They are small and crunchy and yet the flavor and spiciness you get from radish microgreens make choosing this microgreen a good choice. You can have radish microgreens ready as quickly as 6 days after you plant the seeds. They delicious to eat and they are nice to look at while you grow them, the light green leaves complementing the pinkish stem.
Radish microgreens are grown from the same seed that produces full-grown radishes you see in the market.
Classification Information:
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Brassicales
Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Raphanus
Species: R. raphanistrum
Subspecies: R. r. subsp. sativus
Trinomial name: Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus
Radish Microgreen Trivia
- Radishes are related to kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and horseradish.
- Raphanus means quickly appearing in Greek. This is about how radish is easily grown.
Radish Microgreen Buying Guide
Radish microgreens are sold in groceries, supermarkets, farmers markets, and other specialty stores. Ask around for local growers so that you can source your radish microgreens locally. When buying radish microgreens, buy just enough that you can eat until the next grocery day, since radish microgreens do not keep for longer than a week even if stored in the refrigerator.
If this is the first time you are buying radish microgreens, try to buy in small quantities first so that you can taste it; should you not like it, you don’t have a lot of radish microgreens to dispose of and you are not being wasteful (you can ask your neighbors if they want it, so someone else can eat it).
When buying, make sure to inspect it thoroughly. See if the leaves and stems are of good quality and appear fresh. It is ok if one or two are wilted, but if most of the bunch are wilted, soggy, and do not appear fresh, do not buy it.
If you are buying seeds so that you can grow your own radish microgreens, this will give you an idea of how many seeds you expect to get from a pack.
- 1-ounce pack contains approximately 8,000 seeds
- 4-ounce pack contains approximately 32,000 seeds
- 1-pound pack or bag contains approximately 128,000 seeds
- 5-pound pack or bag contains approximately 640,000 seeds
- 25-pound pack or bag contains approximately 3,200,000 seeds
Radish Microgreen Production & Farming in Texas
Fill your growing tray with potting soil. Make sure your growing tray has drainage holes. Mist the soil and make sure it is evenly spread on the tray. Using a seed shaker bottle, sprinkle the seeds all over the potting soil on the tray. Do another round of misting but be careful not to overdo it. Cover the tray and let them sit in a dark place. After four days, it should have grown big enough to start light exposure. Do not expose them to direct sunlight. Use grow lights or the shade from a window. When they are big enough, harvest by cutting them at the base just above the soil.
Tips:
- Buy radish microgreen seeds from a reputable seed seller or distributor.
- Water from the side of the tray to make sure the weight of the water will not squash the microgreens. Or water it by filling a tray below the growing tray.
- Rotate crop once it is exposed to light to avoid “bending” microgreens.
There are farmers and growers in Texas who grow radish microgreens like Hoss Microgreens Farm in Southlake, Texas, and Greenfin Farms in Denton, Texas. There are also initiatives like the Big Tex Urban Farms that help promote the business as well as the attitude of the public towards microgreens. If you are dining out, there are restaurants in Texas that serve food with radish microgreens.
Pesticides
Radish microgreens are among the fast-growing and easy-growing microgreens. This means there is very little time for pests to cause trouble for this plant. If there is a pest problem, it will probably involve aphids and whiteflies. If the problem requires the use of pesticides, make note of the following:
- Aphids – Kill aphids using neem oil, insecticidal soap, or horticultural oil. You can also use the pesticide malathion, which is the most commonly used organophosphate insecticide in the United States, or rotenone, a selective, non-specific insecticide typically used in home gardens for insect control.
- Whiteflies – Malathion or Pyrethrins are effective against whiteflies.
Geography
The cultivation of radish as a crop (which eventually gave way to radish microgreens) started in China. By the 1500s, radish has already reached Europe. It was grown in Massachusetts in 1629, the first time radish was grown on US soil. Today, California and Florida are two US states where radish is considered a major crop. We can expect that these states are among the major producers of radish microgreens in the country.
Packaging
Radish microgreens are sold in transparent plastic clamshell packaging. Sometimes, you can find radish microgreens sold in Styrofoam or plastic tray covered with plastic wrap.
Enjoying Radish Microgreens
Just like any microgreens, radish microgreens can be eaten raw. Just make sure it is washed and cleaned thoroughly. When you eat radish microgreens, you will notice the peppery flavor it adds to the dish, the same way a full-grown radish leaf tastes. Just be careful, because there are documented cases of radish allergy and hypersensitivity to radish that even just by touching it, an allergic reaction occurs. Excessive eating of radish and radish microgreens may lead to loss of water, dehydration, hypotension, and hypoglycemia.
Storage
If the radish microgreens you bought came in clamshell packaging, use it to store radish microgreens in the ref. If, for some reason, you need to transfer the radish microgreens to a different container, choose a plastic container with a lid. The least ideal storage is glass because it has the most condensation when in the refrigerator and the condensation contributes to the degradation of the quality of the radish microgreens inside. Avoid putting them near the vent of the refrigerator because if the temperature fluctuates, it will affect the condition of the radish microgreens. Put it on the lower shelf where the temperature is more stable. Different microgreens vary when it comes to how long they keep in the refrigerator. Radish microgreens are among those that have a longer shelf life.
Cooking
Radish microgreens are an excellent addition to soups and curries, omelets and stir-fries, even in pizzas and pasta. You can mix different kinds of microgreens like radish, sunflower, and arugula for a yummy fresh vegetable salad. Like other microgreens, it is not ideal to cook radish microgreens for too long because they will break apart and become mushy.
Nutritional Benefits
Radish microgreens are a low-calorie food. You get the same nutritional benefits you get from eating radish when you eat radish microgreens – vitamin C, antioxidants (catechin, pyrogallol, vanillic acid, and other phenolic compounds), riboflavin, niacin, thiamine, vitamin B6, folate, potassium, iron, and manganese. Eating radish microgreens allows us to have healthy cells safe from damage. It also reduces the risk of diabetes. Radish microgreens also help protect our liver. It also helps the body’s cardiovascular system.
