When to grow radish
Growing radishes in home gardens
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Quick facts
- Radishes do best when grown in cooler conditions, and are tolerant of cold weather.
- Loosen soil before planting at least six inches deep, a foot or more for long types.
- Plant seeds from April through early May, and again in August.
- Drought stress can cause the roots to develop poor flavor and tough texture.
- Harvest garden radishes three to five weeks after planting.
- Spade underneath the planting to harvest long daikon roots without breaking them.
Garden radishes and daikons
Radishes come in many sizes, colors, and types. Most familiar are the garden radishes (Raphanus sativus var. radicula). Garden radishes have a spicy flavor and crisp juicy texture. They are good in salads and can stand alone as a snack.
Radishes may be spherical or carrot-shaped, and in a rainbow of colors: green, white, pink, red, purple and yellow. You may plant these small roots in the spring, but you can also grow them as a fall crop.
Home gardeners can also grow the long, white, Asian radish (R. sativus var. longipinnatus), often called daikon, its Japanese name.
These roots can grow to large sizes, and are typically less spicy or hot than the garden types. Gardeners often plant them in the late summer for a late fall harvest. You can store them for fresh use for up to two months.
Radishes do best when grown in cooler conditions, and are tolerant of cold weather. You can grow tender, juicy, flavorful radishes if the plants grow quickly without stress. They may develop a flower that goes to seed, develop excessively hot flavor or become woody during the heat of a typical Minnesota summer.
You should follow seed packet or catalog recommendations for individual varieties.
Planting
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How to keep your radishes healthy and productive
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Managing pests, diseases, and disorders
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Authors: Marissa Schuh, Extension educator, and Jill MacKenzie
Reviewed in 2022
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(Image credit: Debi Holland)
Ever wondered when to plant radishes and where to grow them?
These petite rainbow colored root vegetables bring a vibrant taste sensation to myriad dishes.
Radishes are a low maintenance crop which can be planted in the ground, in a greenhouse, on a patio or balcony, and are small enough to even be planted in pots indoors on a windowsill, making them perfect for novice gardeners to grow. They are also an extremely quick crop to grow – their root and edible leaves can be ready to eat, from seed to fork, in four weeks.
The most important first step in how to grow radishes is when to plant them. Get this right, and you can be enjoying a homegrown harvest, high in vitamin C and packed with antioxidants, year round.
(Image credit: Debi Holland)
When to plant radishes
Whatever space you have available, however small, it is always possible to plant a pot or two of radishes, or direct sow seed on your plot as part of your vegetable garden ideas. But gardeners will often be wondering when to plant radishes, and if it too cold or too hot?
'Radishes germinate quickly in early spring temperatures between 45-70ºF (7-21ºC).
Plant radishes as soon as the soil can be worked, and consider using them to mark the lines of slower germinating summer crops, such as carrots,' explains Marianne Willburn, Virginia based gardening author, columnist and Small Town Gardener blogger.
'Many varieties can be harvested within three to four weeks,' adds Marianne. 'This makes them a perfect complement to early spring salads, and a terrific first crop for children who need only wait five to six days to spy the broad first leaves emerging from the soil.'
Try sowing little and often; successional sowings in spring will ensure you have a continuous harvest with no hunger gaps. Try growing elongated ‘French Breakfast,’ round red ‘Champion,’ heirloom varieties ‘Sicily Giant’ or ‘Bunny Tail’ or carrot-shaped ‘White Icicle.’
(Image credit: Debi Holland)
What month is best to plant radishes?
The best month to plant radishes will depend on whether you are sowing seed direct outdoors, starting off the seeds under glass, and also the climate where you live.
A prime month for sowing radish direct in the ground is from April, once the soil warms up and the cold winter temperatures have given way to the warmth of spring.
A fall sowing, in September, is also ideal as the heat of summer mellows and radishes are less likely to bolt.
To make the best and most productive use of growing space, particularly if you have a small vegetable garden, 'sow radish outdoors between slower crops, such as parsnip,' advises Mary Payne MBE, horticulturalist, garden designer and president of Fagus Gardening Club .
(Image credit: Getty Images)
When can I plant radish outside?
Radishes can be sown in spring and the fall, avoiding frosts and the dizzy heat of summer. Check local weather conditions, but in many USAD zones radish can be sown outside from April once the risk of frost has passed.
As part of planning a kitchen garden, radishes are often sown between other slower growing crops as a ‘catch crop,’ where you get a quick harvest while you are waiting for other crops to mature.
Most radishes prefer full sun so ensure they are not over shadowed by other crops.
Radishes do not grow well in heat. The baking temperatures of summer can cause plants to wilt, bolt and go to seed, so avoid planting radishes outside in summer.
For fall sowings, Mary Payne advises using selected winter varieties, 'sometimes known as Daikon or Mooli, such as ‘China Rose.’ They will be much slower growing.'
These varieties have been bred for winter cultivation. The name actually means ‘big root’ and has an additional benefit of breaking up compacted soil. ‘Mooli’ have long, white roots, which are slower to mature and develop over 60-75 days. Daikon radish has a mild flavor, great for winter salads.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
When to plant radishes under cover
If you're wondering when to plant radishes under cover, you'll be pleased to learn that they are an ideal crop to grow indoors all year round.
As temperatures plummet in colder zones, you can sow radishes from late fall and throughout winter in a heated greenhouse, propagator or on a sunny windowsill.
You can even sow in the heat of summer under protection, just water them more throughly.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Start early radish sowings indoors
To maximize the growing season, you can also start early radish sowings indoors and transplant seedlings outside once temperatures in your local zone have risen. Keep them well watered to allow their tap roots to swell.
'You can start sowing under glass, in a tunnel or even on a sunny windowsill from mid-February, once the light levels start to improve. Radishes need to be grown fast. I like ‘Cherry Belle,’ a round-rooted type,' explains Mary Payne.
Alternatively, sow pots of radish indoors from late winter as part of your vegetable garden container ideas, then move pots outdoors once the risk of frost has passed in your zone. Pots are a handy way to grow your own food on a balcony or patio and allow you the flexibility to change pot location if conditions change.
Seeds need heat to germinate so grow radish in a protected environment and you will be able to enjoy this crunchy addition to dishes even in the heart of winter.
Debi Holland runs her own garden business in the south of west of England, gardening in beautiful country homes, and also writes for numerous online and print publications and presents online talks advocating ‘Gardening for Wellbeing.’
Growing radishes: 8 secrets to a bumper harvest
Radishes can also be grown at home on the windowsill, but due to the limited area, it is unlikely that you will be able to get an unprecedented harvest. Therefore, from late April to September, it is better to sow radishes in open ground and properly care for the crop.
Early radish varieties ( 18 days, White Breakfast, Jolie, Zhara, Poker, Rhodes, Champion ) ripen 20-25 days after germination, mid-ripening varieties ( Ilka, Red with a white tip, Ice icicle, Saxa ) - after 26-35 days, and later ( Dungan 12/8, Karmina, Red Giant ) - after 36 or more days.
At the same time, early and mid-season varieties are more resistant to frost and bolting.
And vegetables of late varieties are tastier and healthier, because during the growing season they have time to accumulate more sugars and vitamins, and they are also more productive and stored longer.
In order for radishes of any variety to produce the maximum number of fruits, important principles must be observed in caring for the plant. nine0003
1. Correct soil
When preparing the bed, the soil is loosened to a depth of 20-30 cm and leveled from above. For 1 sq.m, half a bucket of sand and humus is added, 1 tbsp. ammonium nitrate, 1.5 tbsp. potassium sulfate and 2 tbsp. superphosphate.
When growing radishes, manure must not be applied to the soil. In general, any nitrogen fertilizer can contribute to the formation of voids in the middle of the root crop.
Dolomite flour (0.5 l per sq.m.) is also added to the soil with high acidity. And heavy clay soil is mixed with sand (at the rate of 1 bucket of sand per sq.m). nine0003
2. Suitable location
Radishes are sown in an open (sunny) but wind-sheltered area.
Radishes are best sown in cool and humid weather
3. Quality seeds
In spring and early summer, seeds of early varieties are sown, and late ones - not until August. For better and friendly seedlings, the seeds are pre-germinated in a damp cloth for 2-3 days. To speed up this process, you can add a drop of Epin-Extra or Zircon to the napkin. nine0003
4. Competent sowing
On the prepared bed, grooves are made 2-3 cm deep at a distance of 10-15 cm from each other. Seeds are placed in them every 5 cm. In a region with an unstable climate in April-May, the bed is covered with spanbond for the night.
Although radishes easily endure frosts down to -4°C, but with a lack of heat, the seeds germinate poorly. The optimum temperature for the friendly emergence of seedlings is 15-20 ° C. Under these conditions, the sprouts will hatch in 3 days. And at a lower temperature, seedlings will have to wait from 6 to 12 days. nine0003
5.
Watering radishes The main condition for a rich harvest is regular watering. The soil in the garden with radishes should always be moderately moist. With a lack of moisture, the roots will become bitter and flabby.
In hot weather, crops are watered every day.
Also, after each watering, the soil is loosened to a depth of 3-5 cm. Thanks to this, the roots will be able to "breathe".
6. Top dressing
On fertile soils, fertilizers can be omitted, and on depleted soils, it is necessary to use herbal infusion diluted in water. The container is filled with water by ¼, then freshly harvested plants are poured there (at the rate of 10 kg of grass per 100 liters of water) and 2 kg of dry chicken manure are added. The container is covered with a net, the infusion is stirred daily and used after the liquid stops fermenting (gas bubbles will not be released). This usually happens after 1-3 weeks. nine0003
The resulting infusion is diluted with water 1:1 and watered under the root of the plants.
7. Light regimen
Plants should ideally be exposed to light for 10-12 hours. If daylight hours last 13-14 hours, and the air temperature reaches 25 ° C, then later varieties of radish do not form a root crop, but bloom. Such plants are covered with a dark non-woven material so that they are exposed to light for no more than 10 hours a day.
If you don't want to bother with cover, from the second half of May sow only varieties that are resistant to bolting
8. Cruciferous flea control
This is the most dangerous pest of radishes. It is not recommended to use chemical insecticides so that substances harmful to human health do not accumulate in root crops. Therefore, attention must be paid to preventive measures.
- Since radishes love potash fertilizers, seedlings and soil are treated with fresh ash.
- The flea does not tolerate an acidic environment, therefore it helps to destroy it by watering the radish with acidified water.
For example, you can use a solution of citric acid (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water). nine0072 - The flea prefers to feast on dry radish leaves, so they are regularly sprayed with water to keep them constantly moist.
Due to their precocity and unpretentiousness, radishes were successfully grown on the International Space Station.
Radishes can be grown in individual beds or in mixed plantings next to cabbages, potatoes and cucumbers. With proper care, the plants will thank you with a good harvest.
Growing radishes: how to get a harvest
Radish has always been considered the simplest vegetable in agricultural technology - planted, watered, covered from the cruciferous flea, and after three weeks it is already time to harvest the first crop. So that our grandmothers do not grow radishes? This has never happened before!
Recently, however, gardeners are increasingly complaining about the difficulties in growing radishes. Seeds do not sprout, root crops do not form, or plants immediately go into the arrow - and after winter you can no longer crunch fresh juicy radishes.
Let's understand the intricacies of growing radishes in order to avoid failures and unnecessary troubles in the future. nine0003
Major problems when growing radishes
Planted seeds do not germinate
Possible cause: Most likely, the seeds have rotted and rotted in too damp and cold soil.
Solution: A week before planting, dig a small hole twenty centimeters deep, place the seeds in a cloth bag and bury them. In the ground, the seeds will get wet perfectly, but thanks to the bag they will not rot. After a week, they need to be dug up, dried for two hours and planted. nine0003
Root crop does not develop
Possible causes: Lack of potassium in the soil, shaded area.
Solution: Planting radishes in a sunny spot, adding ash to the soil when planting.
Radishes are formed, but the fruits are fibrous, hollow
Possible causes: Excess nitrogen in the soil, lack or excess of moisture, too deep planting or overexposed radishes in the garden.
Solution: Timely watering. Do not overdo it with nitrogen fertilizers, do not add manure when planting. Sprinkle the seeds no deeper than 0.5 centimeters and remove the ripened root crops in time. nine0003
Plants go to the arrow and bloom
Possible causes: Too hot weather, long daylight hours, damaged roots, small or old seeds.
Solution: Early or late boarding. Shelter with dark material. Thinning by pinching, not pulling. Selection for planting large and fresh seeds.
Radish sowing dates
In fact, there are quite objective reasons for poor radish harvests in recent years. The fact is that for several years in a row there has been practically no spring in central Russia. In mid-April there is still snow, and in early May there is already a thirty-degree heat. The optimum temperature for growing radishes is +15°C - +18°C. It is not surprising that by planting a radish in early May, we get only flowering "tops" and not a single "root" - it's too hot.
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When to plant radishes? Based on the current realities, we can conclude that in May it is already too late. It is necessary to sow either in March-April, or in July-August. Radishes are not planted in June because of the short nights. As you know, radish is a plant with a long daylight hours. During the period of long days and short nights, it tends to bloom and produce seeds, and we need this least of all. Therefore, radishes are sown when the daylight hours are short, or this day is artificially shortened for her.
Radishes can be sown before winter or even directly in winter on the ice crust. With winter or winter sowing, seedlings will appear much faster and root crops will have time to ripen before the onset of heat. nine0003
So, what are our options for planting radishes?
When to plant radishes to get a harvest
- Option one . Winter sowing. In this case, a bed for radishes is prepared in October-November. A sunny area is selected, which is not flooded with melt water and quickly warms up in the spring.
Grooves up to five centimeters deep are cut on it. In the period from November 5 to 20, radishes are sown with dry seeds in the prepared grooves and covered with peat or humus by two centimeters. nine0072 - Second variant . Winter sowing. This option is suitable for those who have the opportunity to visit their site in the winter. The bed must be prepared, as in the previous case, back in October. In winter, from December to February, they rake the snow and plant the seeds directly into the frozen ground, again sprinkling compost or peat on top.
- Third option . Early spring sowing. Those who have a completely closed greenhouse can safely plant radishes there in early to mid-March. It remains only to water the plantings from time to time in order to get a good harvest by the end of April and free up the greenhouse for other crops. In open ground, radishes should be sown as soon as the main snow cover has melted. You can sow seeds directly into the remains of snow, on an ice crust.
When thawed, the water will draw them into the soil to the optimum depth. True, planting in cold ground has one drawback - the seeds can wait too long for heat and rot in the ground. If you do not want to take risks, you can warm up the bed under the radish in early spring. To do this, a week before the proposed landing, the area must be shed with a solution of EM preparations and covered with a film. Microorganisms will quickly revive the soil, and the film will warm. nine0072 - Fourth option . Late sowing. If you have not had time to plant a radish in the spring, nothing is lost yet. In late July-early August, when the day began to wane and some beds were already free, you can again try to grow radishes. Late radish even turns out to be tastier than early radish and shoots much less often. A bed with sown seeds is advised to cover with hay. The radishes will sprout well through the hay and will be very juicy and large.
How to sow radishes?
Radish must be planted in a sunny place, there will be no good root crops in the shade.
The best predecessors for radishes are cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, legumes, tomatoes or potatoes. The main thing is not to plant radishes after cabbage and other cruciferous plants, even if they are green manure (mustard, oilseed radish, rapeseed).
It is not necessary to dig a bed for radishes, it is enough to loosen the area with a flat cutter to a depth of five centimeters. Then make the required number of furrows with a depth of 2 centimeters (if the soil is fertile) or 4 centimeters (if the soil leaves much to be desired). At the bottom of the groove, first, a small layer of sand is poured, and then ash. On depleted soils, first of all, a small layer of compost is placed in the furrow, then sand and ash. nine0003
It is better to sow immediately at regular intervals, about 4-5 centimeters between plants and 15 centimeters between rows. Then it will not be necessary to pull out extra plants in the future. The seeds are covered with loose earth, peat or coconut substrate, lightly, without undue zeal.
The optimal seeding depth is half a centimeter. Deep planted radishes become fibrous.
Choose only early-maturing varieties for sowing, late varieties simply do not have enough time to gain weight, and they will go into the arrow. It is highly desirable to carry out a preliminary selection of seeds. Radishes planted with large seeds form roots faster. And if you are not too lazy and soak the seeds for 10-15 minutes before planting, the radish will rise the very next day. When sown with dry seeds, seedlings appear after 3-5 days. nine0003
Radish care: watering, mulching, sheltering
Right after sowing, radishes are well shed and mulched between the furrows to avoid moisture loss. Sawdust, needles, mowed grass are well suited for mulch. Water for radishes is essential, without moisture you can not even dream of a crop - the plants will immediately bloom. Therefore, radishes need to be watered abundantly every two days.
If you did not observe the distance between the seeds during planting, then the radish that has grown to five centimeters in height will have to be thinned out.
