Mild & speedy radishes?

[Seven Bends]

It's snowing here. Does anyone feel like talking about radishes?

Personally I can't stand them, but my mom loves them, so we grow them for her. What's your favorite mild and quick-growing radish? Round or stubby types preferred, and heat-tolerant is a plus.

The mildest we've found so far are French Breakfast, which we'll be growing again. We've also grown Cherry Belle, Cherriette, and Crimson Giant, all of which have produced well but they get hot/spicy fast, especially as our spring temperatures rise into the 80s and 90s.

Is there a round red that is milder than most? For French Breakfast types, any experience with D'Avignon or Fire N Ice -- any advantage over normal French Breakfast?

Hints for growing mild radishes instead of flaming demon globes of wretchedness?

[Tormahto]

I haven't grown regular radishes for years. Lately, it's been Rattail, for the edible pods.

[brownrexx]

I only grow the regular French Breakfast ones. Very loose and rock free soil is best.

[habitat-gardener]

"flaming demon globes of wretchedness"!!

I bought a bunch of radish-seed varieties last year intending to find edible ones, but never got around to planting them, because I spent too much time deciding which tomatoes and peppers and eggplants to plant (only partly kidding!). Maybe this year I will sneak in a radish trial.

[bower]

I agree entirely with your assessment of the radish. Detestable, but there's always a relative who craves them, and so the gardener must try....

I've grown quite a few, always desperately seeking mild ones, and the only radish that I actually found mild and edible for my taste, was called Purple Plum. Be careful of your seed source though because some describe it as hot and spicy, so I suspect there are more than one line of these in circulation.
Pinetree says theirs are mild:
https://www.superseeds.com/products/pur ... sh-30-days
I believe my seeds came from Tradewinds Fruit:
https://www.tradewindsfruit.com/purple- ... dish-seeds

Watermelon radish is described as 'mild' although some say 'peppery' and you know what that means.. tastes like a radish!. I tried growing them, but the roots were mostly gnarly and TBH too tough to even eat! IDK what went wrong but... not doing that again. It also has a longer DTM, 50-60 days.

White Beauty is another one said to be mild - I haven't tried this one though. These guys have Purple Plum and Watermelon too.
https://www.seedsnow.com/products/radish-beauty-white

White Icicle - I notice that SeedsNow have it listed as well and described it as mild. I first bought it for the mild description, but found it quite spicy - too spicy for me but fine for my radish obsessed relatives, and for me, only because it is so easy to grow. It seems to love being neglected and always pushes out a nice looking root and perfect tops. I actually grew it among the garlic hoping to trap wireworms one year, did not manage to attract a single pest, simply pristine and .. yes, the relatives happily ate them.

Edited to add: seed savers has one to add to the list: Pink Lady Slipper
https://www.seedsavers.org/pink-lady-slipper-radish

You can tell it's also snowing here....

[agee]

I've grown Helios before. I remember them being quick to mature, I don't think they were spicy but maybe a bit tough which may have to do with me leaving them in the ground too long.

Do you have space to grow radishes in the Fall? If so, consider growing radishes then, both the quick maturing and non-quick maturing varieties. It looks like the real culprit is the season changeover and growing them in cooler weather may address the "flaming demon globes of wretchedness" aspect. If you have a need to do cover cropping, you can grow daikon radishes and pull a few for your mom to see if she likes them.

[worth1]

The above mentioned ones like French breakfast.
Personally I like then so hot they make my nose run and my eyes water.
They're good for you.

[Texgal]

I can second the suggestion for Purple Plum. I have also found Pink Beauty is also mild and I make it a point to grow both. If you haven’t tried roasting them, give it a try once. Even the spicy ones have a different flavor profile when roasted. Also, if you want to try something radish-like but that is sweet, give a try to the salad turnips. They grow small like radishes and have a sweet flavor when eaten fresh. I ate one just washed off at the garden and It did have a mild turnip flavor, but I was very surprised at how sweet it was. The varieties I tried were Oasis and Hakurai. All these mentioned are 30-45 days.

[MissS]

French Breakfast is the mildest that I have tried. White Icicle came in second place for mildest.

[habitat-gardener]

That reminds me… I once read somewhere (the other place? A seed catalog? A blog?) that Hakurei turnips tasted like melons. I also read that radish pods tasted just like edible-pod peas. I tried both.

Don’t believe everything you read.

[Tormahto]

The above mentioned ones like French breakfast.
Personally I like then so hot they make my nose run and my eyes water.
They're good for you.

Where does your nose run to?

[Tormahto]

That reminds me… I once read somewhere (the other place? A seed catalog? A blog?) that Hakurei turnips tasted like melons. I also read that radish pods tasted just like edible-pod peas. I tried both.

Don’t believe everything you read.

Like that 2nd good tasting extra early tomato variety that you sent into the swap?

[habitat-gardener]

That reminds me… I once read somewhere (the other place? A seed catalog? A blog?) that Hakurei turnips tasted like melons. I also read that radish pods tasted just like edible-pod peas. I tried both.

Don’t believe everything you read.

Like that 2nd good tasting extra early tomato variety that you sent into the swap?

It’s all relative.

[Seven Bends]

I've grown Helios before. I remember them being quick to mature, I don't think they were spicy but maybe a bit tough which may have to do with me leaving them in the ground too long.

Do you have space to grow radishes in the Fall? If so, consider growing radishes then, both the quick maturing and non-quick maturing varieties. It looks like the real culprit is the season changeover and growing them in cooler weather may address the "flaming demon globes of wretchedness" aspect. If you have a need to do cover cropping, you can grow daikon radishes and pull a few for your mom to see if she likes them.

I hadn't heard of Helios before. Pinetree says "delightful, somewhat pungent" -- this seems like an oxymoron to me but I'm not the one who would be eating them, so maybe they'd be worth a try, especially for the unusual color. Thanks for the suggestion.

Yes, we did well with radishes this fall, three successive crops, with the last ones harvested in December after a few light frosts. The French Breakfast were mild; the others not so much, despite the cooler weather. They weren't wretched, though, just a little pungent.

[Seven Bends]

I've grown quite a few, always desperately seeking mild ones, and the only radish that I actually found mild and edible for my taste, was called Purple Plum.

Edited to add: seed savers has one to add to the list: Pink Lady Slipper
https://www.seedsavers.org/pink-lady-slipper-radish

@Bower, thanks for the reviews and info. These two especially look like good possibilities.

[Seven Bends]

I haven't grown regular radishes for years. Lately, it's been Rattail, for the edible pods.

Mom: Did you plant any radishes yet?
Me: Yes, I planted "Rattail." You don't eat the radishes, you eat the seed pods.
Mom: (pause) So, did you plant any radishes yet?

[Seven Bends]

I can second the suggestion for Purple Plum. I have also found Pink Beauty is also mild and I make it a point to grow both. If you haven’t tried roasting them, give it a try once. Even the spicy ones have a different flavor profile when roasted. Also, if you want to try something radish-like but that is sweet, give a try to the salad turnips. They grow small like radishes and have a sweet flavor when eaten fresh. I ate one just washed off at the garden and It did have a mild turnip flavor, but I was very surprised at how sweet it was. The varieties I tried were Oasis and Hakurai. All these mentioned are 30-45 days.

I'm placing a Burpee order today and I see that Pink Beauty is available from them, so I'll give them a try. I'll try Purple Plum and a few of the other suggestions from this thread next year. Thanks for the radish-roasting and salad turnip suggestions!

[Tormahto]

French Breakfast is basically as mild as they get, and Black Spanish as the hottest.

This discounts Japan, where a hot daikon has an entirely different meaning.

[Shule]

I love radishes, but I don't grow them enough. I have some De 18 Jours radish seeds that I've been meaning to grow for a couple years now, or so. I'm not sure how spicy they are, but they look like a French Breakfast type, and are the earliest radish I know about.

If you want to take the spiciness out of radishes, all you have to do is cook them. You might try a radish cream soup, or a radish chowder; I had one once, and it was excellent. I'm not sure of the recipe.

[Tormahto]

I love radishes, but I don't grow them enough. I have some De 18 Jours radish seeds that I've been meaning to grow for a couple years now, or so. I'm not sure how spicy they are, but they look like a French Breakfast type, and are the earliest radish I know about.

If you want to take the spiciness out of radishes, all you have to do is cook them. You might try a radish cream soup, or a radish chowder; I had one once, and it was excellent. I'm not sure of the recipe.

I'm sure of the recipe. Campbell's would go bankrupt canning those.