How to Grow and Care Radishes in Home Garden?

Radishes are cool season vegetables that prefer sunny locations and fertile, deep, well-drained soils. Radish may be spherical or carrot-shaped and in a rainbow of colors: green, white, pink, red, purple and yellow. Most familiar are the garden radishes. Garden radishes have a spicy flavor and crisp juicy texture. Radish can be grown almost anywhere. Learn how easy it is to grow radish in garden.

How to Grow

Radishes prefer fertile, well-drained, deep, sandy soils rich in organic matter for best growth. Because of their size and speed, radishes may be grown just about anywhere. Prepare the radish bed by loosening soil at least six inches deep, a foot or more for long types. Before planting, determine fertilizer needs with a soil test and use the recommendations given with the test report.

Plant the seed of smaller varieties shallowly, one-fourth to one-half inch deep. Apply ¼ cup per 10 feet of row of a nitrogen-based fertilizer 3-4 weeks after emergence to encourage rapid plant growth. Plant larger varieties deeper, up to one inch deep. Seedlings will emerge within ten days.

Grow in Winter

Many hardy radishes can be sown towards the end of summer to give an autumn or early winter harvest of roots. Sowing regular red, round or white-tipped radishes into containers is a great way to extend the season. Another option is to grow bigger winter or Asian varieties of radish, which naturally prefer cooler temperatures.

Care for Radish

Radishes need routine watering to grow or they run the risk of becoming pithy. Give the plants about one inch of water per week. Mulching the top layer or adding fertilizer of your soil can also give your radish plants a head starts in growth. Critters or insects snacking on your vegetables. For pests, use an organic or noninvasive pesticide.

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