Radish is very popular among gardeners due to its record early maturity and early ripening, because fresh vegetables are especially valuable after a long winter. To grow a good harvest of radish, certain planting rules and further plant care must be followed.
Planting dates for radish
Depending on the variety, radishes can be early-ripening, mid-ripening, late, podzimny and winter. It depends on the ripening period when it is better to plant a crop:
- Early maturing varieties planted as soon as the ground warms up by 4-5 cm to +2 degrees. This usually happens in April, in the southern regions - at the end of March. The air temperature can range from +15 to +18 degrees.
Early maturing varieties are characterized by rapid maturation, usually up to 20 days. To always have fresh radishes on the table, each next batch should be planted immediately after the first leaves appeared on the previous one. - Mid-season varieties are planted in early June and require a special approach, because with a long daylight hours, the culture quickly switches to the breeding mode.
- Late varieties planted in August or September, depending on local climate conditions. Daylight hours are reduced, which has a good effect on the radish yield.
- Radish "before winter" are planted so that the culture begins to germinate with the first warmth. For this, the seeds are planted in November before the frost, when there is no doubt that there will be no warming and the radish will not start sprouting at an inopportune time. Such a crop appears earlier than all spring varieties and gives large, juicy fruits.
- Winter sowing in frozen soil allows you to get a harvest 2 weeks earlier than spring. The seeds are planted in December or February.
Soil requirements and treatment before planting
The area for growing radishes should be loose, light soil. Loamy soil works well. Radish also grows in sandy soil, but requires frequent watering.
Radish grows best in soil with acidity up to 7.0 pH. To determine acidity, you need to take a handful of earth and pour a spoonful of soda on it: if bubbles and a quiet hiss appear, the soil is quite alkaline. If not, but weeds with a deep root system grow well, which means that the acidity is high. If this is the case, you need to cultivate the area, and you cannot lime and apply manure at the same time.
Milled limestone is better for clay soil, and dolomite flour is better for sandy soil.
The root crop grows better in high beds, so in the fall it is better to prepare a place with a height of more than 20 cm. Before planting, you need to dig up a bed, break up earthy lumps and apply rotted fertilizer - in no case fresh. Experienced gardeners prepare the garden in the fall, then before sowing, you only need to loosen it to a depth of 5 cm and water the soil abundantly.
Depending on the sowing time, the requirements for the illumination of the site change. In spring and autumn, it is important that the sun illuminates the garden bed at least in the first half of the day. In June, on the contrary, you need to make sure that there is a shadow over the radishes for half the day. It is important that the garden bed is protected from the wind.
It is convenient to use a garden bed for radishes, on which tomatoes will later be planted: you can get a good harvest of root crops and prepare the site for the next crop.
In autumn, radishes are planted after the harvested crops. Root crops grow well in garden beds where cucumbers, tomatoes, beans or potatoes were previously grown. But after cabbage, horseradish, radish, turnip and watercress, it is better not to plant radish.
Since the crops that grew before the radish took away most of the nutrients from the soil, it must be enriched before sowing the root crop. For 1 sq. m of the garden will need 3 kg of rotted humus, 20-30 g of potassium sulfide and superphosphate, a teaspoon of urea and half a glass of ash. You need to mix everything, dig up the bed and level it again.
The bed for sowing "before winter" should be sandy or sandy loam. It needs to be located with a slope to the south or southeast. It is important that the site is not flooded with melt water.
Seed preparation for sowing
When purchasing radish seeds, you need to carefully read the description of the variety: for what sowing it is intended, how quickly it ripens. To ensure uniform friendly shoots, before planting, the seeds must be sieved through a sieve with a division of 2 mm and leave the largest ones. Then the grains need to be sorted out, removing the old and damaged ones. This work is best done well in advance, for example, in winter.
The next step is to check the viability of the seeds. They need to be put in a jar and filled with water. Some will float up - this means that they are not suitable, they should be thrown away.
Before sowing, the seeds are soaked in water or a damp cloth for a day, while they may swell a little. Then they need to be disinfected with a bright solution of potassium permanganate - this will serve as the prevention of many diseases. At this stage, you can additionally enrich the seeds with useful microelements using growth stimulants. After these procedures, the seeds must be dried.
If the seeds merge in color with the soil, you can sprinkle them with chalk - then, when sowing, this will help to evenly distribute them in the furrow.
You can prepare seedlings - then the harvest will appear earlier, and the likelihood of a healthy harvest will increase. To germinate radish seeds, you need to do the following:
- Put wet cheesecloth in a container.
- Spread the seeds evenly on the cloth.
- Close with cheesecloth and pour over with water.
- Wrap the container with seeds in a plastic bag - it will keep moisture from evaporating.
- Place the bag with the container in a warm place.
- Periodically open the bag to allow air to enter.
- Rinse and mix the seeds once a day.
Once white shoots have appeared on the seeds, the seedlings can be sown.
All of these recommendations are suitable for spring sowing radish seeds. For sowing "before winter", it is not worth soaking and germinating the seeds, otherwise they will rise too quickly and die from frost.
Radish planting technology
Once the soil and seeds have been prepared, sowing can begin. In the garden, you need to make grooves with a depth of 1-2 cm and pour them abundantly with warm water. The rest of the process details may vary slightly depending on the seeding period.
Spring planting
In spring, the width between the grooves is made at least 10 cm, better 15. The distance between the seeds should be at least 5 cm. Another option is to sow thickly, and then thin out - not the best: the root system of plants does not like outside interference. When thinning, it can be damaged, the root crop will not form, the plant will go into reproduction mode.
Seeding can be made easier by attaching the seeds with paste to the paper tape at the correct distance from each other and placing this tape in the groove.
The seeds are covered with loose earth and tamped slightly - this improves contact with the soil and promotes rapid germination. You do not need to water the ground, but you will need to sprinkle it with peat or humus.
To protect the culture from the cold, the bed is covered with polyethylene from 17:00 until the morning. Under favorable weather conditions, the first leaves will appear in 3-4 days.
There is a method of planting radish seeds using egg cartons. At the cassettes, you need to cut off the bottoms of the egg holes, press the package tightly into the ground. Place one seed in each hole, cover with earth and tamp, then water. So a beautiful root crop is formed for each plant, there is no need to thin out the seedlings and the number of weeds is reduced.
Summer landing
In summer, radishes are rarely planted. To save space and provide the shade necessary for radishes, they are planted between other crops, such as tomatoes or young strawberries. The distance between the seeds must be increased to 10 cm.
If a separate bed is allocated for the radish, then from 18:00 until the morning it must be covered with an opaque material, artificially shortening the daylight hours. If this is not done, the root crop will not form, shooting will begin.
For summer sowing, it is better to choose hybrid varieties with weak shooting: White nights, Champion or Zlata.
Autumn planting
Late-ripening varieties are planted after other crops. Since the fruits of these varieties are large, the distance between them must be increased: between seedlings - at least 15 cm, between rows - 20 cm.
Landing "before winter"
When sowing "before winter", the rows are made at the same distance as for spring sowing. Seeds and soil must be dry. The seed is placed in the furrows, covered with earth and compacted. Then you need to pour 2 cm of peat, and if it snows, then fill the garden with it.
Outdoor care for radishes
The root crop is unpretentious, even a beginner can grow it. But the plant still requires some care. The quality and volume of the crop depends on this.
Watering
Radish is very fond of water, the optimum soil moisture for it is 80%. After sowing, you need to water the crop every day, preferably at the same time, morning or evening. The dry top layer of the earth will destroy the young plant, and if you forget to water the grown radish, it will be very bitter.
Uneven watering and stagnant water can cause the fruit to crack. Stagnant water can cause rotting of the root system and leaves. Therefore, watering should be uniform, and after each watering, the bed must be loosened a little, without touching the sprouts.
Top dressing
If the soil has been properly prepared, additional fertilization is usually not required. But if the soil has not been treated before sowing or after other crops, additional nutrition may be needed.
There are two periods when radish feeding is especially needed:
- First period - the appearance of the first two true leaves, which means the period of the beginning of active growth. At this point, the plant needs nitrogen. To fill the need for it, you need to water the sprouts with a solution of nitrogen fertilizer, for example, saltpeter or urea. Complex universal fertilizers that contain not only nitrogen, but also other minerals are well suited.
- Second period - the beginning of the formation of a root crop: there may still be no more than two leaves, but they are already quite large. Above the ground, a noticeably rounded root can be seen. During this period, potassium and phosphorus should prevail in top dressing. You can use potassium monophosphate or a complex fertilizer with a high percentage of these minerals and other useful elements.
If the time for the first feeding is missed, you do not need to intensively water the plants with nitrogen-containing fertilizers. It is better to focus on the correct second feeding, for example, using a complex fertilizer with a high content of potassium and phosphorus, and with a small amount of nitrogen.
It is important to use not chemical fertilizers, but biological ones, based on humus. Chemicals quickly accumulate in the root crop, the plant does not have time to get rid of them in its short development period. To be sure of the naturalness of the fertilizer, you can make it yourself:
- As a nitrogenous top dressing you can use a decoction of nettle. Another option is to take a large handful of humus from under the garden bed and mix with water in a bucket until it becomes a thick slurry. This slurry needs to be poured over the sprouts.
- Phosphorus and potassium plants can get from ash - it contains all the useful trace elements, except for nitrogen, which is not needed at this stage. You can simply powder the wet leaves with sifted ash, or you can stir a glass of ash in a bucket of water and water the beds.
Thinning
Radish does not like interference with the root system - with a careless attitude, the fibers of root crops become coarse, the root crop bends, and in the early stages it can die. Therefore, it is recommended to sow seeds at a distance from each other.
If the seedlings have sprouted densely or for a particular variety you need more space (for example, for the Red Giant you need 8-10 cm), the shoots must be thinned out. It is better to do this after watering, gently, without sudden movements. The optimal time for thinning is the moment when the first germinal leaves appear.
Diseases and pests: control and prevention
Radishes rarely get sick, which is partly due to the endurance of the culture, and partly due to the fact that during the sowing period (in spring and autumn) there are almost no pests yet. The main danger is posed by a bear and a cruciferous flea:
- Medvedka usually damages the first seedlings grown in greenhouses: they penetrate there in search of heat. Getting rid of this pest is not easy. If there are a lot of them in a closed area, only a complete soil replacement can help. If the pests have just appeared, you can use special chemicals or a trap: dig in a half-liter jar of water or jam. Medvedki will definitely get there, but they won't be able to get out.
- From cruciferous flea a fence, which can be placed on semicircular bases on top of the garden, helps well. Another way is to treat young seedlings with a solution of water and ash, or simply sprinkle with ash after watering. For an adult plant, a flea is not a big threat, so after a couple of weeks the defense can be removed.
There are several diseases that can threaten radishes, but most of them can be defeated:
- Bacteriosis... The leaves begin to turn yellow, and the roots rot and become covered with mucus. The dead plants must be removed, the rest must be watered with Bordeaux liquid.
- Keela... Growths appear on the root and leaves, due to which the plant dies. Plants affected by the disease must be removed along with the surrounding soil. Fill the hole with slaked lime, pour the rest of the plants with a solution of fluffy lime (500 ml per bucket of water), a liter for each seedling.
- Blackleg... The leaves turn yellow and curl, the stem darkens. For treatment, you need to spray the plant with onion husk infusion: pour 20 g of husk with a liter of water and leave for a day. Spray 2 times with a break a week.
For the prevention of diseases, you need to choose resistant varieties of radish, do not neglect the covering material and fertilizers, and also observe the watering regime.
Possible problems when growing radish and their solution
Growing radishes is usually not very difficult. Problems that can arise during cultivation are usually related to the violation of simple rules for seed selection, sowing or care.
The plant does not emerge
The lack of sprouts can be explained by two reasons:
- The seeds have lost their vitality... To avoid such a problem, you need to monitor the expiration date of the seeds and check them for germination before sowing.
- Sowing too early in cold ground... It is important to keep track of the timing and temperature.
If the sprouts appear, but are pale and sluggish, it is probably due to a lack of nitrogen.
The plant goes into the tops, the root crop is not formed
There may be several reasons:
- Lack of light... You need to arrange additional lighting or replant the radishes elsewhere.
- Sowing too deep... The seed should lie no deeper than 1.5-2.5 cm.
- Too much nitrogen... This happens if not rotted manure was placed before sowing.
- Potassium deficiency... Ash solution may help.
Radish grows coarse and fibrous, but empty inside
Usually the reasons are as follows:
- Irrational watering... Watering should be uniform, regulated depending on temperature and soil.
- Sowing too deep, which was mentioned above.
- Overripe... The crop must be harvested on time.
Root vegetables become bitter
This problem occurs if the plant lacks water.
Compliance with the rules for caring for radishes in the open field serves to prevent hollowness, cracking and bitterness of fruits.
Harvesting and storage
It is necessary to collect the radish in a timely manner, when it has reached the size normal for this variety. Ripening does not always occur evenly, therefore, the harvest will be selective.
It is better to pick radishes in the morning, while in the evening the beds need to be well watered. Harvesting is not a big deal: you need to pull the root out of the ground, shake off the lumps of soil and cut the tops at a level of 3-4 cm from the fruit. It is better to cut the spine just before serving.
Radishes are not stored for a long time, so there is no point in harvesting them for future use. To increase the shelf life, the roots must be wiped dry, wrapped in paper and placed in a bag in the refrigerator or cellar. If, after storage, the radish has shriveled and hardened, it is better not to use it for food.
Radishes are easy to grow if you follow the simple rules for selecting and processing seeds, preparing the soil, sowing, fertilizing and watering in time, described in this article. It is worth applying the recommendations taking into account the characteristics of the local climate.