My favorite way to plant White Icicle radishes is in among the carrot seeds, to mark the row. They can be harvested without disturbing the soil as much as round radishes. I didn't know about the edible seed pods from White Icicle. Though I knew about Rattail. There's one hot and one mild radish variety grown just for the pods, and one (Biergarten, I think) grown for big, immature, juicy seeds to shell out of the pods when green, sort of like peanuts. Cabrita, don't give up on turnips just because you've discovered radishes, especially for fall. Try some of the mild, sweet ones with hairless greens - Oasis, Hakeuri, White Lady or Just Right. They are different from radishes, but juicy and tender to eat out-of-hand after peeling (my favorite way to eat them), or in salads. They're juicier than the "purple top" types, but not as "turnipy". Sometimes I like "turnipy". But the sweet ones are more versatile. The greens are chewier than radish greens, but sweet, mild and hairless. Early thinnings of any of the sweet varieties should be good for salads. "Just Right" is harvested at 28 days for tops, 60 days (or longer) for roots. The other varieties vary from about 25 to 40 days for roots. My favorite of the early kinds is Oasis, which is more vigorous than Hakeuri. Both have great, fruity flavor. They don't hold as well in the garden as "Just Right" when the weather turns cold and rainy, but "Just Right" is not very useful for roots when young. White Lady is also very nice and very early - you can sometimes start harvesting at 25 days. I haven't compared it to others for holding ability in cold, rainy weather. When my overlooked or cracked turnips start to bolt about the end of January, i like to eat some of the blossom clusters when I'm out working in the garden. They are sweet. They bloom at the right time to attract bees when my earlliest stonefruits start to bloom. Radishes and turnips both have a place in my garden. Variety is the spice of life. Here is a link that might be useful: sweet turnips, hairless greens

Some radish cultivars have leaves that are not prickly, and these can be eaten raw. "Hong Vit", from Johnnys, is pretty good, and quite ornamental From Evergreen: "Pearl" is excellent raw. "4 Seasons" is slightly bitter. "Sai Sai" failed to germinate in my hands The 4 cultivars listed above were bred for their leaves, not for their roots. But I sometimes get good roots from "Hong Vit". The leaves are usually mild, but sometimes get a little hot. "China Express" has hairless leaves that have mild to moderate heat but are slightly bitter. The above ground portion of the root is quite mild, while the underground portion is just as hot as a typical American red globe radish found in supermarkets and salad bars. This is a spring radish. "Watermelon Type Radishes" are Chinese radishes with green skin and red flesh, and should be planted early fall. Their leaves are hairless and fairly mild but may be slightly bitter. Same comments for Chinese radishes that are grown in the fall and have either green/white skin with green/white flesh. About 1-2 years ago, I had a thread in the Asian forum on Garden Web, about eating the leaves of Asian radishes. I plan on updating that, possibly in about a month from now.

This summer was the first I tried the greens. I don't know why I never thought of it before....they aren't much different than all the other brassicas we get greens from. I steamed some and ripped others into small pieces and added them to salads. For fresh eating in salads it was best to use small leaves that didn't have as many prickly hairs. The taste both ways was good and made me wonder why radish greens aren't heard of more often...Now I wonder what other garden edibles I've been neglecting over the years :)

Leisa, I didn't know the answer to your question, so I searched on Google and wouldn't you know, it directed me back to GW. The leaves of all edible peas are edible and are called pea shoots. If you search on pea shoots here, you will find lots of information. It never occurred to me to grow peas just for the shoots, but since DH can't eat the peas, but loves the flavor, I'm going to plant some just to harvest the sprouts. Thanks for the question - I learned something new. (We sped up the lettuces, etc, with a cold frame.)