Seed saving

[obsessed]

So I let my radishes, cilantro and lettuce go to flowering now that it is hot ( I think that is what bolting is). But when will they make seeds?

I keep looking but I just see flowers.

 

[digitS']

I have never saved lettuce seed, O. The plants are covered with aphids after awhile, look terrible, I get upset :/, and pull them out.

The cilantro will make coriander seeds and it won't take long! You'll be walking thru and rub the tops between your fingers and realize that the seeds are forming. Actually, each seed is 2 seeds. They are in a pod and it helps with germination to spread them between 2 sheets of wax paper and roll them with a rolling pin to break them apart and out of the round pod.

Thank you for reminding me - radish! I need to plant my Russian radish!

Actually, it amounts to nothing very special. I bought the seed in 1991, if I remember right, from the "International Seed Company" in Rhode Island. They promptly went out of business. I have completely forgotten the original name of the radish.

This was just after the USSR began to open up and there were veggie varieties coming from there that Americans didn't know anything about. Anyway, it is a round, white radish. What makes it a little special is that it doesn't have "hair" on the leaves. You can chop up the entire plant and use it in stir-fry! Of course , you can do this with a "hairy" radish too and it works fine.

Anyway, it will take those radish plants until late August before the long skinny seed pods begin to dry. One year, I didn't leave any of the first planting and seeded again about July 1st. Only a very few of the seeds that I collected that October were viable . . !

But, I can understand wanting coriander seed but why the other two, O ?

Steve

 

[vfem]

I left my radish out to bolt last year and lettuce too... it actually helped keep a LOT of weird bugs off my other plants because they were so attracted and busy on the radishes! I don't know why, but it kept my cukes and tomatoes from being devoured... I was quite impressed. They did 2 jobs for me... provided pest protection, AND supplies me with seeds for next years garden (this year) so I have tons of white radish and buttercrisp lettuce to plant in the shade this year. Enough so I don't need to waste room for seeding things this year.


Plus, I think radish have pretty flowers!!! :rose

 

[obsessed]

Steve - I like your line of thinking. I am saving the seed mostly for doing it sake. As in I thought I was supposed to. But if I don't I could sure free up some room in my garden. the cilantro is in pots. but the lettuce is taking up a pretty big section of my garden. And so I was hoping that it would hurry up so I could get some plants in there. I am actually really surprised about how big lettuce plants get as well. Wow.

 

[hoodat]

Steve your post reminded me. There is a type of radish that has very large juicy seed pods. You grow them for the pods and they're great in stir fries. I think they come from Germany. Do you happen to know what they're called?
Billy

 

[digitS']

Wikipedia says, "Rat-tailed radish, an old European variety thought to have come from East Asia centuries ago, has long, thin, curly pods which can exceed 20 cm (8 in) in length. In the 17th century, the pods were often pickled and served with meat. The Mnchen Bier variety supplies spicy seeds that are sometimes served raw as an accompaniment to beer in Germany."

I like the pods better than the roots, Hoodat, but I hate that rat name for anything in my garden! And, I've deliberately NOT bought that seed . I'm happy eating the seed pods from my Russian variety. But, it is interesting that Bountiful Gardens has that Mnchen Bier radish. Maybe I'll get that one.

Actually, for the last few years, I've grown German Giant. Not that I like a "giant" radish. I don't eat many radish, in the 1st place. The German Giant is just fine when it is small. It just doesn't split easily or get pithy as it grows larger. I've never allowed it to go to seed. . .

My favorite way to eat radish roots is to slice them and put them between 2 slices of buttered bread !

Steve

 

[hoodat]

I used to grow those giant Chinese Winter radishes. Cooked up they taste like the mild white turnips and could stay in the ground all Winter. I just dug them as I needed them.
Thanks for the info. Muchen bier sounds like the one I grew. I'll have to hunt up some seed. It was great in stir fries and curries.

 

[lesa]

I had a few odd lettuce plants here and there, that I let go to seed. Let me tell you, I am finding lettuce everywhere! Including in a pot on my deck (which is 10 feet above ground!) I would pull all that up- leave one, if you want to collect seed and plant something else. Happy Gardening!!

 

[obsessed]

My favorite way to eat radish is with my Carne Asada Taco!