Radish or Daikon
Ralphanus sativus and R. sativus var. longipinnatus. BRASSICACEAE.
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting
Radishes or Daikon
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow radishes or daikon in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- How many radishes or daikon to plant
- Growing conditions for radishes or daikon
- When to plant radishes or daikon
- How to plant radishes or daikon
- Watering, fertilizing, and pruning radishes or daikon
- Companion plantings for radishes or daikon
- How to harvest, store, and use radishes or daikon
Growing Radishes or Daikon
Radishes and their close relatives, long and white-rooted Daikon, are cool-season, annual or biennial root vegetables. Deeply toothed, rough-textured leaves rise from swollen, black, cream, purple, red, yellow, or multicolored roots with mostly white flesh. They vary in form from carrotlike to globe or egg-shaped and from small to quite large.
Radishes range from zesty mild to very spicy, depending on cultivar. Table cultivars form seed when they mature, as do most annuals; Asian cultivars may overwinter and form seed the second season as biennials.
Radish Plant and Care Guide
How Much to Plant
Allow 15–20 plants per household member.
How to Plant
Seed germinates in 4–6 days.
Average Climates: Sow seed in full sun–partial shade in spring when soil warms to 45–85°F (7–29°C), or in autumn.
Mild-Winter Climates: Sow seed in late autumn–early winter.
Autumn–Winter Gardens: Sow seed in August to mid-September for harvest Winter–Spring.
Sow 1 seed, 1/2-in. (12-mm) deep, 1 in. (25 mm) apart, thinning to 4 in. (10 cm) apart, in mounded rows raised 4–8 in. (10–20 cm) tall and 6 in. (15 cm) wide, 10–16 in. (25–40 cm) apart.
Plant successions every 2 weeks.
Best Conditions for Growth
50–75°F (10–24°C). Zones 3–10. Shade plants in full sunlight at temperatures over 85°F (29°C).
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained, sandy loam. Fertility: Rich. 5.5–6.8 pH. Prepare soil at least 1 ft. (30 cm) deep. Rotate plantings to prevent accumulation of pest larvae in soil.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist; allow soil surface to dry between waterings. Fertilize only at time of planting with 5–10–10 formula or well-rotted manure. Root maggot susceptible.
Pairing Recommendations
Cucumbers, lettuce, nasturtiums, peas, and peppers.
Maturity, Picking and Gathering
22–70 days. Pull roots when full colored and 1 in. (25 mm) wide, rinsing and chilling after harvest; avoid removing tops. Harvest promptly; leaving radishes in ground past maturity causes hollowing, cracking, and pithy texture combined with a bitter flavor remniscent of earthy soil.
How to Store and Preserve
Fresh in vegetable keeper of refrigerator for 3–4 weeks. Use raw whole radishes as crudités, or slice them for use as a garnish in green salads; sliced fresh radishes also can be added to Asian stir-fried dishes.