The link to the website of Herbana Farms was misspelled.

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

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

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?

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…

Marketman, do you grow vegetables/herbs/flowers? I’d highly recommend that, I think you’d enjoy it–there is nothing like growing your own produce, picking things when they are exactly as you want them, and discovering new tastes! For example, I adore tomatoes, and one of the worst things about moving away from CA (where meeting up with friends at the farmers’ market was a Sunday ritual for me year-round) was the discovery of how terrible the produce is in so many parts of the US. I literally refuse to buy the sad red objects labelled “tomatoes” in the local supermarkets. So part of the year, I go without tomatoes except for what I have put up as sauce, etc. But in season, I feast! I’ve grown on average about 25 heirloom varieties each year, and every season I try new varieties (adding to my favorites which become standards for me). Check out this French website for descriptions of hundreds of tomato varieties:

ventmarin.free.fr/index.htm
(click on “Passion tomate”)

Good sources of heirloom seeds include http://www.kitazawaseed.com and http://www.gourmetseed.com. And of course–if you are travelling abroad, see what you can find in local gardening shops!

I think one of the things that you learn when growing your own food is that one must know how to eat in season. Most people are spoiled and expect things year-round (strawberries in December, kale–sweetest after a frost and thus best as a winter crop–in June). Well, yes, you might be able to buy these things out of their normal season, but they’ll not be as tasty as locally grown produce in season. Even in southern CA there are seasonal swings, and I’m sure that’s true for the tropics as well.

Alexena….it makes a very tasty and wonderful pickle….sweet or the dill kind. Do you make dill pickles? If you want, I’ll share my KILLER DILL PICKLE recipe. I gave a jar to one of my brother-in-law’s friends. He bugged for days to show him how to make it..so I told him ..”only if he goes cucumber picking with me”…Ha! how many guys do you know would go picking cucumbers?!? He really did! Anyway, if you want to make it…sweet pickle or dill pickle, let me know…

How do you cook and eat it?