How To Grow A Good Harvest Of Juicy Radish; Agricultural Technology And Radish Varieties

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Folk and Dutch technologies for growing the popular vegetable radish

In Russia, this culture has been known for a very long time. Our ancestors appreciated the virtues of radishes as a great snack. And all "snack cultures" are considered to be of domestic origin. And now it is already possible to count hundreds, maybe thousands of scientific dissertations on the topic of sowing radish.

Perhaps someone needs some scientific work, but regarding the radish, I received the most practical recommendations from a cheerful old woman who had long understood what a pension reform is in a transitional period. Without additional income, theoretically, you can justify the cost of living, but only in the Sahara desert. An old lady friend of mine, having studied all the subtleties of growing this crop, solves the problems of pension reform in her personal plot, of course, far from the African continent.

While I was waiting for the commuter bus, she told me her secrets of growing Raphanus sativus var. Radicula (this is how radish is called in Latin). Moreover, she was in an excellent mood after the successful sale of several dozen magnificent bunches of vigorous, fresh radish. When I asked how she sows radishes, she replied: "They do not sow radishes, but plant them, if you sow them, they will go all over the place." And so the conversation began.

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I don’t know what to call her “dissertation,” for example, “Advice of Baba Mani”. She has been preparing the ridge under the radish since autumn. If we apply scientific terminology, then this is soil preparation aimed at creating favorable water-air, food and thermal regimes of the soil. If we are closer to the advice of Baba Mani, then she cooks a ridge under the radish where the cucumbers grew last year.

It fertilizes the ridge in the fall: it brings in a bucket of good humus, adds a liter jar of ash for each square meter, it is obligatory to bring ash only in autumn, it is impossible to bring it into the soil in spring - the juiciness of radish is lost from ash. Freshly watered ridge is not suitable for radishes. She plants radishes in the spring, as soon as the earth dries up, a piece of old plastic wrap helps her in this process. First, the bed is compacted from above with a board and levels the surface. Then the top layer is about a third of a finger loose. Plants seeds piece by piece at a distance of the thumb (5 cm) to about the depth of the nail (1.5 cm). Closer and deeper does not recommend - the radish will go into the arrow.

After planting the seeds, he slams the bed with a board, and so that, God forbid, a crust does not form, he lightly sprinkles it with peat. The fact is that radish loves moisture, it must be watered often, the ridge is always in a bright place, it grows poorly in the shade. So that after watering a crust does not form, peat helps here, but it will not be superfluous to loosen it carefully. The earth should not dry out, otherwise a juicy root crop will not work, it becomes flabby from dryness.

Planting, if the weather is cold, Baba Manya covers with a film, puts it on low wire arches (25 cm from the base of the garden). When the seedlings are strengthened, it makes a small hilling of the plants to the cotyledonous leaves. After the emergence of shoots, before the root crops are poured, radishes are watered at the rate of one watering can per three square meters, if the ground is already wet, then watering is reduced, otherwise only tops will grow.

On the tenth day after germination, it feeds the radish with a mullein solution. If the weather is cold and the radish grows slowly, then she adds a teaspoon of urea to the mullein solution. When the root crop appears from the ground, sprinkles it with earth so that it grows into a radish. But with loosening, says Baba Manya, at this time it is necessary to be more careful: he does not like it when he is "shaken" once more while filling the root crop. Baba Manya usually waters the planting every day, and when the roots are poured, then once a week is enough. He does not use chemistry, otherwise they will not buy radishes. The agronomist said that radishes tend to accumulate nitrates. Ash and makhorka help from midges, but it is necessary to start scaring off the insects as the seedlings seem to be. The ash does not burn the leaf, and the radish grows well, only a lot of ash is also bad, the radish hardens.

She had problems - sometimes she was late with sowing due to severe frosts, it happened that someone ate up a root crop. A former collective farm agronomist advised adding bazudin to the soil before planting, it helped. It is always bad to be late with sowing, the earthen flea is very harmful to the seedlings, but too early sowing and getting the seedlings under severe frosts is bad, he will shoot himself.

She also shared such "secrets" that now there is a good covering material, there is no midge under it, and it is better than a film. She uses it on carrots, turnips, rutabagas, and cabbage.

And another secret: since winter, Baba Manya has been sticking seeds with flour glue on newspapers, in the spring she puts such stickers on a well-soaked ridge and sprinkles it with earth, then radish grows very evenly.

I asked Baba Manya what variety she was planting, said that my daughter from Moscow sent her dyed seeds, green and red, but she didn’t know what variety, it’s not written in Russian. But the seeds are good, the local ones were not bad before, but now they have become worse, probably, they do not allow them to ripen well, the radish outgrows and quickly becomes flabby. She said that she adds silt from the pond to the compost, in the local name it is called "wet". I wanted to ask her about other crops that she plants in her garden, but I didn't have time - a bus came up.

Let us now try to compare the advice of Baba Mani with the Dutch radish growing technology.

In the open field, to obtain the earliest production, temporary film shelters are used, which allow protecting crops from temporary drops in temperature and getting a crop 2-3 weeks earlier. It is advisable to install shelters 1-2 weeks before the planned sowing. Fertile, well-fertilized areas are allotted for radish. In the fall, 400-500 kg / one hundred square meters of humus and mineral fertilizers are applied for digging: phosphoric and potash fertilizers, 0.6-0.9 kg of active ingredient per one hundred square meters (3-4.5 kg of superphosphate and 2.4-3.6 kg of potassium magnesium or 1.2-1.8 kg of potassium sulfate).

In early spring, the soil is harrowed or loosened with a rake to prevent excessive evaporation, and after a few days, cultivation is carried out by 3-4 cm. At the same time, nitrogen fertilizers are applied in the amount of 0.8-1 kg of the active substance (2.3-2.9 kg / one hundred square meters of ammonia saltpeter). Seeds are sown to a depth of 1.5-2.5 cm with a distance between rows of 10-15 cm. Loosening of the soil is carried out starting from seed germination and up to harvesting plants. This also solves the weed problem. In dry weather, as well as in greenhouses, radish is watered 2-3 times. Irrigation rate - 10-15 l / m. Outdoor watering should be done in dry years, and when using temporary shelters, it is mandatory.

The most dangerous pest is the cruciferous flea. It is more dangerous on warm sunny days. To scare away, you can use wood ash, mixed in equal parts with tobacco dust or lime. Pollination is repeated 2-3 times every 4-5 days, starting from the moment of emergence.

Radish, especially in the early stages, should preferably be sown on southern slopes with light fertile soils. Heavy and marginal soils are unsuitable for growing it.

Essentially, the Dutch recommendation is no different from Baba Mani's technology. The only thing worth mentioning is the use of sapropel compost. It is known that due to the increased vital activity of microbes, the mineral nutrition of plants will improve, and this is important for radish with its shallow root system. A feeding area of 30-50 cm² is sufficient for radishes.

Now there are ready-made biological preparations containing bacteria: nitrogen-fixing, phosphate-dissolving - these species would be good to settle in compost. Baba Mani's remark about the quality of some domestic seeds is quite fair. Dutch seeds are now in great demand among professionals who need high-quality vegetable products. And not because there are no good domestic varieties, we have them, sometimes even surpass foreign analogues in characteristics. But varieties are often reproduced in violation of technology, and not always from the elite. Obviously, it's all about poor financing of this agricultural sector. And for radish, a strict seed production technology is especially important. Which seeds you use - Dutch or domestic - is not so important as long as they are of high quality.

We can safely say that radish is our national brainchild. Of course, we must pay tribute to the great Peter I, who was well versed in "snack vegetables" and chose a very good German variety of Würzburg. From the tsar's command, then foreign varieties became widespread. Later, domestic varieties appeared; V. Grachev's firm was engaged in their breeding, starting from the 70s of the XIX century. The most popular varieties of radish for open ground at that time were Gigantic oil, Giant violet, Hercules (they were obtained as a result of cross-pollination of the German variety Würzburg and summer radish).

To date, foreign varieties have again become the most popular among sellers of radish: Dutch varieties and hybrids. We will dwell on their characteristics a little.

What problems did our manufacturer of beam products Baba Manya face? There were complications with illumination, low temperatures, it is not always possible to find a good sunny place on the site, and radish shoots in the shade, and spring can be cold.

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We list the varieties and hybrids that can tolerate reduced illumination

Rondar F1 - when grown in greenhouses - high productivity even in low light conditions. Ripening period 20-35 days. Can also be cultivated outdoors in summer and autumn.

Donar F1 - tolerates greenhouse conditions well, has a small rosette of leaves, if it is necessary to obtain larger fruits, the collection period can be significantly lengthened without the risk of hollowness in them.

Anabel F1. Tolerates insufficient illumination and low temperatures, quickly forms root crops - harvesting 23-25 days after germination; in conditions of low temperatures and insufficient illumination, the growing season is 50-55 days. Does not stop growth, the tops are not stretched. The variety gives a guaranteed yield due to its resistance to insufficient light and low temperatures.

Dubel F1. The earliest hybrid of radish (18-23 days). It surpasses all other hybrids in the size of its root crops (diameter up to 4.5 cm and weight about 30-35 g). Root crops of attractive bright red saturated color with white dense flesh. Even when standing on the vine, they do not acquire hollowness. It continues its development at low temperatures, unlike many varieties, thus bypassing them in terms of ripening by 5-7 days.

Famox F1. An early ripening hybrid of a large-fruited, all-season radish. The first harvest (under optimal growing conditions) is possible within 20-22 days after germination. It tolerates low temperatures well, therefore it is excellent for growing in film greenhouses in early spring and autumn.

Tarzan F1. The growing season is 30 days. Root crops are large in size, well grown early and in autumn. The fruits ripen well in low light, and retain their presentation for the longest time.

Estared F1. Very early hybrid, perfectly tolerates greenhouse climate. Root diameter 3.5 cm.

Super F1. One of the earliest shade-tolerant hybrids.

Now let's move on to varieties and hybrids intended for open ground, although this division is rather arbitrary, many hybrids are grown both in open and in closed ground. For gardeners, the most important thing is that the radish shoots less in conditions of a long day, heat, with interruptions in moisture supply.

Caspar F1 - for outdoor cultivation. Sowing from April to August. Resistant to wilting and cracking. Short sheet. Heat-resistant, early hybrid.

Sora. Early ripening variety (harvest is ready in 20-22 days after germination) of large-fruited, all-season radish. It tolerates low temperatures well, and is also suitable for growing in film greenhouses in early spring and autumn. The tops are small and compact; when left standing, they do not form voids in the root crop. The variety retains its commercial qualities for a very long time: the harvested crop, even washed, tolerates transportation well over long distances. Due to its resistance to high temperatures, it does not go into the arrow when grown in summer.

Rudy. An early variety that retains a crispy structure when overripe. For all-season cultivation, no arrows. The tops are powerful. Resistant to downy mildew.

Silva. An ideal variety for a bunch, after ripening, the roots do not coarse, the taste is less pungent, the growing season is 28 days. Resistant to downy mildew. For all-season cultivation.

Summered. This variety is designed for cultivation all year round indoors and outdoors. Ripens early, does not respond to day length.

Rudolf. Very early, short-leaved, for spring and early summer production. A reliable variety.

Rebel. For cultivation in summer and autumn, does not respond to day length, heat resistant.

Reggae. Best cultivar for late summer and early fall. Stores well.

Poker. Does not react at all to day length, grown in early summer. Large root vegetable, does not give voids.

A few words about domestic varieties.

The most resistant to shooting under our growing conditions were varieties of VNIISSOK selection, seeds of the elite class. Varieties: Mokhovskoy, Option, Fairy. The seeds were grown at the institute's variety plots under the author's control. In terms of the quality of root crops, radish was not inferior to the Dutch varieties.

What conclusions can be drawn, what to wish for gardeners? Much depends on the variety, but to a greater extent, the yield depends on agricultural technology and the correct choice of a variety in specific growing conditions.