Root Cause

The standout performance of radishes in the garden is only the beginning of their appeal, writes PAULETTE WHITNEY.

- Paulette Whitney

The first vegetable I ever grew was a radish. In my childhood garden we already had silverbeet, peas and asparagus. I don’t know why it was decided one spring that I should grow radishes – none of us liked them. It was the ’80s, and our salad repertoire consisted of tinned pineapple and beetroot, a mayonnaisey pasta salad and iceberg lettuce. Spicy things were something exotic to eat as a dare, but in a concrete-bound triangle between the paths to the shed and the compost heap, I sowed my seeds and they grew. I have visions of pretty red baubles, but I can’t remember eating them.

Fast-forward 30 years and I’m hooked. I began in our market garden with Scarlet Globe and French Breakfast. They grew fast, tasted great and sold like hotcakes. Not one to rest on a winner, I looked further and found a great option for the seed explorer: the mixed packet. The results lived up to expectations, and Easter Egg was irresistible.