The Radish Rejects III & IV

III - IV

Two days ago, I thinned the radishes seedlings and I did so again today. I don't see the point of making two separate posts on the same topic considering how backlogged I am so both days will be on this post. That also lends itself to the opportunity of showing what a few day's difference can make in the development of these radishes. This will be the last "Radish Rejects" post unless I plant another bed because the seedlings still in the ground are looking so good that I'm going to attempt to transplant them rather than making them hamster food. Don't worry, the carrots in that bed are going to need thinning pretty soon so Popcorn will still get fresh-from-the-garden treats.

III

Each of these guys has its true leaves grown in. They're still a bit small but they're unfolded. I'm going to make another post to show the difference between the ones I'm picking and the ones still in the garden bed. For now, believe me when I say these were the most lack-luster achievers. That one on the end was easy to pick because of the stem break. From experience, I know that seedlings with broken stems die a sluggish death and just serve to suck up nutrients from their neighbors.

Here's a look at how the roots are doing. I've actually seen a better root on one of the rejects before but I think I picked that one off because of its unfortunate growth habit. Overall, the roots of all these are starting to look pretty good to me. It's the first time I've grow radishes though so I don't have anything to compare it to besides previous pickings.

IV

Today's rejects are looking surprisingly vivacious. It was difficult to pick any that needed removing. The plants are too close together in the bed but none of them are looking particularly frail. I picked these out after about half an hour of close scrutiny. I'll be transplanting the rest of them.

The roots are getting long. I'm glad I amended our clay soil with some store-bought garden soil. I don't think there's any way they would have grown this well in the oil-pastel-stick consistency of our native soil. So far, the only thing that seems to like our soil seems to be the clumping bamboo, trees, and layers upon layers of fresh grass woven into dead grass. In some spots, even the weeds refuse to grow.

Seeing Popcorn chow down on those greens makes me eager for them to grow even faster. I can't wait until I can get a taste. I even read that the leaves are good for people to eat!