Radish ADHD

May 24, 2011

With today’s garden update, we are celebrating sprouts.  And not just any sprout, but a ginormous amount of radishes have sprouted.  The original plan was for them to be in 3-4 rows inside one 12″x12″ garden box square.  If I had followed the package directions, I would have sprinkled one seed one inch apart, thus creating an approximate bounty 18-24 radishes, which a normal person could reasonably expect to consume after harvesting.  

Instead, I have modeled my garden in ADHD mode.  Sensible planting guidelines be damned, I chose to spread my seed (mind out of the Harlequin romance novel gutter here) across three 12″x12″ segments, all willy nilly style. Pretty much, I dug a big hole across 3 squares and then sprinkled seeds like I were decorating the top of a cupcake in non-diet mode.  I scooped dirt back over the chaos theory planting style and walked away.

Now, I have sprouts.  Lots of sprouts.  Growing all on top of each other, forcing me to make life and death decisions with these little tender seedlings, unless I am willing to harvest very skinny radishes that will grow pressed against each other like Octomom’s babies.  It will be a black Friday living waterside.

Since I planted the entire package at one time, I will have one giant harvest in a few weeks.  Now I understand why it is relevant to only plant a few seeds one week, then a few seeds a few weeks later, and repeat, so that I can enjoy radishes all summer long.  Instead, I will be learning to make radish jelly, and radish juice, and radish pickles, and canned radishes.  Probably going to freeze some to use as ice packs, so I don’t have to continue to thaw my bag of peas to put on my head.