When I think about radishes, memories of my dad come to mind. He loved radishes. Every year, he would buy several packages of radish seeds and plant them. He wanted to be sure that he would get a good supply of his favorite snacking vegetable. He would check the garden often waiting for them to be ready for harvesting. When they were, he’d pull some from the garden and wash them clean at the outside faucet. While they were still wet, a light sprinkling of salt and then he had an enjoyable snack.
There are different varieties of radishes.Some radishes grow in the shape of a round globe like the Cherry Belle. Other radishes grow long like a carrot. The colors are usually red, white, or red at the top with white at the bottom where the root is located.
As I looked through the internet, I discovered a radish called watermelon. It is an heirloom from China. This radish is round in shape. The cool part of this radish is in the color. The outside is white, but cut it open, and it is a watermelon rose. I also found black Spanish radishes, green Chinese radishes and purple radishes.
Radishes are a healthy snack. They have folates, riboflavin, thiamin, minerals, phytochemicals, vitamins C and B-6, calcium, copper. An old Chinese proverb says, “Eating pungent radish and drinking hot tea, let the starved doctors beg on their knees.
Prepare the Garden
Choose a sunny location to plant your radishes. At least three weeks before the last frost date in your area, dig or till the soil to a depth of 10 to 18 inches. The longer the radish, the deeper you should till the soil. Amend the soil with several inches of compost. If you have some well-rotted manure, it is a good time to incorporate that into the soil as well. With the back of your rake, level the soil. Allow the soil to settle for a week. This will keep your radish seeds from falling too deep in the soil. If you don’t have garden space, you can sow the radish seeds in containers. Choose the globe radish for best results.
Sow the Seeds
Make a shallow furrow with your hoe. Check the seed package for proper planting depth and did the furrow accordingly. Scatter the radish seed thinly over the area. If you want better control of the seed, mix it with some sand. This will help you to sow the seed more evenly. It is also a good sight reference. Most places will say to plant the radish seeds one inch apart with ea foot between each row. I don’t do mine that way. I scatter the seed over the soil as thinly as possible. My row is about two hoe blades across and it runs the length of my garden. You can also plant the seeds individually. Space the salad radishes to 3 inches and the oriental radishes to 8 inches, if you don’t want to thin them later.
Cover the seed with soil and gently tamp the ground with your hands
Watering
Gently water the soil and keep the soil moistened. When the soil temperature is 60 degrees F., it takes three to seven days for the seeds to germinate. If the radishes are growing in a puddle, thin them according to the package directions.
If you want a continuous supply of radishes, sow more seeds every 10 days for throughout the growing season. Radishes are often planted in the same row as carrot seed. Because radishes germinate quicker, they help mark the carrot rows.
Pests
There are only a few pests to watch for on your radishes. If you notice small holes in the radish leaves, check for flea beetles. If you find holes going through the radish bulb, then the soil may contain cabbage root maggots or cutworms. To prevent these pests from destroying your radishes, cover the row with a lightweight floating row cover.
Harvesting
Harvest the radishes by pulling them out of the soil. To know when to pull the radishes, look at the top section of the radish growing out of the soil. Remove the leaves with scissors or a sharp knife and wash the radish bulbs clean. Store them in the refrigerator where they can last up to three weeks. Harvest salad radishes when they are bigger than a grape. Do not leave them in the soil too long, thinking that you can get them to grow bigger. They will become woody.
The spiciness of most radishes depends on the hot weather and the amount of water the plants receive.
Sources:
Mother Earth News: All About Growing Radishes
