Podding Radishes

Old chef · April 22, 2018

A friend offered me some seeds of podding radishes. Looked the up. Interesting. Has anyone grown them before?

Old chef

imp · April 22, 2018

I've grown rat tail pods before. Tasty, a bit spicy in stir fries and salads, and liked to snap or cut some into a stew about 10 minutes before ending the cooking for a little surprise pop of flavor. Also good slicedlong ways into cabbage for spring or egg rolls or for slaw, too.

Fred Hempel · April 22, 2018

We grow them, and sell to chefs. Here is a "radish pod salad" that one of our customers makes.

I view them as the "snow peas" of radish. Normally you don't eat the pods, but with snow peas and Rat Tail radish, you do.

Incidentally, many daikon radishes also produce nice pods for eating.

**carolyn137** · April 22, 2018

Yes, I've grown rat tail radishes and agree with Imp.

Fact is, you can buy them from some places already podded,so you don't have to grow them yourself.

Carolyn

bower · April 22, 2018

I've eaten pods of other radishes but not the Rat Tail, which is probably better. Delicious. Tender and crisp like peas but with a hint of radishness. The regular kinds, you have to harvest the pods before they start to get tough. Smaller than the RatTail but still fit to eat...

Old chef · April 23, 2018

Thank you everyone for the response. Personally I have never heard of them before.

The variety that I have been offered is Munchen Bier.

I am excited to try something new

Old chef

imp · April 23, 2018

I forgot, they are also good garlic dill pickled, makes a great "snack" type food that way. I hope you enjoy them, and glad you posted as I must remember to grow a plant or two this year. The flowers always are loved by bees!

gorbelly · April 23, 2018

Supposedly any radish will produce pods, but it's just a little faster with the "aerial" varieties.

I grow them every year. They're great--you get crunchy radish goodness all summer without having to worry about hot weather making the roots woody and inedible.

They also pickle well, as imp says, and they make a FANTASTIC lacto-fermented pickle. I make Korean water kimchi with them every summer (= a refreshing lacto-fermented traditional Korean pickle that isn't intended for long storage and doesn't usually contain chili, the pickling liquid of which often gets used like a cold soup).

Nan_PA_6b · April 23, 2018

I love radish pods; they yield so much more per plant than the root. However, the "rat tail" radishes were the worst ones to try to get pods from. They turned hard and fibrous so quickly it was hard to harvest them at the right time. I find normal radishes much easier to get tender pods from. You should definitely try pods, though. They taste a lot like radishes. Pick them when they start to plump up but don't wait too long or the pods get tough.

Nan

Patihum · April 23, 2018

Fair warning - rat tail radishes attract cabbage white butterfly in droves! So don't plant them anywhere near your cabbages.

Hatgirl · April 23, 2018

One plant is HUGE! I thought it would be little, like the young radish. I ended up having to contain it in a tomato support - it was about 4ft and sprawled everywhere

Nan_PA_6b · April 23, 2018

The rattails are big plants. Another reason to use regular radishes.

Nan

**carolyn137** · April 23, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nan_PA_6b

The rattails are big plants. Another reason to use regular radishes.

Nan

Yes, the rattails are large plants.

I also grew/grow many different regular radishes.

I grow,or grew both since they have very different tast profiles. Except for regular radishes which are pulled when they are too old,which makes them woody and hard,no crunch to them at all.

Carolyn

gorbelly · April 23, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nan_PA_6b

The rattails are big plants. Another reason to use regular radishes.

Nan

I dunno. Some of my radishes get pretty big if I let them bolt. The specifically aerial radishes are nice because the leaves don't get enormous and cause a shade problem if I want to interplant stuff. Also, I find that the reason the pods get fibrous quickly is because they REALLY crank them out. I stay on top of picking them, and I'm happy with the production and the timeline to when pods start being produced.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It probably depends on the type of radish you use, too. Experimentation is probably the way to go here.

AlittleSalt · April 23, 2018

I have eaten radish pods and have enjoyed them very much, but they weren't rat tail. They were Scarlet Globe that bolted and quickly grew pods. I actually liked the pods better than the bulb.

It is interesting to find out about Podded Radishes.

April 22, 2018	#1
Old chef Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Long island Posts: 456	Podding Radishes A friend offered me some seeds of podding radishes. Looked the up. Interesting. Has anyone grown them before? Old chef

April 22, 2018	#4
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Yes, I've grown rat tail radishes and agree with Imp. Fact is, you can buy them from some places already podded,so you don't have to grow them yourself. Carolyn __________________ Carolyn

April 22, 2018	#2
imp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Posts: 4,832	I've grown rat tail pods before. Tasty, a bit spicy in stir fries and salads, and liked to snap or cut some into a stew about 10 minutes before ending the cooking for a little surprise pop of flavor. Also good slicedlong ways into cabbage for spring or egg rolls or for slaw, too.

April 22, 2018	#3
Fred Hempel Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Sunol, CA Posts: 2,723	We grow them, and sell to chefs. Here is a "radish pod salad" that one of our customers makes. I view them as the "snow peas" of radish. Normally you don't eat the pods, but with snow peas and Rat Tail radish, you do. Incidentally, many daikon radishes also produce nice pods for eating.

April 22, 2018	#5
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	I've eaten pods of other radishes but not the Rat Tail, which is probably better. Delicious. Tender and crisp like peas but with a hint of radishness. The regular kinds, you have to harvest the pods before they start to get tough. Smaller than the RatTail but still fit to eat...

April 23, 2018	#6
Old chef Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Long island Posts: 456	Thank you everyone for the response. Personally I have never heard of them before. The variety that I have been offered is Munchen Bier. I am excited to try something new Old chef

April 23, 2018	#8
gorbelly Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania Posts: 1,069	Supposedly any radish will produce pods, but it's just a little faster with the "aerial" varieties. I grow them every year. They're great--you get crunchy radish goodness all summer without having to worry about hot weather making the roots woody and inedible. They also pickle well, as imp says, and they make a FANTASTIC lacto-fermented pickle. I make Korean water kimchi with them every summer (= a refreshing lacto-fermented traditional Korean pickle that isn't intended for long storage and doesn't usually contain chili, the pickling liquid of which often gets used like a cold soup).

April 23, 2018	#9
Nan_PA_6b Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 3,194	I love radish pods; they yield so much more per plant than the root. However, the "rat tail" radishes were the worst ones to try to get pods from. They turned hard and fibrous so quickly it was hard to harvest them at the right time. I find normal radishes much easier to get tender pods from. You should definitely try pods, though. They taste a lot like radishes. Pick them when they start to plump up but don't wait too long or the pods get tough. Nan

April 23, 2018	#10
Patihum Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Southeast Kansas Posts: 878	Fair warning - rat tail radishes attract cabbage white butterfly in droves! So don't plant them anywhere near your cabbages.

April 23, 2018	#11
Hatgirl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Ireland Posts: 211	One plant is HUGE! I thought it would be little, like the young radish. I ended up having to contain it in a tomato support - it was about 4ft and sprawled everywhere

April 23, 2018	#15
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	I have eaten radish pods and have enjoyed them very much, but they weren't rat tail. They were Scarlet Globe that bolted and quickly grew pods. I actually liked the pods better than the bulb. It is interesting to find out about Podded Radishes.