Comments on: Rat’s Tail Radishes

By: Raph

Raph — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:31:06 +0000

Hello Marketman! I am an avid reader of your site and I’m surprised to see this vegeteble featured here! It is quite very common in Ilocos where we call it ‘rabanos.’ It is seasonal though and is only available during the months of January and February. Rabanos is a common addition to vegetable dishes like pinakbet or dinengdeng.

By: rex

rex — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:57:49 +0000

Hello marketman.

The link to the website of Herbana Farms was misspelled.

It should be http://www.herbanafarm.com without the “s”.

The current link directs you to an advertising/search portal.

By: kurzhaar

kurzhaar — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:33:16 +0000

Sorry, I meant that in biological terms–the species name “sativa” is generally used to mean “common” although the original Latin means “that which is sown”.

The pods of the black radishes I grew were certainly larger than those of the watermelon radishes, and spicier in taste. I picked them before they turned fibrous, as advised by my Indian friend.

I was surprised that you have trouble growing tomatoes…they originated after all in warm climates and I had imagined they would be happy in the tropics (all that sunshine!). Perhaps the heirloom varieties you had were more suited to cooler climates?

By: MarketFan

MarketFan — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:07:08 +0000

these remind me of camachile

By: Marketman

Marketman — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:53:08 +0000

kurzhaar, actually, this is not the pod of the “common radish plant.” While all radishes and veggies in the same family do go to seed and have pods, not all are edible or palatable. These rat’s tail radishes are grown from seed specifically for the pods, and there is a good article here from the Washington Post that describes how best to enjoy them. So while many radish plants pods can be eaten, there is a specific reason why these rat’s tail radishes are sought after by those to whom it matters, I suppose.

I don’t have much room to grow veggies in our city home, though we do have several herbs/aromatics. And if you troll back into the archives, you will find that I have a black thumb of sorts. I have always wanted to have a spectacular vegetable garden, but have not been successful. I go to the local markets instead and try to buy seasonally based on what the vendors have on offer. At the moment, we have at least seeds of heirloom tomatoes (sent by a sibling in the U.S.) and not one of them has thrived in Manila/our garden. Otherwise, we eat closer to season than most places as relatively many folks still frequent wet markets for vegetables and fruit. And in the tropics, most fruit is highly seasonal.

Alexena, follow links in the post and to the Washington post for preparation ideas…