Happy Mother's Day... and garden report

I don't know where my mom and I were headed, but there we are! This was taken in 1959, so I was fifteen or so; we may have been heading to a wrestling match. Or perhaps Church. Happy Mother's Day to all, in memory of my own mother.

I received a card yesterday with no return address and no signature: On the front it said "You're special to me", and on the inside was written a very nice note from the "mystery person". Now if I'd taken time to read the whole thing, I would have known where it came from. But no, after reading the first gushy line, I was busy hunting for a signature or postmark. Finally I read through the several sentences and saw "Pat's mom" mentioned, and then "Pat and me". It was Cliff's sister, Charlene, recounting childhood memories she made with us.

She was eight years old when we married. She wrote about how she and I used to ride horses together, and now we ride motorcycles. I'm really not one to remember special days, or celebrate them; I send very few cards and don't expect to receive any... but I have to say that card that came out of the blue was special.

On my walkabout in the garden I discovered a few beans are up, and also the bush cucumbers, which I planted mainly as an experiment. I also planted a few bush cantaloupe seeds.

I could live my whole life without ever eating a radish, but Cliff loves them, so I plant them. They are often ready to eat three weeks after planting, which is rewarding. My trouble is that I can't get them to make a radish! They always want to make a long, skinny root rather than a round globe, and then bolt. That behavior would be normal in hot weather, but not during a cool spring like we're having. My mom and grandma always had huge, lovely radishes, and I'd love to know what I'm doing wrong. Obviously this is a common problem: Just Google "can't grow radishes" and you'll see lots of people having the same trouble. Here's one expert's answer:

"Radishes are root crops that require cooler temperatures to grow and require a soil composed primarily of potassium. They also need soil that is friable to a depth of 6". They do not grow well in clay. (I don't have clay, though; I have sandy soil.)

You can certainly amend your soil with organic matter and build it up to the proper depth much like you would with a raised bed. Organic matter would include compost, aged manure, and peat moss. You also should till in an granular fertilizer high in potassium. Potassium is the third number on the front of fertilizer bags. Avoid fertilizers high in nitrogen (the first number), since these promote lush foliage at the expense of large roots."

I'll give credit to the source HERE.