Discover Radishes

Your Space host... Ruby The Florida Radish About Ruby: Height: 10 inches Weight: 1 ½ pounds Favorite Movie: Despicable Me Favorite Music: Underground and Grassroots Dream Car: Red Mustang Favorite Quote: “Fresh is best!”

radishes And Rockets

Explore Check out this cool story of how NASA has turned radish production into rocket science! Thanks for your help, Ruby!

FROM SPACE! A look at Florida

Do you know where radishes are grown in Florida? Radishes are primarily grown in Orange and Palm Beach Counties! Orange Palm Beach

Let’s travel Back To Earth to learn more!

How do radishes grow? Raising radishes are quick and easy! Planting Plant radish seeds no more than half of an inch deep directly into the soil. Allow about one inch of spacing between seeds. Keep soil moist throughout by watering regularly Harvesting Radishes are generally ready to harvest in about four weeks. Be sure to harvest them earlier than later for best taste! Chopped up in a salad. They are the circular white ones with ruby red borders! Right before harvesting. They should pop out of the ground, like this! Here is how they look... In the produce section at the market. Find radishes next to other fresh vegetables!

Have you ever tried radishes? Radishes are a healthy and nutritious root vegetable. One cup of sliced radishes has approximately 19 calories. Did you know that you can even eat the leaves of radishes? There are many different kinds of radishes, but the most well-known variety, and probably the type you have eaten the most is the red globe radish. It is often sliced onto salads! Radishes are a healthy and nutritious root vegetable. One cup of sliced radishes has approximately 19 calories. Did you know that you can even eat the leaves of radishes? There are many different kinds of radishes, but the most well-known variety, and probably the type you have eaten the most is the red globe radish. It is often sliced onto salads! Radish Nutrition Vegetable! Radishes are an excellent source of vitamin C! Radishes also contain fiber and potassium!

Why are Florida radishes special? Florida is the leading producer of radishes in the United States and harvests over 30% of the country’s radish acreage. Radishes need a lot of sunlight, which Florida provides. If they do not receive enough sunlight, they put all of their energy into producing larger leaves. More fun facts... Once a radish gets too old, it will crack and split. Radishes were used as money in ancient Egypt. Radish comes from the Latin word radix- meaning “root”.

Script for school announcement “Radishes are the Harvest of the Month for January! Did you know that radishes were originally from China and now Florida is the leading producer of radishes in the United States? Share this fun fact with family members and make sure to buy some in- season, Florida radishes next time you and your family go to a supermarket or farmers’ market.” Joke of the month What is small, red, and whispers? A hoarse radish!

Science Why is Soil so Important? Soil contains the minerals and nutrients that allow your plants to grow strong and healthy. Plants absorb these nutrients in the soil through their roots. Radishes are a type of root vegetable. What part of the soil does a radish grow in? Radishes grow in the topsoil layer, which is about 2 inches deep.

Science Soil Mini Lab 1.Fill a Mason Jar half full with soil. 2.Wet the soil until muddy and tap the jar to settle the soil. 3.Mark the level of soil on the jar with a permanent marker or whiteout. 4.Optional: put a teaspoon of calgon in the jar. 5.Let the soil sit for 40 seconds, mark the level of soil in the jar. This is the sand portion. 6.Wait six more hours and mark the level of soil in the jar. The difference between the bottom mark (the sand) and the second mark is the silt portion of the soil. The total sand plus silt is the distance from the bottom of the jar to the second mark. For a simpler version of this experiment visit:

Social Studies Jobs in Agriculture There are many important roles in agriculture that help make sure the food you eat is safe and fresh! Farm Manager Food Safety Inspector Farm Staff ScientistVeterinarianPackagerDistributor Truck Driver GrocerChef

Social Studies Jobs in Agriculture There are many important roles in agriculture that help make sure the food you eat is safe and fresh! The Role of a Farm Manager and the Farm Staff The farm manager is in charge of the entire farm staff. They solve many different problems. One possible problem would be if there was a bad rainstorm and the fields flooded. They also hire the staff and make all of the staff’s schedules. The staff on the farm plant and harvest the vegetables. They are able to tell when the produce is ready to be picked!

Social Studies Jobs in Agriculture There are many important roles in agriculture that help make sure the food you eat is safe and fresh! The Role of a Scientist on a Farm It is important keep plants healthy. Did you know that plants can get diseases too? Scientists help keep plants healthy so that farms can grow as much produce as possible. Find out more about what a plant scientist does here: careers/life-sciences/plant-scientist#whatdotheydo careers/life-sciences/plant-scientist#whatdotheydo

Social Studies Jobs in Agriculture There are many important roles in agriculture that help make sure the food you eat is safe and fresh! The Role of a Veterinarian on a Farm Plants are not the only things that need to remain healthy on a farm; the animals do too! A veterinarian looks out for the care of farm animals. Veterinarians give farm animals medicine called vaccines, check their teeth and teach farm staff how to take care of the animals.

Social Studies Jobs in Agriculture There are many important roles in agriculture that help make sure the food you eat is safe and fresh! The Role of a Food Safety Inspector It is important that the food we eat is safe. Food Safety Inspectors make sure that it is! Learn about food safety here: stages/children/kids-food-safety For a Food Safety Activity Book, Click here: Activity_Book_Color.pdf

Social Studies Jobs in Agriculture There are many important roles in agriculture that help make sure the food you eat is safe and fresh! The Role of a Packager, Truck Driver and Distributor 3 Important Steps 1.The packager prepares produce for delivery by putting them into containers. 2.The truck driver transports the packaged produce. 3.The distributor delivers the packaged produce to the supermarkets.

Social Studies Jobs in Agriculture There are many important roles in agriculture that help make sure the food you eat is safe and fresh! The Role of a Grocer A grocer sells the produce to you so that you can take it home and eat it! There are many jobs within a grocery store. Some of these jobs include stocking shelves, chopping fruit, bagging groceries and working the cashier.

Social Studies Jobs in Agriculture There are many important roles in agriculture that help make sure the food you eat is safe and fresh! The Role of a Chef Chefs prepare the produce bought from the store to make it taste delicious. Here is a yummy radish recipe so you can be a chef, too! Hummus and Radish Stuffed Pitas: Serves ounce container hummus 4 6-inch whole-wheat pitas, halved 4 green leaf lettuce leaves, halved 1 ¼ cups cucumber, thinly sliced ¾ cup radishes, thinly sliced ½ cup crumbled feta cheese 1. Divide hummus mixture evenly among eight pita halves, about 1 ½ tablespoons each. 2. Divide lettuce, cucumber, radishes and cheese evenly among pita halves. Enjoy! Hummus and Radish Stuffed Pitas: Serves ounce container hummus 4 6-inch whole-wheat pitas, halved 4 green leaf lettuce leaves, halved 1 ¼ cups cucumber, thinly sliced ¾ cup radishes, thinly sliced ½ cup crumbled feta cheese 1. Divide hummus mixture evenly among eight pita halves, about 1 ½ tablespoons each. 2. Divide lettuce, cucumber, radishes and cheese evenly among pita halves. Enjoy!

Social Studies Jobs in Agriculture There are many important roles in agriculture that help make sure the food you eat is safe and fresh! Meet Chef Paula, Official Fresh for Florida Kids Chef! Chef Paula is the official Fresh for Florida Kids Chef for the entire state! She loves working with students to create healthy, yummy dishes.

Social Studies More teacher resources Visit our website for more teacher resources: Questions? Comments? Concerns? Reach out to the Florida Farm to School Program by phone at (850) , or by ing Lindsey Grubbs, Florida Farm to School Director, at

Discover Radishes