The Secret to Growing Great Radishes

Ready to learn the secret to growing the best radishes? As a beginner gardener radishes are a quick productive crop that are great for summer eating and picking.

GROWING RADISHES

Radishes are amongst the first seeds of the spring that can be directly sown into the ground when it’s workable. We plant radishes, peas, lettuce and carrots at the first sign of spring and every weekend add another row in succession for lots of radishes.

These early spring crops are also perfect fall and winter garden crops to grow as well. I plant radishes for a fall harvest too.

Radishes are also one of the first early spring crops that is quick to grow and harvest. They are easy enough to plant and thrive in most soil conditions. In this post I’ll share with you the secrets to growing an abundant harvest of radishes in your backyard vegetable garden.

You’ll learn when to plant your radish seeds for a spring and fall harvest, how to choose the perfect variety of radish, preparing the soil for best growing conditions and of course yummy recipes for using up your yield.

Grow radishes in containers, in raised beds, or a lasagne back to eden in ground garden bed.

HOW LONG DO RADISHES TAKE TO GROW

Radishes are one of the quickest of vegetable crops to plant which makes this a fun, rewarding and excellent project to plant with children. The shortest amount of days to maturity for some radish varieties is only 25 days.

Check your radish seed packages for specific amount of days to maturity and make sure to record it on your garden calendar. Once radishes have reached maturity they need to be harvested asap for best results.

Radishes can be grown as an early spring crop or a late summer so for a fall and winter harvest. To grow radishes for the winter plant by direct sowing in the end of summer and cover with a real cover or clash with the first frost.

For a early spring crop plant radishes at the first sign of spring when the soil can be worked usually in March or April for the Pacific Northwest region.

Radishes are a cool weather crops or in the fall if they’re planted in warm soil they may interfere with route formation.

Radishes are a good crop for beginners because they don’t need highly fertile soil.

A tip is to floating row cover over radishes to keep insects away and damage lessened.

COMPANION PLANTING WITH RADISHES

For radishes to thrive, plant with beans, squash, beets, tomatoes, carrots.

Avoid potatoes, grapes and turnips.

THE SECRET TO RADISHES

Radishes are quick to bolt so harvest within the harvest window usually within 25 to 30 days.

Radishes are a great crop for succession planting because they grow so quickly

Sow radish seeds frequently in short rolls for harvest all spring and summer fall and even winter long.

Here are a few tips to remember;

NOT TO HOT – Too much nitrogen in the soil will cause radishes to be spicy. To cool the soil so it’s not too hot mulch around seedlings with sawdust, wood chips or wood shavings.

NOT TO CLOSE – Radishes grow quickly, so make sure to thin seedlings once they germinate to allow for proper spacing between plants.

NOT TO LONG – Harvest radishes as soon as they’ve reached their days of maturity. Radishes that stay in the ground much long will bolt and flower.

Try radish greens and incorporate with other greens from your garden for a healthy alkaline increase in your diet.

Try roasting radishes as an alternative to eating them fresh with dip.

Try those pickled radishes recipe to preserve a large harvest of radishes try fermenting radishes with the easy fermenter seen here

GROWING RADISHES FROM SEED

Direct sow short rows frequently.

Sow radishes seeds 5 mm deep with 25 seeds per 30 cm in a row

Row space should be 30 to 45 cm apart.

Thin to 2 to 5 cm apart.

Radish Varieties

The best thing about planting a vegetable garden is bringing life back to a variety of plants you wouldn’t find in the grocery store. I’ll share with you some of my favourite radish varieties that are fun, different and proven to be successful.

Radishes can be grown in containers. The best radish varieties for containers are Rudolph Radish Seeds.

Radishes can be grown in the spring. The best varieties for early spring crops are French Breakfast.

Radishes also grow in the fall and winter garden. The best variety for your fall garden are Round Black Spanish Radishes.

Looking for a fun new variety of radish to plant this year? You need to try out this watermelon variety!

Mantanghong Watermelon Radish Seeds – $2.69

It is no wonder that ‘Mantanghong’ is the most popular of the Chinese “beauty heart” radishes. This summer/fall-sown radish produces large, 3″ round, mild radishes that can weigh up to 1 pound each! Slice the greenish white exterior to reveal a vivid, fuchsia interior. Whether you enjoy radishes raw, cooked, or pickled, these beauties are sure to be a star. Winter radishes are best sown in the late summer or fall, as short days trigger root growth.

HOW TO PRESERVE RADISHES

Preserving the harvest is by far the best way to celebrate the hard work and energy that went into your garden. Finding new recipes to try with the food you’ve grown is even more exciting.

Check out these 15 different ways to preserve and recipes to use your radish harvest from Morning Chores.

Other than eating them fresh and raw in summer salads or on a tray of garden fresh veggies and dip, I love to pickle my radishes. Below you’ll find our go to recipe for creating sweet and spicy pickled radishes you’re family will love.

PICKLED RADISHES

Quickly pickle radishes straight from the garden with this sweet and spicy pickled radishes recipe! These little pickled radishes are tasty when eaten on their own, these sweet and spicy pickled radishes are also great topped on avocado toast or on a Mexican fish taco.