Radish
Raphanus sativus
I
f you still have young children around you, in radishes make excellent fillers that can be sown
your role as parent, teacher, grandparent, or— directly into spaces that will later be fi lled by
phew, we just made it!—great-grandparent, such plants as peppers, cabbage, and tomatoes.
then radishes are just the thing you want to add By the time these plants mature, your radishes
to your kitchen garden. will have been harvested. Remember that the
Admittedly, they can have a too-adult taste/ faster they grow, the more tender they will be.
texture for the very young—crunchy and a lit- If you harvest the radish at just the right
tle spicy. However, if you are encouraging your time, the leaves will be tender enough to add to
young ones to plant out their own little garden, salad (along with other early greens, like beet
then these colorful vegetables will come up greens). You might be surprised to learn that
first and be special companions to carrots, small radishes cook up very well in casseroles
which can be sown at the same time. In other and stews, where they provide unusual texture
words, there are lots of things happening at and eye appeal.
once to engage little minds and hands!
You might want to go the whole hog (so
to speak) and get a packet each of the various
colors: the standard red as well as white, pur The Numbers
ple, cream, yellow, and even black. Radishes are an excellent source of calcium and
From my very limited experience, if children vitamin C (if used raw; cooking destroys the C
are involved in planting , watering (and even content).
weeding ), and harvesting, they are much more For each 100 g raw roots (3.5 oz ; ½ cup): 18 calories,
likely to enjoy the adventure of eating. 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein,
Because of their small size and rapid growth, 0 g dietary fiber, 29 mg sodium
220 • GROWING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE
