Lilies, Radishes, and Sunflowers

Spring is in the air, and so is the pollen.  My allergies have been killing me the last few days, but the warm weather reminds me that I have some gardening to do, and when I sow or harvest, Lily is usually right there next to me.  Lily has helped me tend to my crops since she was about 8 months old.  I absolutely love the fact that she can recognize mint and basil when she sees them, and when we go to the store, she sees fruits and vegetables that she has experience growing herself.  Right now we are growing sunflowers, peas, tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, and the last of our radish seeds. 

Radishes and sunflowers are two of my favorite crops to grow with Lily.  For kids, radishes are awesome because they grow quickly and can be harvested easily.  Radishes germinate within a week, and are usually ready to eat about three weeks after that.  Not a lot of people like radishes, but they add a little spice and color to salads, they can be made into a nice dip, and they are a good source of vitamin C and fiber. 

Another little known fact about radishes is that the leaves are edible, and the leaves have a LOT more vitamin C than the root.  The flavor of the leaves is neither good nor bad, but it is an unfamiliar flavor for most people, so my suggestion is to just mix the greens in with a spring greens mix or maybe a spinach salad. 

Growing sunflowers is a lot of fun because they can get so huge.  I’m growing my 2^nd generation of sunflowers now, and I have one that is six feet tall and a couple of others in the upper 5 foot range.  Another cool thing about sunflowers is the number of seeds you get once they’re pollinated.  You can get several hundred to a couple of thousand seeds from one sunflower, depending on its size.  That’s more than enough to roast some for eating and save some for replanting.

WARNING: Pollination requires bees.  I’m sure you knew this, but if you want to grow sunflowers with your kids, be aware that your kids are going to be exposed to bees.  Lily was recently stung by a bee on her finger.  She was very brave about it, and we were very proud of her toughness, but she did cry and it did hurt for a little while.  Just know that this is one of the risks you take if you’re going to grow sunflowers with your children. 

I’ve grown sunflowers both in the ground and in pots.  In my experience, sunflowers in pots are great for cutting, but that’s about it.  They don’t get very tall (maybe a couple of feet), and the heads don’t get very big.  They’re beautiful in a vase as a centerpiece, though.  Planting sunflowers in the ground has yielded my monsters.  I have a 2 ft. x 8 ft. bed on the south side of our back patio that gets great sun.  You can literally watch these things grow if the weather’s warm enough.  I think my tallest one grew about a foot in one week when it started getting really warm. 

One drawback to sunflowers is that they droop and become a little unsightly after they’ve been pollinated.  The heads get heavy with seeds, and you pretty much have to wait until the backs of the heads get yellowish and the petals fall off before you can cut the head off and let them dry out before collecting the seeds.  I like to cut the heads off because I get tired of looking at giant droopy flowers, but you can leave the heads on the sunflowers as long as you protect them from birds and devise a way to collect the seeds as they fall.  A paper bag tied around the head would work fine, although I’ve never tried this method. 

Gardening with Lily has been a great way to spend time with her outside, and it’s a fun educational experience for her.  I highly recommend starting a garden with your kids, and if you don’t have kids, start a garden anyway.  It’s therapeutic and very rewarding in a primal sort of way to eat the fruits of your own labor, and don't overthink it.  Just start planting what you like to eat and see what happens. 

Cheers!