It was a strange winter. The temperatures never dropped to what I am accustomed to & when it did, it didn’t last long. That meant that the cool season crops I’d hoped to grow this winter didn’t stand much of a chance.

That didn’t stop me from seeding & re-seeding the beds when there were a couple consecutive days of cooler weather expected. I grew plenty of good food, but some things just were not loving the warm winter (sorry, cauliflower). I eventually accepted that the days of winter weather might be a thing of the past & was prepared to move on.

My sister & I were clearing the beds last month; making room to sow summer crops. Once the massive Chinese cabbage plants were removed, she noticed several watermelon radishes peaking from beneath the soil. I’d intended for them to grow in the “understory” of the cabbage (ground cover, so to speak), but hadn’t yet seen any production.

I squealed at the discovery & we excitedly gathered our bounty- one surprise heirloom radish after the next…

I’m not sure what it is about them, but I love watermelon radishes!

The look. The taste. The fact that you can get two edible products from one radish= the green tops + the root/radish.

I made a couple yummy things with the watermelon radishes we harvested that day; my favorite of which being this lentil & farro salad made with watermelon radishes, greens, mint & cilantro from Mahaba Farms; as well as raisins, grated carrot, red onion & toasted walnuts, sunflower & hemp seeds with sourdough bread crumbs.

I suspect winters will only get warmer. I’ll stop growing watermelon radishes when they just won’t grow here. Until then…I predict more good eating in the future…