probably the smallest tomato plant I have.

Soon, I'll get to taste a Pattypan!

I don't think this is good... This potato plant (I think it's Yukon Gold, I forgot to check the tag) has black spots all over it's leaves. It doesn't look as healthy as it's neighbors. I'll have to look this up.

With all the hail that our area has had recently, I've been concerned about the garden. I've been covering what I can. The tomatoes have a chicken wire cover over the top (2 layers, overlapped to make the holes smaller) to hopefully protect them from any whopper hailstorms. Since I can't easily toss fabric over the top, I wrapped it around the sides. I don't think the fabric will stop huge hail but it should at least protect against smaller stones. Since I've covered plants, the hail has skipped us (thankfully). Of course, now I'm a little paranoid - I'm afraid the day I don't cover will be the day the hail comes...

I have one little bell pepper starting. This is a purchased plant though one of my seed starts looks like it might actually kick into gear and bloom soon.

The first borage bloom opened today.

My sugar snap peas have passed their prime. While I keep thinking I should cut them down, they still produce just a few peas. This is why I haven't cut them yet..

The Determined Daikon

I've never been the biggest fan of radishes. I like to grow them but usually my husband is the one who eats them. I don't mind them when they're mild but I'm not so fond of them when they start to get hot. I have learned that I do like them sliced thin and added to my salad (since I'm still growing them but my radish eater isn't here right now). Turns out, I can also eat broccoli in small pieces in my salad (I've never been so big on broccoli either).

Last year, my husband took me to dinner at a Korean restaurant in Colorado Springs. One of the side dishes they brought me was radish. Since most of the sides were something spicy (or otherwise something I wasn't likely to eat), and I don't do spicy, the radish was the safest choice for me. It turned out to be really good. It was a nice, mild radish. I'm pretty sure it was a Daikon.

This was the about the extent of my daikon knowledge when I saw a package of seeds at the nursery early in the spring. I figured I'd try them & see how it went. The seeds I bought are Miyashige White which are grown in the fall for a winter radish (though there are other varieties that can be grown in spring & summer). I planted just a few seeds to see what happened if they were planted in spring. I presprouted the seeds inside then transplanted them to the garden. I had two that survived (see the top of the photo).

I picked one and ate it when it was about 4" long or so (which may have been too early- I think they should be more like 12" long). The other quickly bolted. I decided to leave it there to see what it would do. I also hope to harvest seeds for sprouting. I can only handle a few radish sprouts at a time (on their own, they've got a little bite to 'em) but hubby loves them. The one I ate did have some pep to it like the regular ones so it too was sliced thin & added to the salad.

Whenever I have seen flowering radishes, usually the root is very small. My blooming daikon actually has a very large root. I suppose it has to because it turned into a very large plant! Of course, the work Daikon means Large Root in Japanese, so I guess that makes sense.

Yep, that's ONE daikon radish!

I read on GardenWeb not too long ago that radish seed pods are edible. I had never seen the seed pods before (guess I had always pulled the plant by then) so for those of you who are like me, here's what a radish seed pod looks like.

I did eat a couple (raw from the garden) and they tasted pretty good (like a radish, imagine that) but they were a little hot for my taste. That may be the variety, and that it's out of it's season, so I may try one again in the fall.

Here's that mega-radish from another view. Those flowers reach out over about a 4'x4' area (this is a 4'x10' bed).

Shortly after I took these photos, while I was gone to town, we must have had some pretty wicked winds. When I came home, this is what I found...

Check out the poor sugar snap peas at the other end. They were smushed up but they're doing fine. The daikon was pretty beat up. A few of it's branches broke off and it was pretty well laid over. To allow the other plants growing nearby to see the light of day, I scooped it up and tied it together. I used the hoops in another bed so now it is held up with a scrap piece of irrigation tubing.

I found some information on preparing daikon on What's Cooking America http://whatscookingamerica.net/DaikonRadish.htm

"Preparation - This is an extremely versatile vegetable that can be eaten raw in salads or cut into strips or chips for relish trays. It also can be stir-fried, grilled, baked, boiled or broiled. Use the daikon as you would a radish. It may be served raw in salads or grated for use as a condiment (if you don't have a Japanese-style grater, use a cheese grater and grate just before serving), pickled, or simmered in a soup. They are also preserved by salting as in making sauerkraut. Daikon also is used in soups and simmered dishes. To prepare, peel skin as you would a carrot and cut for whatever style your recipe idea calls for. Not only is the root eaten, but the leaves also are rich in vitamin C, beta carotene, calcium, and iron, so they are worth using instead of discarding.
A Japanese secret to cooking daikon is to use water in which rice has been washed or a bit of rice bran added (this keeps the daikon white and eliminates bitterness and sharpness}.
For Chips, Relish Tray Sticks or Stir Fries - Simply peel Daikon with a peeler and cut crossways for thin chips. Dip thin chips in ice water and they will crisp and curl for a Daikon chip platter with your favorite sour cream or yogurt dip. Cut into julienne strips for relish trays, salads or stir-frys.

Nutrition Information - Daikon is very low in calories. A 3 ounce serving contains only 18 calories and provides 34 percent of the RDA for vitamin C. Rich in vitamin C, daikon contains active enzymes that aid digestion, particularly of starchy foods. Select those that feel heavy and have lustrous skin and fresh leaves."

Well, that's what I can tell you (so far at least) about the Daikon Radish. I'm sure there are others out there like me who don't know what ALL the different veggies are and what you do with them, so I hope this is informative for someone out there!

Photo Update

Since I last posted, our weather has had quite the mood swings. We've been from Winter to Summer to Winter...must mean it's Spring!

We were out of town the weekend of the 18th. We barely missed one heck of a snowstorm. It was snowy that Friday for about 30 miles and the rest of our trip was just rain. While we were gone, we got enough wet snow to leave almost an inch of water in the rain gauge. By the time we got home Sunday, the roads had thawed and the snow was disappearing fast. Just a few miles north, they were snowed in for the weekend, but I think we got less than a foot. Then we had a few beautiful, sunny, warm days in the mid to upper 70's. Soon, winter returned. Sunday night, we got another 3-4" of snow (and another 7/8" of moisture - very very wet snow). Today was cold (40's) and wet until afternoon. By dinner, it was 60!

The tulips are so close to blooming. Last year when they got this close, they froze. I've tossed a bit of straw over them when it's been nasty this year. I'd really like to see them bloom!



I started some more seeds winter sowing style. These are my lettuce sprouts. I have lettuce, mesclun, broccoli and spinach all sprouted in the jugs. I will do these this way next year for sure.



This is one of the rhubarb roots I got through Freecycle trying to pop up. I have another one that I ordered (a couple days before the Freecycle offer) that is finally showing some signs of life. I wasn't sure, it didn't look great when I got it.

Some of my berries arrived. Here are the Caroline & Anne. The Caroline looked so-so but alive for sure. The Anne looked really good. Large canes with lots of healthy roots. I was impressed.

You can only see the indent, but the patch is now it's intended U-shape. I used some cedar pickets I scavenged from the neighbor's scrap wood pile and pretty much built a floor, 2 boards thick, to act as a center barrier to help keep it orderly later. It shouldn't be terribly hard to keep track of varieties when they creep. Caroline -red, fall bearing- are on the left. Anne - yellow, fall-bearing- are by the fence and Canby - red, thornless, summer bearing are on the right.

The Honeoye strawberries came right before our trip. They are doing quite well. There were 26 in the bundle and they all are still there. I put the plastic hoop over the bed to help warm it a bit more. The ends don't close on this one, so I can just leave it for a while. These have been in the ground probably 12 days at the photo time.

The rest of my fruit is en route. I need to use the one nice-weather day (Wed) to do some prep work before they all come. The blackberries, Canby raspberry, grape, saskatoons, 2 apple and 2 peach trees are all on the way. Here's hoping they arrive in good shape! I will admit, I succumbed to the $25 coupon on the catalog with the iffy ratings (the yellow, G one...). So far, I think I'm doing ok. The asparagus roots seemed a little more dry than I would have liked (and I'm still waiting for them to come up) but otherwise, the plants have been alright.

If you noticed, I slipped a couple more items into my fruit selection. I was planning to use a $100 gift card to get 2 apple trees locally. When we went to look, I couldn't get the kind I want in a price that I could justify. They were about $99 each. I just couldn't do it. I'll use my card for another tree and some shrubs. I ordered 2 semi-dwarf apples (Honeycrisp & Golden Delicious) and 2 standard peach (Red Haven & Intrepid). I bought all 4 of them for less than the cost of one local apple.

The Sugar Snap Peas are still growing and the row I added is making some progress. I take off the plastic whenever the weather is over about 50 so they get sun and fresh air.

I have 3 little Daikon radishes started. The other 3 didn't make it. I don't really water enough under the plastic. I need to start some more. I'm not sure how well they'll do since they are considered a winter radish (planted for fall) but I wanted to try.

The little lettuce has been out there for quite a while. It's finally starting to grow, just a little.

Finally, a little trip to the backyard. The lilacs seem to be doing well. The bigger white one gets a bit of a lean after a strong wind, so I know they need some serious root growth. They are getting ready to bloom soon though. I'm hoping that's a sign that they are doing ok and not a last-chance-to-reproduce-before-I-die reaction. With the thick mulch and having gotten lots of moisture, I think they should make it. Lilacs are tough plants.


Hopefully winter will finally end soon. Our last frost date is May 15. I had really hoped to get more veggies planted out early. The weather guy mentioned the other day that we're really not safe from snow until about Mother's Day. Let's hope it's sooner.