Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Baker Creek brightens up the day and more rat-tails


After another soggy weekend with more wretched hail, receiving my order from Baker Creek earlier than I had expected was like the fairy godmother come to visit. Of course the harmless act of buying seeds for next year is that you end up visiting a couple more of your favorite sites and getting more stuff to grow in a garden where you have only so much space.

I'm glad to report that this time around, the delivery time took only a mere 17 days! Customs must already know about the crazy american gardener who thinks she can grow anything in tough mountain soil, so I hope that they're wishing me the best instead of laughing at my foolishness. Well actually, at least I can say that I am VERY successful at growing podding radish. That's 26 ounces in the bowl below, and if I sold them for a dollar a branch like I had read somewhere in a gardening forum, I'd be laughing all the way to the bank. There are hundreds of branches out back, and it's a tedious work to harvest the pods from the tangled mess. The real dilemma has been finding different ways to cook them, and pickling was a success. I have also experimented with freezing them by blanching for one minute in boiling water, then plunging them into an ice bath before draining and freezing in 1 quart ziploc bags. Come this winter we shall see if they do mighty alrighty in a hearty gumbo or stew.


Average daytime temperature: 25°C / 77°F

12 comments:

Gail - Fort Rock Glimpses said...

Beautiful! I have never heard of podding radishes. Keep us posted on how they are in a stew.

K and S said...

hail?? yipes..but wow, that is a lot of radishes. hope they work well in your stews.

Fern Driscoll said...

I've never heard of Bakers Creek - I guess you like their seeds? Do you get from other places as well?

MAYBELLINE said...

Please discribe what the rat tail radishes taste like.

Rowena said...

Gail - I don't recall from where I had heard of these, but I learned that they're likely to have originated from China. It seems that they're also popular in indian cuisine.

Kat - yep...hail. P.I.T.A.!!

Fern - love their whole selection and the service! I always get a handwritten 'thank you' added to my receipt. Never got that from anyone else! Doesn't sound like much but it really personalizes the experience.

Maybelline - wish I could write poems on this vegetable but you know, they taste just like radishes! Peppery, crisp, with that typical radish *bite*. While they cannot compete with root radishes, I think they are just perfect for those who love radishes but don't have a lot of garden space to dedicate to them. My 4 plants produce quite well in the 3x1 foot plot of ground that they're in.

Sue Swift said...

I'd never heard of these either. Did you get them from the States or here? Do you know what they're called in Italian?

Amber said...

I think the pickled poddings look positively deelish!

Rowena said...

Sue - I got them from the states, and I don't believe they're even heard of in Italy. Hmmm...should change that!

Se qualcuno vorrebbe semi di Raphanus caudatus... :-DDDDDD

Amber - and NO pesticides to boot. I tried growing root radish but our clay soil is just too heavy.

Anonymous said...

was the shipping much from baker's creek? I endlessly agrivate my sister to send me seeds. I'm waiting on a shipment now I ordered from Swallowtail gardens. I always have them sent to my sister then she ships them to me.I've had great luck with their seeds, the seeds here in italy have a low germination rate if you ask me. Maybe we can start a seed exchange here in italy. I have all the mammoth sunflower seeds you'll ever need. also some various annual seeds such as cosmos, impaitens, ect. Let me know... Stellina

Rowena said...

Stellina - I lucked out on this order because BC was running a no-shipping fee special in celebration of a new store opening. Unfortunately that deal is over, but if I recall correctly...hmmm...the shipping from last year's order wasn't a whole lot...maybe something like 4 bucks?

Now I have never heard of Swallowtail gardens and YEAH! I would love to do a seed exchange. I was thinking that same thought when I read your other comment. Uhm, maybe I could write up a list and email it to you and vice versa. Anyway, I've only ever bought a few Franchi or Blumen seeds but only because I can't help myself. I really do love heirloom because they're such a challenge, and next year I'll be more on it with the flowers which I totally spaced out on this year. I didn't even know then that bees are attracted to blue. Oh well... Come on, where's you're garden blog now? ;-)

Anonymous said...

Well you are always welcome to come visit me. You're welcome to any of my starts from plants or any seeds I harvest. My giardino is not set up yet because of constant rain this year and the need to excavate my whole yard first before planting. (it's killing me)But I've been getting by on sticking the plants around the property here and there keeping them out of the way of constant construction and improvements around here. One thing I've been working on is pampas grass with the big PINK plumes not the white(the white is too common here) I grew from seed a year and a half ago soon will (should) be blooming. I'm experimenting with cuttings and rose cuttings too. Stellina in Castel San Lorenzo

Rowena said...

Stellina - I'll certainly let you know if we're ever in your neighborhood. Absolutely hear you on the rain, and know that this year the tomato and zuke harvest won't be like 2008. I'm already looking forward to 2010!