Fenton Friday: Ripe Radish

By Dorvall Bedford

Last week on this blog, co-intern Hojung talked about how she grew salad greens in a community garden with the help of our editor, Kathy. I also grew plants alongside Hojung, mainly my little radishes. Having planted my seeds on March 3, I checked on them weekly and watched them grow from tiny seedlings to full, ripe radishes in a matter of weeks.

Growing my little red buddies was an interesting experience for me. I had little experience growing plants outside before becoming an intern for Washington Gardener Magazine, so it was a challenge at first knowing what were weeds in the garden and what were the radishes. I also had to learn the delicate process of sowing seeds and watering tiny plants. But eventually it all became easier for me and I grew some beautiful radishes!

A few days after I harvested the radishes I had grown, I decided to eat them with my friends. A neighbor and I prepared some miso soup to serve after an awards ceremony and we finely sliced the radishes to add them in as a garnish. The little radish slices tasted nice with the soup and I even ate one of my radishes raw as a snack afterwards. It felt very empowering eating my own food.

I would not have been able to grow and eat my food without Kathy’s guidance. I am so grateful for being given this opportunity.

What are you growing and eating this week from your edible garden?

About the Author: Dorvall Bedford is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this semester with Washington Gardener. He is a native of Frederick, MD.

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on the community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 11th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.