I'm really happy with the way this turned out! I planted a bunch of daikon radishes this spring as an experiment just to see what kind of
root development they would get before they bolted (and for the little bit of soil building I could get out of them.) They bolted, as expected, and the
roots were definitely smaller than fall/winter grown daikons. But I was prepared! I knew that one of my largest early season harvests was going to be the daikon seed pods, and I'd already gathered up everything I needed to experiment with using them as a lactofermented pickle!
I often use the daikon seed pods in much the same way I'd use snow peas or sugar snaps: soups, salads, stir fries, etc. But I harvested about a gallon (after sorting through them and feeding the discards to the
chickens) and there was no way I could use that many fresh.
So, I did a little experiment with a 6-quart food grade tub and a slow cooker liner, and this has turned out to be the easiest and most painless fermentation method I've ever used. The slow cooker liner, placed over your veggies and then filled with brine, acts as both your fermentation weight and your airlock. It basically behaves similarly to the old school Harsch crocks, but you don't have to worry about the channel running out of
water. Plus, you're not limited on container size! At least, within reason. We have some three gallon food grade buckets that I might use for a large batch of sauerkraut once I have a nice bunch of cabbages coming out of the garden.
And the best part about growing daikons in the spring is that they get a nice little spicy kick, just like the little red salad radishes can (I mean, unless you're not a fan of the spiciness.)
Here's a
video showing how I processed the seed pods and how I fermented them with the slow cooker liner method, in case you want more details:
https://youtu.be/K4MK0_3OyD4
If you already use this method for fermenting (anyone?), or if you plan to use it for fermenting your larger batches (though, it works as well with smaller containers… just use a zip top bag instead), let me know what you're working on! And if you have any questions, I'm happy to
answer them! I'll definitely be growing more spring daikons just so I can leave the roots to rot in the ground and add organic matter while simultaneously getting a harvest of these little pods. (And don't worry, I did save a bunch of seeds... they're currently drying down so I can thresh and winnow them.)
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