Cultivating radishes usually works without any problems. We show what you should still pay attention to if you want to plant or sow radishes.
Radishes are at the top of the list of favorite vegetables in summer. Whether in a salad, on bread or as a dip - the crunchy, mildly hot tubers should not be missing in the summer kitchen. They are also extremely he althy due to the vitamins, mustard oils and minerals they contain.
The radish (Raphanus sativus var. sativus) belongs to the radish genus (Raphanus ) in the cruciferous family (Brassicaceae). Radishes, also known as radishes, originally come from Asia. It has been widespread in Europe since the 16th century. Growing in the garden is uncomplicated and extremely rewarding in our climatic conditions. Radishes can also be successfully cultivated on the balcony. The small, mostly red tubers are ready to harvest just a few weeks after sowing. Due to the short cultivation period of about four weeks, radishes are also very suitable as a pre- or post-culture and as a cover crop between other types of vegetables.
There are a large number of radish varieties that differ in terms of when they were cultivated and in terms of colour, shape and taste. In the round or flat-topped varieties, the tuber is formed from the hypocotyl, i.e. the root neck. Elongated varieties include not only the root neck but also the root in their storage organ, which makes the radish longer.
Planting radishes: location and soil
Radishes prefer a sunny to half-shady location. Especially when growing in midsummer, you should choose a semi-shady place, otherwise the radishes tend to bolt. Radishes will grow in any normal garden soil. For delicate tubers, however, the soil should be loose, humus-rich and ideally evenly moist. Before cultivating radishes, you should not necessarily apply heavy fertilizers, and certainly not mineral fertilizers, because radishes areWeak consumers and respond to nutrient-rich soils with susceptibility to diseases and pests, too much leaf growth and too little tuber growth. If your soil stores nutrients poorly, such as sandy soil, it is worth halving the organic fertilization, for example with our Plantura organic tomato fertilizer.
Vegetable beds with heavy and rather dense soil should be loosened a little before planting radishes , so that the tubers can grow downwards unhindered.
Peat-free potting soil, such as our Plantura organic tomato and vegetable soil, is very suitable for growing radishes in pots on the terrace or balcony.
Tip: When a radish begins to form flowers and grows tall, it is called bolting. If you want to harvest seeds, this is desirable. If you want to eat the tuber, however, the bolting is undesirable because it draws water and storage substances from the storage tuber, so that it dries up and becomes inedible.
Sowing radishes
Sowing radishes is easy and can be done almost the entire garden year. We reveal how to do it.
When can you sow radishes?
Radish cultivation is one of the earliest vegetable crops of the year. The sowing of radishes can begin as early as the end of February in a protected cold frame, greenhouse or under a film. Normally, however, March is the earliest time to sow radishes and until mid-April it is wise to have fleece or foil ready to cover in areas that are very susceptible to late frost. From March to the beginning of September you can sow radishes on a weekly basis. You can enjoy fresh radishes from our own cultivation from the beginning of May until October. But beware: not all varieties grow well at all times of the year, some shoot straight up in warm temperatures without even forming a tuber. Therefore, always choose the right variety depending on the season.
How do you plant radish seeds?
After preparing the soil, the radish seeds can be sown. Start by making shallow seed furrows using the handle, the back of a garden rake, or a groover. They help to place the seeds in as straight a row as possible. The sowing depth for radishes is 1 cm. If the radishes are sown too deep, an elongated, woody tuber forms as they grow. Sow the radish seeds in a row, 3 to 4 cm apartout of. There should be a distance of 10 to 15 cm between the rows. The seed furrows are then filled in from the sides so that the seeds are lightly covered with soil. Press them down lightly to prevent rain or wind from scattering the seeds. At temperatures around 15 °C and an adequate water supply, the seeds will germinate within a few days.
As an alternative to placing the radish seeds individually, which is somewhat tedious, the seeds can also be scattered directly from the bag. In this way, radishes are usually sown too densely. As a result, beautiful round root bulbs do not develop. The radishes stay small and elongated and shoot faster. To avoid this, the densely sown radishes must be pricked out shortly after they emerge, i.e. after the seedlings appear above ground. To do this, the little plants are carefully pulled out of the ground with the help of a pricking stick or a wooden stick, their roots are carefully separated from one another and then planted again at a greater distance.
Tip: Radishes are among the fastest growing seeds in the garden. That is why they are often used as "marker seeds". Slow-germinating plants such as carrots are often accidentally oversown again because the seed simply does not germinate for weeks. Anyone who has sown the fast-growing radishes on the left and right here will remember that carrots are supposed to thrive in the narrow strip in between.
Planting radishes in pots
Radishes can also be easily cultivated in flower boxes on the balcony. Depending on how many rows you want to sow, you should choose a large enough pot so that you can maintain the necessary 10 cm row spacing. There should also be a drainage hole so that excess water can drain away when watering. Fill the pot about 15 cm high with potting soil. Then the radish seeds can be sown as described above.
Summary:
- Sowing: Beginning of March to beginning of September
- Bed preparation: rake flat and make seed furrows
- If sowing early: protect seeds or seedlings from late frosts with fleece or foil
- Seed depth: 1 cm
- Spacing in the row: 3 - 4 cm
- Row spacing: 10 - 15 cm
- Cover the radish seeds thinly with soil and press down
- Water daily
Tip: With ourPlantura Vegetable Growing Set Growing vegetables is particularly easy. In it you will not only find seeds for five colorful types of vegetables, but also detailed instructions, a mini greenhouse and other accessories for successful sowing.
Good neighbors for radishes: intercropping and crop rotation
In a mixed culture, radishes are combined with other types of vegetables in order to optimally utilize the available space, the nutrients and the vigor of different plants. Comparatively slower growing species can be underplanted with radishes as they are harvested before the planting partner gets too big and compete for water, nutrients and light. You can therefore plant radishes and tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) together and corn (Zea mays) is also a good plant partner for mixed cultivation. Good neighbors for radishes are also root vegetables such as carrots (Daucus carota), parsley (Petrosilenum crispum) and black salsify (Scorzonera hispanica ). Also Strawberries (Fragaria), Salads, Spinach (Spinacia oleracea), Chard (Beta vulgaris), Peas (Pisum sativum) and beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are suitable partners for radishes.
Basically, radishes in a mixed culture also get along well with cabbage species such as savoy cabbage (Brassica oleracea convar. capitata var. sabauda), head cabbage (Brassica oleracea convar. capitata) or kohlrabi (Brassica oleraceavar. gongylodes). Radishes grow much faster than their relatives and are harvested by the time the cabbage plants close the gaps in the bed. However, do not plant radishes, radishes, horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) and other types of cabbage in the same bed several times in a row, as diseases such as clubroot can increase.
Good neighbors for radishes at a glance:
- Slower growing crops like tomatoes or corn
- Root vegetables like carrots, parsley and salsify
- Strawberries, lettuce, spinach, chard, peas and beans
- Types of cabbage such as savoy cabbage, head cabbage and kohlrabi
- To avoid diseases, never plant radishes and cabbages several times in a row in the same bed
But not all plants go well with radishes. Bad neighbors are, for example, cucumbers (Cucumis sativus). The highly consuming, but shallow-rooted, climbing pumpkin plants (Cucurbitaceae) compete with radishes for theroot space and quickly get them under pressure with their sprawling growth.
Caring for radishes after planting
After sowing the radish, the seedlings must be regularly supplied with sufficient water, as greater fluctuations can lead to furry or bursting tubers. This is the only way to harvest large and crunchy radishes after four to eight weeks. When watering, use a watering attachment that distributes the water finely. Without an attachment there is a risk that the shallow sown seeds will be washed away or the seedlings will be damaged.
If you want to learn more about radishes and educate yourself about pests and how to harvest radishes, you can read our special article on radishes here.