Radishes 101 !!!

I don't consider this a serious vegetable but it is a passionate one for DH. He eats them daily/weekly/year around. As long as they can't be fried, I consider them fairly healthy and encourage them in his diet. My problem is having a tough time growing them successfully.

I understand they are a cool weather crop. Supposedly a fast grower, the package says 22 days. I planted on March 3rd and March 19th and last night, five weeks later I harvested the first few nubbins. They were small. DH said they tasted all right but the one I sampled was rubbery.

I have tried a variety of them and keep coming back to the Cherry Belle.
I have tried them in sun, shade and now partial shade.
Currently they are in loose soil, enchanced before planting with an organic fertilizer.
I have broadcast them and also seeded in rows.
I have grown them "dry" and they turned out woody.
This time I watered daily when there was no rain and they did better.
This time I also have little foliage damage by bugs ~ not that that matters.
I have noticed the radishes end up growing on top of the soil.
Did I not cover them deep enough?
Do you hill them like you would onions or taters?

Supposedly they are an easy crop so I keep trying again and again with mixed results.
So here I am, shopping for suggestions, pointers, enhancing my education on Radishes 101.

Try Red Satin from Harris. They worked real well here last year. We plant weekly, water with drip tape, & get good results most of the time. It wasn't real hot here last summer. Only a few days into the 90's.
Another to try is Ping Pong from Johnny's. It is a round white, maybe just a bit more bite to it.
Bernie

The European type radishes are quick to mature and have a bite to them. They normally grow about half out of the soil. Here in middle Georgia, I can grow them by direct seedin in late February- early March and again in September- All that I have tried quit when the temps get consistently above 90. No radishes June thru August. Early Scarlet Globe has been the best performer, but most of the others do ok.

Gosh, I sure can't think of any reason why you couldn't fry radishes...


Mine were really slow this year, I think because the earth was so much colder than usual. Your five weeks sounds very in line with my experience. I do start planting around October, and keep putting them in every couple of weeks until late March or so. Maybe skip December unless it's a warm winter.

They do better in looser soil, but I think the key is sun. I have them in sort of odd places because they're growing in the winter when the sun is so low in the sky, so some of my usual spring/summer/fall beds end up being shaded then. Definitely make sure they have water, although lots of wet like this year does make them less spicy. Plant them far enough apart that they feel like they have room to grow nice and round without being cramped. I guess fertilizer is better, but I haven't noticed them being super picky. (Supposedly they like more P and K, less N.)

I usually get Cherry Belle, but I know Early Scarlet Globe have done well, too. You might try Wilhite, since their seed are from just right there.

Don't fret!

I planted Early Scarlet Globe this year and they've got quite a kick! I like them, but they're too hot for the DH. I had lots of problems with bugs eating the foliage. I think the birds picked many of the leaves off some plants. :>( They seem to have taken longer, probably because the soil temp was still too cold, eventho they like cooler temps.

Last year, I grew Cherry Belle and had mediocre results. I think I planted them too late.

Heat of the radish will depend on growing condition more than variety. Usually hot weather & lack of water will give them more bite!

Thanks for the answer on the heat of the radish... that answered one of my questions.

FarmerDill ~ daytime 90s temps or nighttime 90s?

I suspect the colder ground temp has slowed the growth ~ I had not thought about that.

I really appreciate all the suggestions and also the recommendations. I bought some seed from Willhite but didn't think to look at their radish selection. I do need to look at variety and see if I can find one suitable to grow and edible to my husband too.

Big thing we hear at market is radish sandwich. I've never had one!
The big Daikon radishes are stir fried. They are more like a vegetable than a radish. Sliced cross-ways, they go good with beer.

That could probably be good... the big ones remind me of turnips maybe? Or parsnips.

I've had tomato sandwiches and cucumber sandwiches but radishes I can't quite imagine. Wonder what all they put on it?

Butter and salt! Ric

Oh... I'm disappointed. Figured at least miracle whip or maybe horseradish sauce. LOL

I have an Urban Harvest book from the Houston area and y'all got me to thinking about suitable cultivars to grow in the heat of the south. Has anyone ever heard of, or tried, or tasted a Mooli?

Mooli is supposed to be a long Asian type of radish that will grow well here thru winter. They suggest six different types of Mooli... miyashige, nerima, miura, okura, sakurajima mammoth and shogoin.

Anyone???

The Asian radishes are much milder than European radishes and are typically grown in the fall and winter. More often used in cooked dishes. Chinese, Japanese and Korean varieties are the sweetest. They are available in both round and long forms. Much larger than European radishes, they normally exceed one lb. The Sakurajima is a round Japanese radish that can reach 100 lbs. Chinese Red Meat ( Watermelon) is a round radish that goes up to a lb. One of the more popular winter radishes. Minowase types (often referred to as Daikon) are long mild radishes. Korean radishes tend to be sort of half long, but are very good. Evergreen http://www.evergreenseeds.com/orientalradish.html has a fairly large selection. As does Kitazawa http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seeds_radish.html
I grow Watermelon and Summer Cross # 3. The greens are as good as the root.

lol I've got radishes at our community garden, which is a few blocks away from where I live. So I'm usually strolling up and down the street with little bundles of produce. I can just see me rolling a hundred pound radish down the sidewalk...

That would be a fine sight. I bet you and your radish would be on the evening news. lol

LOL ~ choked on my water at that thought. I was just calculating how many hundred pound radishes would get DH thru a year. When I visualized that thought.

FarmerDill ~ thanks for those links and information. I shall have to read up on them and perhaps acquire seed to try next winter. Thank you... pod

I tried growing them but they were very hot and some were woody. I stopped tring but with all these ideas I am going to try again, I live in zone 5 a, Spokane WA it will be cold for some months to come. I would like to try the larger radish's just to see. I am disabled
and would like to make a bed with legs for them I am wondering if that would work or would the plants dry out to much? Happy Gardening each of you.

Marcia,
Could you plant them in a Sterilite or Rubbermaid tub? Would be EZ access...

I had a great little harvest of icicle radishes---my fav---in my cool type greenhouse and they were planted in a large plastic pot in early Feb. Each seed planted at the recommended space, so no thinning required. I need to plant them again, but outdoors now.

Good idea Gymgirl ~ a container like that could be placed as high as needed.

MarciaS, if you did use a large container of plastic, the soil wouldn't dry out very quickly. Worth a try.

Beebonnet... I hadn't even thought about trying them in the GH this past winter. I will have to give it a go next winter.

THANKS for the reply I will give the ideas a try.

Please let us know how it works for you?

I know radishes have little food value but they spice up a salad and make for healthier nibbling. Besides, if we can get them to grow successfully, it is instant gratification! LOL

Don't forget to poke holes in the bottom of the tote for drainage! Otherwise, you should have no problems.

Ummmm - radishes and scallions, salt and pepper, on buttered soft bread... The best! (Thins slices of cucumbers make a delightful addition. I canhardly wait!)

Reminds me of my Mom and Dad!

Cherry Belle is one of my favorites for early maturity and good flavor. I've tried a gazillion of them, though. I find they do great if I toss the seeds in the raised beads and/or earthbox in the fall. They just come up whenever they darned well please. Oh, what a treat when they start popping up as the snow melts!

CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT KIND OF TOTE YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT? Do you have a picture you can share with me? Thank You

Bet GymGirl can... but I'd bet it would be like those storage containers you see at the dollar store. http://www.sterilite.com/Section.html?Section=Storage

Are radish leaves edible? I'm getting mixed signals depending on who I ask. My thought is that they are, and that would be great, because I have LOTS of leaves, but not much in the way of radishes. I didn't thin them enough, I guess :(.

LOL ~ mine are full of healthy leaves too with little below. They aren't that close together so don't know if thinning is the problem here.

I would say "yes" on the leaves, though some might be bitter. I actually bought Saisai Leaf Radish this season to try, the leaves are recommended for salads and stirfry "when still young and pale green" or you can let them grow to plump, daikon size.

Too much green, not enough radish could be a fertilizer thing, or it could be the heat. Mine do best in very cool temps.

This message was edited Apr 11, 2010 12:14 PM

Thanks, Sequee :). I planted them early, but the heat recently may have gotten them. Still, they are really small, but also really close together.....

Relax Cat. My Euros have not formed up yet either. I can usually have radishes April well into May with three plantings. They can't handle much of June however.

MarciaS,
Yeah, the link that Podster posted should be right smart. Just drill holes in the bottom for drainage. You can sit it on a table with some blocks/bricks on the ends? underneath so the water drainage won't be restricted.

If you wanna be real adventurous, cut the center part of the lid out (leaving just the outer rim). Cover the box with some clear plastic, and put the rim on to hold it in place. You've created a greenhouse. This'll heat your box up nicely until it sprouts. After you get sprouts, you can poke holes in the plastic to control heat and water for the soil.

Godspeed and Good Harvest!

Linda

Most of my radish plantings this winter and spring have been successful, except during the very cold weather we had in January. The radishes took a couple of extra weeks during that time.
I grow Cooks Mix, Easter Egg, Cherry Belle, Champion and Sparkler. Champion and Sparkler were not reliable. I also grow Watermelon. Those are our favorites. I tried Black Spanish (hot like horseradish). I did not like those at all.

I have planted a few rows that accidentally ended up too shaded, they did not do well.
We had a wet winter, but because we grow in raised beds we water at least 5 times per week if it doesn't rain. If radishes get too dry, then you water them, they will split.
Don't overfertilize radishes, you will have all tops.
I plant seeds about half inch deep (sometimes they end up an inch deep and still do well). They usually end up half out of the soil.
We use baby radish leaves in salads.

Thank you. That is a good compilation of answers to a lot of my questions. I have backed off on overwatering and am now suspecting overfertilization although I used an organic composted fertilizer and I thought lightly but perhaps not.

Calalilly et al,
I planted Seven Top turnips in my new raised bed sometime in either November or January. I've got nice green tops, but I pulled a few yesterday and no turnip roots! I pulled 3 rather large bunches of leaves. The first 2 had nothing, but the third had the beginnings of a root.

I planted Purple Tops last winter and got wonderful turnips. Also, this is a new raised bed I filled with a purchased veggie garden blend. All tops and no bottoms says there's too much Nitrogen and not enough phorphorous in the bed, right? I do have a brand new bag of Rock Phosphorous available to spread (bought it to spread in the potato containers....).

Please advise. And, thanks, in advance!

Seven Tops are grown for the tops - the do not bulb.

So, there's nothing wrong? GREAT!

Ok, since the army worms are moving into my lovely green TOPS, I can rip 'em this evening.

Since it's the middle of spring for us in the South I probably should go ahead and plant the cowpeas in those spaces next, huh?

Tell me about cowpeas... No, wait! This is a radish thread!!! I will send you a d-mail instead.

I think I'm going to dig out the remainder of my Cherry Belle seeds from last year and try them again this year. Will plant them tonight.

As for cowpeas (black-eyed peas), I'm growing those for the first time this year. Will be an adventure for sure!

COWPEAS: black-eyed peas, crowder peas, purple hull peas, pink-eye purple hull peas, cream peas, Lady cream peas, zipper peas, rattlesnake peas, Texas 8 peas...

and many more too numerous to enjoy!

^^_^^

Steph,
When're you planting your cowpeas?