ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602150003
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Dear John
SOURCE: JOHN ARBOGAST
The National Garden Bureau has named 1996 as the Year of the Radish. This is certainly a well-deserved honor for such an easy-to-grow root crop that almost jumps out of the ground.
In Roanoke, radish seeds can be sowed in late March or early April, when the soil is dry enough to work.
Folks planning gardens should know that radishes are classified by the length of their growing time, which ties into the season of year in which they should grow. The easy-to-grow, quick-to-mature radishes that usually produce roots that are crispy and mild are in the ``short crop'' classification. Gardeners who are eager to have fresh vegetables for a spring salad should consider these because they are ready to harvest in about three to four weeks after seeds are sowed.
They require cool soil to germinate and mild air temperatures to develop well. The ``midseason crop'' radishes that gardeners might see in catalogs are also called Japanese varieties. These grow slowly and are sowed in late spring or early summer with harvesting from midsummer to fall.
``Longer-season'' radishes grow large, are slow to mature and need warm soil during germination and early growth but short days and cool weather toward the end of their growing cycle.
New gardeners should know what veteran gardeners have found out about how growing conditions affect radish quality and flavor: radishes grown under hot temperatures or harvested when past maturity can be strong flavored and worthless, with pithy inedible roots.
The National Garden Bureau has suggested a list of short-crop radish varieties that should be outstanding for Roanoke area spring gardens: Cherry Belle - scarlet globe, quickest grower and mild flavor. 1994 All-America Selections winner.
Champion - bright red, round type, more pungent than Cherry Belle. 1957 AAS winner.
Sparkler - red top, white bottom, mild.
Easter Egg II Blend - one packet of seeds will produce crunchy radishes in three colors: red, purple, white. Snow Belle - mild, all-white radish, resists pithiness.
French Breakfast - delicate flavor, oblong shaped, dark rose skin with white tip.
White Icicle - slender, tapered white root, mild.
Q: Woodpeckers have been after my ornamental pear tree. What can I do? They have made holes all the way around the trunk. M.S., Roanoke
A: The fact that holes have been made all the way around the trunk tells me that the culprit is likely a sapsucker, a bird that make holes to feed on the sap.
Usually, they don't kill the tree, especially if it's a mature tree.
Stopping the bird generally means physically blocking its access to the trunk. The deterrent needs only to be left in place for about 10 days and could be something like bird netting secured out from the trunk so that birds can't peck through or under it, or burlap wrapped around the trunk. Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants, or insects to Dear John, c/o The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. We need your mail, but this column can't reply to all letters. Those of wide appeal will be answered during the weeks that the subject is timely. Personal replies cannot be given. please don't send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples, or pictures.
Gardener's checklist
Jobs for early February:
Gardeners who have sunny windowsills or a home greenhouse and like to start their own vegetable transplants should now sow seeds of broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage for the spring garden.
Find a time soon when the garden soil is not too wet or frozen so that overwintering cover crops, which are also called ``green manure crops,'' can be tilled in well in advance of spring planting.
Cut back leggy scented geraniums that might have been enduring less-than-sufficient fall and winter indoor sunlight in order to encourage shorter, fuller growth.
John Arbogast is the agricultural and natural resources extension agent for Roanoke.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 linesby CNB