Daikon - Japanese Radish: Beneficial Properties, Sowing And Care

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

And radish is sweet or a word or two about daikon

The Japanese are known to consume more vegetables than the inhabitants of other industrialized countries. And far from the last place among vegetables is occupied by daikon, which is called "Japanese radish" all over the world.

Although the daikon originally grew in China and Korea, and it was from there that it came to Japan in the 6th century. Now it has become an indispensable vegetable, without which the Japanese cannot live a day. Even on New Year's Eve, guests are offered the ancient odzoni soup, which includes seaweed, legumes, daikon and rice cakes.

Daikon has since ancient times enjoyed a well-deserved demand among the inhabitants of Sakhalin. Not so long ago, they began to grow daikon in other regions of Russia, since its varieties were bred, oriented specifically for our climatic conditions. True, it is not yet as widespread as in Japan. There are currently over 670 daikon varieties and hybrids. Our breeders have also tried, and recently several very good domestic varieties and hybrids have appeared.

What is daikon?

Daikon root crops are juicy and very tender, their length can reach 30 cm or even more, diameter ў 10 cm, they have an unusually sweet taste. Compared with radish and radish, they are more juicy, tender and practically devoid of a specific rare bitter-spicy taste. The mass of root crops, depending on the variety, can range from 100 g to 4 kg or more. Usually they are submerged in the soil by half or even one third.

Daikon is an unusually productive crop, from a square meter you can get up to 5-7 kg of tasty and healthy root crops.

It is not for nothing that the daikon is so revered in the East

Japanese scientists claim that daikon helps to eliminate fat stagnant in the body. Both raw and processed, it facilitates the digestion of food, especially fatty foods. Moreover, daikon restores normal digestion.

Of all the vegetable plants, only radish, horseradish and daikon are able to dissolve stones in the liver and kidneys. But in horseradish and radish there is a lot of pungency and bitterness, as a result, not everyone can use them without fear. Daikon, on the other hand, contains almost no rare oils, does not taste bitter, and probably everyone will like it. The daikon is eaten both fresh (as is customary in our country), and in boiled and salted form (in the countries of Southeast Asia, daikon is consumed in any form). Young leaves can also be used fresh (this applies to varieties with non-pubescent leaves). Daikon salads with carrots, onions or apples, vegetable oil, sour cream, mayonnaise are good. Daikon root vegetables are added to vegetable soups.

In addition, daikon is a real piggy bank of vitamins and nutrients needed by the human body. Its roots are rich in proteins and carbohydrates, accumulate vitamins B1, B2, PP, C (vitamin C, for example, three times more than in Antonovka apples), calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and iron salts. Its juicy roots contain a lot of pectin, fiber and various enzymes. The roots of this plant are capable of removing heavy metals and radionucleides from the human body. In general, a very promising vegetable crop.

Daikon can be used for food throughout the entire growing season ў and very small, the size of a radish, and in a state of full ripeness with a root vegetable length of 30 cm or more. The daikon pulp does not coarsen with growth, the pungency gradually decreases and the content of ascorbic acid increases. Daikon, among other things, refers to environmentally friendly plants, because does not accumulate any heavy metals or radionucleides.

Some sources even mention that the daikon prevents the development of cancer.

In winter, the most valuable vitamin greens can be driven out of its seeds to the cotyledon stage as follows: cotton wool or foam rubber is placed on the bottom of the can, moistened and sown, and after 14 days the harvest is ready, you can prepare a salad.

Daikon's "tricky" agricultural technology

In general, we can say that the juicy and tender root vegetables of the daikon were enjoyed by many gardeners. And it grows quickly (the growing season is 40-80 days), and the roots are of unprecedented size. True, not everyone succeeds, well, this is fixable. If desired, it is quite possible to grow a daikon.

About the time of sowing seeds

Most daikon varieties are not suitable for cultivation in the first half of the summer, because with a long day, the plants quickly move to flowering, without producing a normal root crop. In plants planted in the second half of summer, the transition to flowering is delayed, and root crops quickly increase their mass. Therefore, for example, in the conditions of the Urals, the daikon is sown from about 5 to 20 July (later the root crops usually do not have time to fill up, because in cold weather the development of plants slows down sharply, and in our country in the second half of August, in fact, it is no longer summer). Although in certain areas, warm ridges, with the use of covering material and good agricultural technology, a good harvest can be achieved with later plantings.

About soil

Daikon grows well only on fertilized, humus-rich, light, sandy soils - it is on such soils that root crops are more leveled and smooth. The daikon clearly does not like clay soils: the roots are bent, become smaller, and the taste is not at all the same. True, some vegetable growers recommend making holes up to a meter deep with an ordinary manual garden drill on such soils, where then light fertile soil is poured and daikon seeds are sown. I did not check this option, because my soil is light and sandy.

As for organic fertilizers in the form of manure and poultry droppings, they can only be applied under the previous culture, but humus will never harm a daikon.

Naturally, in principle, sowing on acidic soils is unacceptable because of the risk of keel injury, but yes, this applies to all crucifers; and everyone knows that plants diseased with keel will give rough, twisted, small and completely inedible roots. Therefore, the soil should be pre-calcified, and when sowing daikon, you should not spare ash. When a large amount of ash is added, the taste of root crops is significantly improved. Before sowing seeds, it is a good idea to fertilize the ridges with humus, sprinkle with some kind of complex fertilizer and add ash.

About lighting requirements

Like all cruciferous plants, the daikon, unfortunately, is no exception and refuses to grow in shade conditions. Better not to try. With a lack of lighting, of course, you will get tops for the salad, but, alas, no root crops.

About sowing

It must be remembered that the daikon is extremely demanding in maintaining the optimal feeding area. And what is there to be surprised at: large root crops, of course, require a large area. Therefore, the row spacing for the daikon should be about 65-70 cm, and the distance between the seeds should be up to 20 cm. It is not worth sowing thicker, because thickened crops will not provide you with the yield promised on colorful bags. Root vegetables instead of kilogram ones will more likely resemble radishes. Therefore, you should not save on his living space. For a daikon, this is completely unacceptable.

And in order not to waste space in vain, because not every seed can ascend, it is better to sow 2-3 seeds in one hole (then pull out the extra ones for salad). It is better to immediately mulch crops with sawdust, leaf litter or crushed bark with a layer of 1.5-2 cm to maintain moisture and create optimal conditions for plant development.

Usually, two-line crops are practiced. It is in this case that the maximum illumination of the plants is ensured. There are recommendations to place the daikon along the edges of the ridges in one line. And, I believe that this would be a very reasonable option, if not for pests, with which it is almost useless to fight with improvised means (too much time and trouble and too low the result). Therefore, I specifically set aside for this culture narrow ridges, capable of accommodating only one or two lines of plants, but allowing them to be covered with a covering material. Naturally, I do not cut such ridges in the main garden plot (too unprofitable), but use naturally formed small patches of soil.

Later, after the emergence of seedlings in the phase of 2-3 true leaves, the plants are thinned out, leaving in the nest one by one, the strongest and healthiest.

About moisture

Daikon does not require as frequent watering as radish, however, with a lack of moisture, root crops form small and coarse. Water the plantings as needed, avoiding severe waterlogging, because the latter can lead to the development of mucous bacteriosis.

Lowland areas that do not dry out well after rains should not be allotted for the daikon. All plants will certainly get sick with mucous bacteriosis. Of course, in this case, the harvest is out of the question.

About care during the growing season

Care for seedlings (weeding and loosening) is no different from caring for the radish we are used to. Therefore, I will not dwell on this issue.

Top dressing

When the first 3-4 true leaves appear, it is a good idea to once again add ash under the plants, scattering it directly over the leaves. If the soil on the site is not fertile enough, then you can sprinkle some complex fertilizers and humus in the aisles at the same time. Top dressing according to the same scheme can be repeated during the period of root crop formation (it all depends on the degree of soil fertility).

About daikon pests

The daikon has the same pests as all other cruciferous plants: the cruciferous flea (damaging the leaves, especially in the germination stage) and the cabbage fly (whose larvae make holes in the roots, opening the path of infection and making the root vegetable completely inedible). These pests can completely destroy your crop. Therefore, an active fight against them is essential.

The strategy for dealing with them is standard: it is dusting with a mixture of tobacco dust, ash and ground red pepper. However, I have long abandoned this technology as unpromising. The most effective way of fighting, from my point of view, is to grow this crop only under a covering material, especially since from the beginning of July (even from the end of June) it is released in the beds under most crops.