All About Growing Radishes
(Page 2 of 3)
February/March 2008
By Barbara Pleasant
Growing Tips
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- In spring, cover newly seeded beds with a glass-topped frame or plastic tunnel to warm the soil.
- To save space, sow radishes between rows of slow-germinating vegetables, such as carrots, parsley or parsnips.
- To reduce weed competition, place strips of wet newspaper along the edges of the seeded furrow, and cover them with grass clippings or another biodegradable mulch.
- Thin radishes early, when they have only two or three leaves. Early thinning minimizes disturbance to nearby plant roots.
- Keep the soil constantly moist while radishes are growing. Cool, moist soil is the key to growing a good crop. Root quality is best when the plants are thoroughly drenched with water every three days throughout their growing season.
- Radishes need full sun, but they benefit from partial shade during spells of hot weather. To help the plants get through a spring heat wave, cover them with a shade cover made of lightweight cloth, held aloft with wooden stakes.
- High nitrogen fertilizers will make radishes grow lush leaves, but the roots may never swell into plump radishes. Stick with compost when preparing space for radishes.
- If your soil is heavy clay, salad radishes may grow thin, ropelike roots rather than large, crisp ones. Lightening the soil’s texture by mixing in compost and sand can help, or you can stick with Oriental varieties, which adapt well to clay soil.
- Don’t be discouraged if a spring crop doesn’t meet your expectations. Your best shot at perfect radishes comes in fall, when the soil is getting cooler rather than warmer.
- Radishes make a good fall cover crop. Plant them after beans, peas or another nitrogen-fixing legume, and they will utilize nitrogen left behind in the soil. Later, when the plants are killed by cold winter weather, nitrogen and other nutrients will be returned to the soil.
In the Kitchen
Slice or grate radishes into salads and slaws, or layer them onto sandwiches. You also can try eating radishes the European way — with bread and butter. Radishes braised in butter or sesame oil until they just begin to brown have a mellow flavor and succulent texture. Substitute sliced or diced radishes for water chestnuts in stir-fries. A handful of salad radishes provides about 20 percent of your daily quota of vitamin C, along with about 2 grams of fiber, lutein and a range of minerals.
| Type | Description | Cultural Tips | Varieties |
Small Round
(Radiculata group) | Commonly used in salads, slaws and sandwiches, these radishes also can be cooked. Young leaves are edible, but not very tasty.
| Use frames or tunnels to warm soil to favorable germination range (above 55 degrees) in spring. Keep soil constantly moist. Check daily after three weeks, and harvest promptly. Remove tops before storing in refrigerator.
| ‘Champion’
‘Easter Egg’
‘Hailstone’
‘Pink Beauty’
‘Plum Purple’
‘Scarlet Globe’ |
European
(Radiculata group) | Round or cylindrical radishes often are served with bread and butter in France, or mustard and pretzels in Germany. | Same as small round type
(see above). | ‘Bartender Red Mammoth’
‘D’Avignon’
‘French Breakfast’
‘White Icicle’
|
Large Oriental
(Longipinnatus group) | Most varieties grow to carrot size or larger; a few varieties are round. Very easy to grow. Varieties with cylindrical roots often push up out of the ground as they mature.
| Loosen soil at least 14 inches deep. Thin to 10 inches apart. Dig gently to avoid broken roots. Remove tops after harvesting. Store in refrigerator, or pack in damp sand and store in root cellar or unheated garage.
| ‘Minowase’
‘Minowase Summer Cross’
‘Misato’
‘Miyashige’
‘Red Meat’
|
| Winter Storage (Radiculata group) | Crisp roots have dense flesh, dark skin, and a complex, spicy flavor.
|
Quality is best when roots mature in cool fall soil. Remove tops after harvesting. Store in refrigerator, or pack in damp sand and store in root cellar or unheated garage.
| ‘Neckarruhn Red’
‘Nero Tondo’
‘Rex’
‘Round Black Spanish’
|
Edible Pod
(Caudatus group) | Grown for seed pods only, though the ‘Münchener Bier’ variety also produces good roots.
| Harvest immature seed pods when crisp and tender, like spicy snow peas.
| ‘Münchener Bier’
‘Rat’s Tail’ |
