I feel bad for radishes. They are always the last thing to go on the veggie tray. And most people only plant them in early spring when they are desperate for something (anything!) to grow. But I’ve always liked radishes, and when I harvested this technicolor bunch of them the other day, I decided that it was time to try and convince more people to grow and eat radishes.

1. First of all, look at these babies. They are gorgeous—so pretty my mom demanded we take a photo before we ate them.

2. Radishes are fast. They pop their little heads out of the ground just a few days after sowing and are ready to eat in under a month. Plus, you can grow them from early spring through fall, and they do great in containers.

3. Taste the leaves! Yes, you can eat the leaves (their Velcro-like texture disappears when you cook them). Just steam the leaves, dress them up with a bit of melted butter and lemon zest, and you’ve got yourself a fast and healthy side dish.

4. Eat radish pods! Let a few radish plants go to seed so you can try eating their pods (harvest them when they’re a couple inches long and before the seeds begin to fill out the pod). The pods have a little zip of heat and big flavor. They taste delicious stir fried with garlic, chopped chervil ,and chives. If you like them, you can even grow ‘Rat Tail’ a variety that was bred just for the pods.

5. The roots are good, too. I like them sliced paper thin and layered on a piece of crunchy bread spread with salty butter.

6. Homegrown tastes best. Like everything, radishes have the best flavor fresh from the garden. The key to growing succulent, tender, mild flavored roots is always, and I mean always, keeping their soil evenly moist. Let the soil dry out, and you’ll get stunted, pithy, hot roots. Prevent slug damage by gently hilling soil around the roots’ shoulders when they push out of the ground, and be sure to thin the plants to 1 inch apart when they have two sets of leaves, otherwise you’ll get crowded, malformed roots. After thinning, pop the mini radishes into salads and throw the little tops into soup.

An edible bouquet

I really like the variety ‘Easter Egg II’ from Territorial Seed. You get white, dark red, purple and pink radishes all in one package…a combo that is hard to resist (even if you think you don’t like radishes).