<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raphanus sativus radiculata group<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Introduction<\/strong>: The main virtue of radish is that it is quick; some varieties\nmay mature in as little as 3 – 4 weeks. Actually I would say that its only\nvirtue is that it is quick, as I am not a big fan of radishes. They are not\nvery nutritious and are way down near the bottom of my list of useful garden\ncrops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I actually value radish more for its tasty, spicy seed sprouts\nthan as a root vegetable. The young leaves, flowers and green seedpods are all\ngood in salads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Climate: <\/strong>Radish is a cool weather crop, growing best at a cool 60\u00b0F and\nwith moist conditions. Hot weather causes them to develop a very pungent\nflavor, similar to the related horseradish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ease of growing: <\/strong>The Latin species name means \u201ceasily reared\u201d, because this is one\nof the simplest vegetables to grow. It is often one of the first vegetables a\nnew gardener tries and is commonly recommended for children (though I can\u2019t\nimagine many children enjoy eating it very much). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nutritional content<\/strong>: The root is fairly rich in vitamins C\nand B6, as well as folate, potassium, magnesium, copper, and calcium. It is\npretty low in energy, with only about 75 calories per pound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soil<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n pH 5.5 – 6.8<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Radish roots don\u2019t go very deep so the ideal soil is loose and\nwell-drained, such as a sandy loam. They don\u2019t like heavy soil. It should also\nbe slightly acidic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Soil preparation<\/strong>: Most soils will benefit from 2\u02dd of organic matter (compost or\naged manure), which should be incorporated into the top 6\u02dd of soil to loosen it\n(this is particularly important in heavy \nclay soil). It\u2019s also a good idea to remove any rocks or debris you come across.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In very poor soil you can dig a special trench and fill it with a\nmix made from compost, sand and soil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like most root crops radishes don\u2019t need a lot of nitrogen (don\u2019t\ngive them fresh manure), but they do like potassium and phosphorus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Planning<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where<\/strong>: In cool weather radishes are grown in full sun. In hot weather\nthey may benefit from light shade during the hottest part of the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Because the roots are in the ground for such a short period, they\nare rarely planted in their own bed space. They are usually interplanted\nbetween slower growing crops, such as Brassicas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When<\/strong>: Radishes grow best with moist soil, cool weather and short days\n(ideally less than 12 hours long). In most areas these conditions are most\neasily found in spring and fall (the latter is best). <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can grow radishes in summer too, but temperatures\nmuch above 70\u00b0F cause them to be very pungent. At this time of year you have to\nuse the right varieties and give them light shade and plenty of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spring<\/strong>: A rule of thumb would be to start planting radishes 2 – 4 weeks\nbefore the last frost date. You can plant earlier than this, but if the soil\ntemperature isn\u2019t at least 45\u00b0F germination will be slow (at 40\u00b0F they may take\na month to germinate). You could get them going earlier by warming the soil\nwith black plastic or cloches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can plant radishes every 2 weeks until hot weather arrives.\nTake a break until the hottest days of summer are over and then start your fall\nplanting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fall<\/strong>: Radishes often grow better in fall than they do in often spring,\nas they get to mature in the cool days of autumn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Winter<\/strong>: In mild climates radishes can often be grown into early winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Succession\nsowing<\/strong>: Radish roots are\nonly in optimum condition for a short time, so it\u2019s best to only plant a few\nseeds at one time. Succession sow every 10 – 14 days (the shorter time is for\nwarmer weather). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Planting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Direct sowing<\/strong>: There is no reason to start radishes indoors, because they\ngerminate easily in cool soil and the plants grow rapidly. Like most roots they\ndon\u2019t transplant well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The seed is sown directly into the garden \u00bd – 1\u00bd\u02dd deep and 1\u02dd\napart. A deeper planting may give you slightly larger roots, especially if you\ngive them a slightly wider spacing (1\u00bd\u02dd). Bigger seed may also result in larger\nroots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thinning<\/strong>: When the plants have 2 – 3 leaves you should thin to the desired\nspacing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spacing<\/strong>: Space the plants 1\u02dd – 2\u02dd – 4\u02dd apart, depending on the fertility\nof the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Care<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to grow rapidly for best quality, which means giving\nthem everything they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thinning<\/strong>: Proper thinning is essential if you are going to grow good\nradishes. If the plants are crowded they won\u2019t produce useful roots. You can\neat the thinnings in salads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Weeds<\/strong>: These small plants don\u2019t compete with weeds\nvery well, so should be hand weeded regularly. Don\u2019t use a hoe too near the\nplants as their shoulders are easily damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watering<\/strong>: Radishes must have a steady supply of water, so keep the soil\nevenly moist at all times (in dry weather this often requires watering every\nother day.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Too little water can result in woodiness and excessive pungency\n(often such roots are also pithy and have marked growth rings). Too much water\nmay encourage top growth at the expense of the roots. Irregular watering can cause them to crack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mulch<\/strong>: This keeps the soil cool, which is important in warm weather. It\nalso retains moisture and keeps down weeds. Generally they aren\u2019t in the ground\nfor long enough for this to be worthwhile though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Problems<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though radishes are one of the easiest crops to grow, beginners\noften have problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pests and diseases<\/strong>: Radishes are susceptible to the usual host of Brassica pests. Flea beetles will commonly eat small holes in the leaves, but this isn\u2019t usually a major problem. You can protect your plants against many pests by using floating row cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cabbage root maggot<\/strong>: This is the big pest of the radish and is most problematical in\nspring and late summer. See Cabbage<\/strong> for ways\nto deal with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Radishes are sometimes planted as a trap crop, to lure the little\nworms away from more valuable Brassicas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No root<\/strong>: If a radish doesn\u2019t produce a swollen root, it is usually\nbecause the growing conditions weren\u2019t good enough. It simply wasn\u2019t producing\nenough food to have a surplus to store in the root and make it swell. This most\noften occurs because they weren\u2019t thinned properly, resulting in competition\nfrom neighboring radishes (or weeds). It may also be the result of low light\nlevels, too high growing temperature or insufficient water or nutrients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Excessive pungency<\/strong>: High temperatures (above 70\u00b0F) or dry soil may cause the root to\nbe excessively hot. This may also occur when the roots get past their prime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Woodiness<\/strong>: Insufficient water, or high temperatures (above 70\u00b0F) can also\ncause the roots to be woody or pithy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bolting<\/strong>: Radish is an annual and will bolt when it has built up enough\nfood reserves to produce seed. Crowding, poor soil, lack of water and other\ntypes of stress may hasten bolting, as may the long days of summer (another\nreason they are easier to grow in fall).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harvesting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When<\/strong>: The rapid growth of radishes can be a problem in that the roots\nare only at their peak for a short time and soon get over-mature. It is\nimportant to harvest as soon as they are ready. They will actually age more\nslowly in the fridge than they will in the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Check to see if a root is ready for harvest with a little careful\ndigging. They are generally best when still small (under 1\u02dd diameter), as they\noften get woody or pithy as they enlarge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If a root gets past its prime, you can just let it flower and go\nto seed. You can then eat the flowers and unripe seed pods, or you can gather\nthe seed for planting or\nsprouting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How<\/strong>: Uproot the plants by hand and cut off the tops to prevent them taking moisture from the root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Storage<\/strong>: The roots will keep for several weeks in a plastic bag in the\nfridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seed saving<\/strong>: Radishes are insect pollinated and will cross with any other variety, or with wild radishes (the latter is so common around here that it would be hard to isolate them by the required \u00bd mile). However if you have a clump flowering together they are going to be mostly pollinated by each other. If you really want to do it right they should probably be isolated by caging, <\/p>\n\n\n\n I mostly use the seed I collect for sprouting, rather than growing\nmore roots, so I\u2019m not that motivated to keep them pure. I just allow the pods\nto ripen and gather the seed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unusual growing ideas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pod radishes<\/strong>: These are grown for their enlarged seedpods rather than their\nroots. These are fleshy and pungent and are a nice addition to salads. I\nactually rate them more highly than the roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Containers<\/strong>: Radishes can be grown in 6\u02dd deep pots. They will need frequent\nwatering if they are to produce edible roots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Indoors<\/strong>: Radishes have been grown indoors in a container in winter, You\nwould have to be a radish addict to bother with them though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trap crop<\/strong>: These\neasily grown plants are commonly planted as trap crops to lure Brassica pests\naway from more valuable plants. If you simply sow a few more seeds than you\nneed, your regular radish crop could perform this function too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sprouting<\/strong>: Any excess seed from your radishes can be sprouted to provide\none of the best salad sprouts. See Sprouting seeds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Varieties<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Round<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Champion\n<\/strong>– Bright red (25 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Crimson\nGiant <\/strong>– Red bulbs\nget bigger without turning pithy (30 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cherry\nBelle <\/strong>– A\nfavorite, as it resists turning pithy. (22 days) <\/p>\n\n\n\n French\nBreakfast<\/strong> \u2013 More tolerant of heat than most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Helios<\/strong> \u2013 Yellow\nroots are fairly sweet and mild (30 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ping Pong F1 –<\/strong> Roots are white and mild (30 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Long\/cylindrical<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n White\nIcicle <\/strong>– Grows\nfast to 5\u02dd long 30 – 35 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n D\u2019Avignon\n<\/strong>– Red with a white base\n(21 days). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Shunkyo Semi-long <\/strong>– Roots pungent and sweet (32 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kitchen use<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The roots are generally used raw in salads and sandwiches. They\ncan also be cooked in soups or pickled. In Germany slices of radish are\ntraditionally eaten with salt in beer halls and there is even a variety names\nafter this practice – Munchen bier.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The tender young leaves can also be eaten, either raw in salads or\ncooked as a potherb. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The immature seedpods are good in salads and can also be pickled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Rat-tail radish<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n (Raphanus sativus <\/em>var<\/strong> caudatus<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is grown for its long edible seed pods (which do somewhat resemble a rats tail) and doesn\u2019t produce an edible root. These can be planted a couple of weeks before the last frost. It is much more tolerant of hot weather. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"About Radish<\/strong>
Seed facts<\/strong>
Germ temp: 45 (70 – 80) 95\u00b0F
Germ time: 3 – 10 days
29 days \/ 41\u00b0F
11 days \/ 50\u00b0F
6 days \/ 59\u00b0F
4 days \/ 68\u00b0F
4 days \/ 77\u00b0F * Optimum
3 days \/ 86\u00b0F
Seed viability: 5 years
Germination percentage: 75+
Planning facts<\/strong>
Hardiness: Hardy
Growing temp: 45 (60 – 65) 75\u00b0F
Plants per person: 20
Plants per sq ft: 16
Planting <\/strong>
Direct sow:
Spring: 2 \u2013 4 wks before last frost
Fall: 8 – 10 wks before first frost
Succession sow: 10 – 14 days
Harvest facts<\/strong>
Days to harvest: 20 – 40 days
Yield per plant: 1 oz
Yield per sq ft: 1 – 5 lb sq ft <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n