I like the leaves in a clear soup with other tidbits, including pieces of radish and maybe a little pasta. The color and flavor is nice and they undoubtedly add some vitamins. Cooking in the soup smooths out the hairiness of the leaves. They are good in a salad or in a sandwich, if you don't mind the hairiness of the leaves. You may be surprised that it doesn't bother you. Jim

High quality salad greens from radishes are a bit of a holy grail. The best I've been able to come up with so far are the Snow Belle radishes in the Easter Egg Radish seed mix. They seem less prickly than most, but are not 100%. I have not seen Snow Belle sold separately -- granted I haven't looked that hard. For the most part, young and tender tips of most varieties are usable in salads if inter-mixed with other greens.

Radish greens are eaten by many people although, depending on variety, some people find the leaves a bit prickly although they can be cooked in soups which softens them up a bit. If you a getting too much leafy growth, there are several reasons this commonly occurs: Crowded growing conditions. Radishes should be thinned to the correct in-row spacing within about 2 to 4 days following emergence of the plants from the soil. If you don't thin quickly enough, you won't get fully-formed radishes and you'll get "all greens". People who wait to thin a couple of weeks after the plants emerge from the soil usually get all tops and no "radish". Radishes, by the way, aren't actually the root of the plant but instead are the hypocotyl (the plant part that that you find directly below primary plant leaves but above the root) of the plant and it is important to know that because the hypocotyl of plants can be drastically affected and fail to enlarge if it is crowded in the early days after the leaves emerge. Low soil pH. Radishes need a pH above 6.0 and grow poorly on low-pH soils. Insufficient light. Because they are relatively short, they sometimes suffer when nearby plants shade them excessively. Insufficient moisture. Radishes thrive in moist soil so it is best to water regularly, taking care to water before the top inch of the soil gets completely dry. Insufficient fertility. Radishes need fertile soil that is loose, loamy and fairly fertile. A lack of fertility will hurt their production. However, they do not grow well on soil that has had a lot of manure added to it just before planting. So, if you add manure to your soil, add it in the fall and then plant radishes in that bed beginning in late winter. That whole planting by the dark vs. light of the moon is not supported by scientific research. I've grown radishes for many years and never worried about whether or not I am planting by the light or dark of the moon. I always get a good harvest no matter when I plant, so you'd think if the dark vs. light of the moon mattered, that statistically my crop would fail half the time. Dawn

Looks like flea beetles or could be any number of tiny chewing feeding insects. (i'm no expert on such things). Community gardens can attract so many insects. Especially if some of your neighbors purchase plant starts from a grocery plant stand. I would think a little spritzer of garlic/hot pepper/dot of drBronners soap would be ok with the community.-soak a few days in water, tps of veg oil and a tiny dash of soap. (i've had one bucket soaking for weeks now and spray if i see a tiny hole) Or a netting of tule fabric to cover. I have a bolt of olive green that was 9 bucks. That keeps the chewers off. Perfectly fine to eat since i see no brown edges or unhealthy leaves. Just wash in a bath of water and a bit of citric acid, aka lemon juice. Any critters will float away...