Saving radish seeds

[fulenn]

I have several radish plants in my garden which have been flowering. They are Radish Green Luobo. This past week or so they have begun to form pods. How long do I need to wait to for the seeds to be ripe? Do I wait until the plants have died and then take the pods? This is my first time saving radish seeds. I did not bag, but am growing no other brasicas and my neighbors are not growing anything.

Fulenn

[americangardener]

I rarely save radish seeds simply because it's cheaper to buy them than to waste my time saving seed for em.

But, one thing you should watch out for is leaving them to dry on the plants. The pods will shatter really easy and all the seeds will spill out. I might suggest you figure out a way to cover the pods.. say like in a bag or something.. or put down a sheet under the pods. Something.. cause if you leave em to dry you'll have to keep a close eye on em. Once they start shattering the rest of the pods will also be ready to shatter just by touching them.

Makes it hard to collect.. easy to seperate the seed from the chaff.. but you might just want to be aware that they do shatter easily when dryed all the way.

[fulenn]

Thanks for the information. I have extra bags from my tomato blossoms that I can put on the pods. I went a little crazy making them this winter.....

Fulenn

[MikeM]

Mar 28, 2009 13:14:17 GMT -5 americangardener said:

The pods will shatter really easy and all the seeds will spill out.

Interesting you say that! I guess my climate here is maybe just that bit too humid -- they never reach the point where they're so dry that they shatter open (like most of the other Brassicas).

I also never bother much with Radish seed (though I save justabout everything else) -- the pods are so thick and the seed such a hassle to extract that it doesn't seem worth the trouble (except for Daikon, which is really hard to get seed for locally.) I almost wish they would just shatter open

[americangardener]

Now that's interesting Mike. Maybe it was just the varieties i had that year that were easily shattered. I did leave em on the plants till some of the pods had started shattering though. They were pretty dried.

I probably mis spoke and some others aren't prone to shattering like i said. Maybe it's just the common varietys every one grows... i know there was a champion and scarlet globe and two or three others i grew that year. All real common ones. I have yet to try the Daikon ones. I think i'll try those this year.. then i'll let you all know how easy or hard it is to save the seeds.

Dave

[fulenn]

I'll post about what happens with these.

Mike, I used to live in Uitenhage. Such a beautiful country! I still miss it.....

Fulenn

[paquebot]

I don't like the "several radish plants" part. There may not have been enough plants for proper pollination. Each blossom must have been pollinated with pollen from another plant to produce viable seed.

You don't have to wait until the pods are dry enough to shatter at the slightest touch. When most of the pods are full, pull the plants and place them upside-down in a paper shopping bag to finish drying. Don't worry about the seeds not being mature as they will finish via the energy that's still in the plants stems. When everything is dry, a good shaking will knock the seeds out of their pods.

They may be only radishes but there's roughly 120 maintained by SSE members, most of which are not available anywhere commercially.

Martin

[toad]

I have similar experience to Mike. I had to give my radish seeds a hard beating to tresh the seeds, even after both weathering and drying. I did the job, because it's an hungarian amber colored variety unavailable to me in Denmark. More text and Pics in my blog: toads.wordpress.com/tag/radish/

Søren.

[canadamike]

Is it a winter or a summer radish, Toad?

How is the taste?

[toad]

It's a summer radish, straight forward not too hot taste. Just an interesting color.

[mnjrutherford]

OK, here's a question for you... What will happen if you let them go to seed and do nothing? Will they naturalize within a given area?

I'm growing "French Breakfast" and yesterday ate one. I've NEVER eaten a radish in my life. I wasn't overly thrilled, but at least I now know why a few radish are a must have in coleslaw! I liked the delicately pungent heat of the aftertaste. It had a refreshing mouth feel to it that I found rather pleasant.

[fulenn]

Toad,
That is a very pretty color of radish. How did you know when the seeds were ripe? I enjoyed reading your page on this.
Fulenn

[williethered]

I am new here. I got some radish seeds from a farmer in Oaxacca,Mexico a couple of years ago. it is a red and white, daikon type. he told me to break off the first flower stalk and then let the next stalk flower and go to seed. Is this correct or just Mexican folklore?
Thanks, Willie

[toad]

Welcome Willie the Red :-)

I decided to cut my radish seeds, when the first pods changed color from green to yellow, and it worked out fine. I don't think radish will naturalize in my garden, probably birds love the seeds too much.
Cutting the first flower stalk should be to increase the seed harvest. I had plenty of seed from the first flower stalks, as I also wanted enough indviduals to avoid inbreeding depression.

[oldfatguy]

I love to eat the seed pods. They really are delicious. I have to control myself so I will have enough seed.