PUHI — The radish, one of the easiest and fastest vegetables to grow, will be featured in the Best Vegetable contest at the Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau Fair, which will open Aug. 23 and run through Aug. 26. George Mukai,
PUHI — The radish, one of the easiest and fastest vegetables to grow, will be featured in the Best Vegetable contest at the Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau Fair, which will open Aug. 23 and run through Aug. 26.
George Mukai, a perennial high pointer in the fruit and vegetable competition, said he was putting in his seeds on July 31 to ensure a supply for the Best Vegetable judging.
Mukai, also a member of the Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, said he might even help the residents plant some in their outdoor garden, which is made up of recycled bathtubs, so they can see the results of their planting.
Ken Lindsey of Ono Organics had a good supply of radish varieties at a recent Saturday Kaua‘i Community Market, including White Beauty, Rudolph, a common variety found in seed racks, and French Breakfast, a unique red-and-white variety.
“We have a lot for the markets,” Lindsey said. “But I never thought of entering them in contests. That’s a good idea. I might get something together.”
To promote the featured vegetable, Roy Yamakawa of the University of Hawai‘i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources dropped off a supply of Sakata Crunchy Red and a supply of general radish growing instructions, said Melissa McFerrin, Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau coordinator of the Kaua‘i Community Market.
“These seeds are free to promote radish as the featured vegetable at the fair,” McFerrin said. “People can stop by the Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau table and pick up some.”
The Farm Fair will include summer and spring radishes, or Raphanus sativus, which are small, about 1 inch in diameter, round and red, states the flier.
Seeds sprout in three days and the crunch bulbous roots will be ready to eat in 19 to 22 days. The flier warns “not harvesting soon enough will cause them to turn from icy and crunchy to pithy and pungent.”
Radish grow best in cool weather in a bed of crumbly, porous soil with even soil moisture and at least six hours of direct sunshine, the instructions states.
While radishes can be grown year-round in Hawai‘i, during the summer months of June through August, it is best to plant them in the coolest part of the garden, or an area with morning sun and afternoon shade.
Radish grows best when planted, or thinned to about two inches apart within the row and 6 to 10 inches between rows, the young sprouts may be harvested and eaten as nutritious greens.
Radish plants do not require very high amounts of fertilizer, but do need an equal balance of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in a 1:1:1 ratio.
Uneven moisture will cause splitting and cracking, these being helped by compost and other organic matter in the soil to even soil moisture while providing nutrients and micronutrients.
Radishes are a good source of Vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, riboflavin, B6, calcium and micronutrients.
The free seeds are also available at the UH-CTAR office located in the State Office Building in Room 210.
To enhance the radish experience, Lenore Klass, president of the Kaua‘i Association for Family and Community Education, said KAFCE in the past has hosted a booth at the Kaua‘i Community Market one or two weeks before the fair “to promote the fair and the good works of KAFCE.”
Those works include being responsible for arranging the food and craft contests, the judging and details for security, set-up and cleanup of the Home Economics Show.
During these market appearances, original recipes are prepared using the farm bureau’s featured vegetable at the fair with samples and the recipes available to market shoppers.
“This year’s vegetable is the radish,” Klass said in an email. “There is some difficulty in creating original recipes for this vegetable, but we are working on some for buttered radishes, cakes and breads.”
Klass and her crew, including Kay Nakata and Club Hui Holomua, chair of this year’s fair, will be at the market Saturday with recipes and samples.
The Kaua‘i Community Market, in partnership with the Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau and the Kaua‘i Community College, is open Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Visit www.kauaifarmfair.org for more information on the Best Vegetable contest, the KAFCE contests and the farm fair. Visit www.kauaicommunitymarket.org for more information on the Saturday market.
