In late April I planted out the cabbage seedlings. They were started indoors under lights a month prior and still pretty small compared to seedlings you might buy from the nursery.
A couple of weeks after planting the cabbage seedlings, I decided to use the space in between the rows of cabbage with a quick-growing veggie. I seeded radishes in between the rows of cabbage seedlings.
It's been about a month since seeding the radishes, and both the radishes and cabbages have grown quite a bit.
The leaves on the cabbage plants have grown large enough to begin shading the radishes. Fortunately, the radishes are about ready to pull out of the ground. The cabbage plants will continue to grow and develop heads over the next month or so.
Just in the knick of time for the radishes. Look at the size of those cabbage leaves! They'll take up all of the space in that bed in no time.
Using a single garden space to grow multiple types of plants simultaneously is called interplanting or intercropping. It's a method that maximizes limited space in order to grow more. Experts don't recommend interplanting all from the cabbage family vegetables (such as cabbage and radish), as it could increase pests that are drawn to those particular plants, like cabbage moth. However, I've had good luck with this combination in past years, as the radishes are only there, right next to the cabbages, for about a month.
Looks like we'll have radishes in our salads this next week.
As I said, just in the knick of time.
We've been eating a lot of radishes, lately. Some from our garden and some from a friend's garden. He is gardening for the first time and planted many more than he could use. We eat a few of them raw, but mostly we roast them.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteLucky you with all of those radishes. I haven't tried roasting them. Maybe this will be the year I try them that way. My father-in-law used to add radishes to omelets, and they were quite good that way.
Great use of your garden space! My husband staggers when he plants different items. The two of you would enjoy comparing how different climates affect what you plant, and when.
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteIt makes a lot of sense to stagger planting times so you can enjoy more variety and over a longer period. Yes, it would be fun to compare gardening.