Friday, December 17, 2010
Radish Seed Pods
Last month, I wrote about these seed pods that grew on one of the radish plants. At first, I didn't even know they were seed pods, and someone in the garden blogging community confirmed that they were. That's what I love about the blogosphere, everyone is so knowledgeable. Since I'm a newbie gardener, practically everything is new to me, so I always write about things I have questions about and without fail, someone always knows the right answer! You all are amazing!
I pulled the seed pods and put them on my kitchen windowsill to let them dry out. When I opened the pods, there were about 6 seeds inside.
I can't wait to plant these in the spring. These pods grew from a heirloom radish, so I hope the new plants will grow seed pods too.
These are all the seeds I collected. I wonder why this is the only plant that produced seed pods. Of all the 20+ plants in my garden, only one plant had the pods, does anyone know, do I have to leave the plants in longer to produce seeds? If I do that, does the radish get too woody to eat? I've noticed that if I leave the plant in too long, the radish is really bitter and not tasty.
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So cool that you were able to save some seed from these heirloom radishes. I've never seen seedpods on them either. Cool! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's great! I've had dozens of radishes that I let stay in the ground because they weren't big enough to pick, but I have NEVER seen one produce seeds. Maybe because your's was an heirloom. In any case, I think it is so neat that you produced your own radish seed! Way to go!
ReplyDeleteNever have grown radishes, hope they make good plants for you.
ReplyDeleteI love hearing about accidental seed saving! And yes, if you leave your radishes in long enough they will flower and produce seed pods and seeds. There are even some kinds of radish developed for eating the pods when they are green. To harvest seed, let the pods stay on the plants as long as possible, until they are dry. Letting a few of your plants go through their full life cycle is a great way to learn about seed saving. If you ever want to learn more, I teach seed saving workshops at our seed farm upstate and in the city. Stay seedy!
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