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
Check out this cool story of how NASA has turned radish production
into rocket science!
http://www.nasa.gov/missions/science/radishes.html
Thanks for
your help,
Ruby!
Explore
A look at
Florida
FROM SPACE!
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!
Here is how they look...
Right before harvesting. They
should pop out of the ground,
like this!
In the produce section at the
market. Find radishes next to
other fresh vegetables!
Chopped up in a salad.
They are the circular white
ones with ruby red borders!
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!
Radish Nutrition
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.
Once a radish gets too old, it will crack and split.
More fun facts...
Radishes were used as money in ancient Egypt.
Radish comes from the Latin word radix- meaning “root”.
“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!
Script for school announcement
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:
http://www.soil-net.com/sm3objects/activities/Activity_JamJar.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!
Farm
Manager
Scientist
Truck
Driver
Food Safety Inspector
Veterinarian
Packager
Grocer
Farm
Staff
Distributor
Chef
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:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-engineeringcareers/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:
http://www.nutrition.gov/lifestages/children/kids-food-safety
For a Food Safety Activity Book, Click
here:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/shared/PDF/BFS_
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 8
1 8-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:
www.FreshFromFlorida.com/farmtoschool
Questions? Comments? Concerns?
Reach out to the Florida Farm to School Program by phone at (850) 617-7400,
or by emailing Lindsey Grubbs, Florida Farm to School Director, at
Lindsey.Grubbs@FreshFromFlorida.com.
Discover
Radishes