About those biergarten radish...

One of the vegetables in my garden this summer was German biergarten radish. If you've ever been to a biergarten in Munich, you've undoubtably seen them. Big, huge white radish cut into razor thin slices: laid out on a plate so they sweat when sprinkled with salt. (If you've never been to a biergarten in Munich, then that must sound like an extremely strange description of a food.) Delicious, no? I bet you're dying to try some.

The seeds weren't easy to find, but I persisted because I'm always looking for comfort foods for Fritz. This seemed like a good one. And we could grow it. And I'm a little obsessed with finding unusual foods to grow in the garden. Plus, we have a fancy German radish slicer that hasn't seen any action in the last three years.

Well, I don't know. I don't know about these radish. I don't know if I'm willing to grow them again. They were magnets for all sorts of garden pests. First, it was flea beetles. Then, it was aphids. None of these pests arrived in small numbers; rather they arrived in great, big swarms. I've diligently planted mint and marigolds trying to deter the infestation. On Monday, I admitted defeat and pulled out three quarters of the radish. They were actually still a little on the small side, but I'm too worried about my other vegetables to risk any more of this infestation business. And I think they're big enough that we won't feel we're missing out.

That said, it does make me feel like a real gardener to be dealing with PESTS.

I'm not a big fan of eating the radish, but you know what I LOVE about eating German biergarten radish? You can't do it without drinking a Radler: one part Sprite, one part your favorite IPA/light beer. Yum!