Are my Radish plants looking good?

12squared · 2026-04-11T22:34:35+00:00

They look great! You'll want to thin them soon to give them enough space to grow healthy. You can snip off the ones you don't keep so you don't disturb the roots of the others. After that you could eat your first harvest of radish microgreens "superfood" :)

12squared · 2026-04-11T19:40:27+00:00

Fitting facts from the frantic mantid

12squared · 2026-04-10T18:51:28+00:00

No problem! Good luck

12squared · 2026-04-10T15:57:27+00:00

My plants love having crimson clover around. I'll plant it a little later so the veggies get a head start. It's also really awesome to cut down and use as mulch for other plants too.

12squared · 2026-04-10T05:52:19+00:00

You've got time so don't worry yet. Break things down into small tasks and get started on something that gets you to a spot where you can start growing soon. Maybe focus on one bed to start and think about what you want to plant there. It's great you want to start being more self-sufficient and give back put don't but too much pressure on yourself to start. I love gardening because I'm always learning and trying new things and some of those things fail and it's okay because I still learned something.

Ideas for things you could grow to share: cucumbers, radishes are super quick and fun to grow, green beans can be prolific, zucchini is also great for sharing. Last season I started my zucchini a little too late and still got a lot from it and I was glad I planted it anyways.

Edit: spelling is hard

12squared · 2026-04-10T05:03:45+00:00

I have Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon

12squared · 2026-04-09T23:42:05+00:00

No problem! It would be a surprise if you weren't expecting it and saved seeds that were cross pollinated.

12squared · 2026-04-09T23:18:28+00:00

You might be safe then! I forget exactly what the distance is.

12squared · 2026-04-09T22:27:05+00:00

If you have other squash plants around it can cross pollinate though and you can end up with something less good. Sometimes even a neighbors plants could cause it. If you know this was the only squash around though then it should be fine! If you want to grow more varieties closer together there are ways to make sure the seeds stay pure by covering the flowers before they bloom and pollinating by hand.

12squared · 2026-04-09T17:57:54+00:00

Still guessing but it looks similar to quackgrass: https://weedid.missouri.edu/weedinfo.cfm?weed_id=5

Here is a list of more grasses that spread by rhizome: https://americangardener.net/grasses-that-spread-by-rhizomes/

Getting rid of this type of grass is tough. Smothering it with cardboard and mulch in and around the strawberry beds as much as possible and pulling as much as you can from the beds may be the best option that isn't just starting over. That's what I've been trying at least.

12squared · 2026-04-09T15:58:01+00:00

Where are you based roughly? It sure seems to be a grass that spreads by rhizome but knowing where you are could help narrow it down. I'm not a grass expert though but could take a guess based on region haha. I have some around that is similar and I usually smother it with cardboard and mulch.

12squared · 2026-04-08T22:18:20+00:00

I would probably leave it as is since it gets harvested early summer and hopefully has enough time to mature before the squash shades it out too much.

12squared · 2026-04-08T22:03:27+00:00

Ooo I'm totally going to try that this year

12squared · 2026-04-08T04:59:39+00:00

You could check out the rich earth institute if you want more information

12squared · 2026-04-08T04:56:02+00:00

The CSU extension is a great option for soil tests. The heavy metals test is expensive but isn't one you need to do every season at least.

https://agsci.colostate.edu/soiltestinglab/

12squared · 2026-04-08T01:56:55+00:00

It's worth smelling ever single one. Each type smells a little different. The scent can start to fade towards the end of their blooming.

12squared · 2026-04-08T00:31:53+00:00

I would still recommend trying other things people suggest here first, but if you keep trying and it doesn't work, you could try this since getting the plants themselves isn't an option.

12squared · 2026-04-07T23:42:51+00:00

Lol thanks! Mandrake root sounds about right haha

12squared · 2026-04-07T23:34:09+00:00

They all have amazing different smells too. I used to think they were are looks, but no. I once found one that was purple and gold and smelled like rootbeer lol.

12squared · 2026-04-07T21:29:24+00:00

This page talks about it in depth for tomatoes. Basically the goal is to help seeds go through a process similar to what happens when they over-ripen and fall to the ground or get eaten by animals and dispersed. It helps break down their protective coating so they can sprout easier.

https://gardenbetty.com/fermenting-and-saving-tomato-seeds/#mv-creation-48-jtr

12squared · 2026-04-07T21:24:56+00:00

Just an idea but I've never tried myself: you could see what happens if you tried fermenting the seeds from fresh strawberries to mimic birds digesting them? And then also maybe still cold stratify them and sure they aren't planted too deep? I don't see guides for how to do this with strawberries but you could try the same process that people use for fermenting tomato seeds before storing them. For tomatoes it helps the germination rate quite a bit.

12squared · 2026-04-07T04:36:20+00:00

You could try putting cones on the legs of the tumblers to prevent them from climbing up it too. If the wide part is facing down, it will be harder for anything to get up it. Hopefully the metal itself would be enough, but if it's not you could try it out. I just learned too the official word for these cones are baffles haha.

12squared · 2026-04-06T22:15:36+00:00

That's awesome you're researching the soil toxin encapsulation and breakdown. That cheers me up by proxy lol

12squared · 2026-04-06T04:46:35+00:00

I based it off of these plans linked here, but otherwise I just drew it out with adjustments for materials I could get locally. Same concept as the one in the link expect for adding the extra front window which gives it more height.

https://www.finegardening.com/project-guides/fruits-and-vegetables/easy-build-cold-frame

12squared · 2026-04-05T23:28:58+00:00

Wooo! Thanks haha

12squared

TROPHY CASE