How To Grow Early Radishes

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

• Growing conditions for radish
• Growing radishes in greenhouses, hotbeds and under shelters
• Growing radishes in the open field
• Radish pest control

The most attractive spring vegetable is undoubtedly the radish, which opens the season for our northern vegetables. The early maturity characteristic of this culture, as well as varieties of various ripening times and methods of growing, allow you to have fresh radishes throughout the year.

Radish has been known in culture since ancient times. Historical records show that it was grown in China over 3000 years ago. Used it in food and the peoples of other countries - Japan, Egypt, Greece.

Central Asia is considered the birthplace of radish. It is of great importance as a valuable vegetable product. Its value is determined by the presence of easily assimilated by the body mineral salts of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium. In addition, radish is rich in vitamins: as well as radish, it contains ascorbic acid, vitamins B1, B2, B5, organic acids, and enzymes. This makes it an indispensable vegetable in early spring, when the lack of vitamins in the body is felt especially acutely.

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Petersburg gardeners and Leningrad gardeners, who have greenhouses, hotbeds, film shelters in their households, are quite capable of growing beautiful root crops, which may appear on your table already in late April or early May. However, very often many vegetable growers are left without their radishes and purchase them on the market. Our story is about what secrets of agricultural technology this culture has.

Radish belongs to the botanical family of cruciferous (cabbage) and according to the development cycle is subdivided into annual, which in the year of sowing forms a root crop and seeds, and biennial, which gives seeds in the second year after sowing. The first group includes European forms, the second includes Chinese, Japanese or so-called winter radish varieties. In Russia, mainly European-type varieties are widespread.

Most European varieties form small root crops weighing 7-20 g, the shape of the root crop varies from flat-rounded to elongated-cylindrical. Radish has a different color of root crops - red, white, yellow, pink, purple. Often there are varieties in which only the upper part of the root is colored.

European radish varieties are the fastest (20-25 days) and are relatively resistant to flowering; these are: Early Red, Deca, Zarya, Heat, Sachs, Würzburg 12, Ice Icicle, French Breakfast and others.

The varieties of Chinese radish are later (40-50 days), they are successfully grown during the summer sowing period, the root crops retain their commercial qualities for 2-3 months. These are the varieties: Dungan 12/8, Red Giant, Darosi surkh, Ertapishar and others.

For the normal growth and development of this culture, conditions are necessary, which can be created by knowing the requirements of plants for the main factors of the external environment.

Growing conditions for radish

Radish is a cold-resistant plant, its seeds can germinate at 3-4 ° С, but this process is most vigorous at 15-20 ° С. It can withstand a temporary drop in temperature to 1-2 ° C when grown in greenhouses and up to -1 … -2 ° C when cultivated in open ground.

The optimum temperature for the start of radish development is 10-12 ° C. For the formation of a root crop, a higher temperature is required: during the day 18 ° C, at night - no higher than 15 ° C. Radishes can produce good root crops even at lower temperatures, however, the formation of the root crop slows down somewhat.

Radish is a long day plant. When sown in early spring, when the day is long and there is little heat, it slowly goes through the light stage and forms economically useful root crops in normal terms.

Radish, sown in summer in conditions of long daylight hours and low humidity, comes out into the arrow without forming a root crop. And only with abundant moisture gives normal roots, and then shoots together.

Since many old varieties are not resistant to shooting and give only arrows instead of root crops on a long day (especially on white nights), the newest varieties that are resistant to shooting should be used: Deka, Early Red, Slava.

In a short, 10-12 hour day, this vegetable does not shoot, the growth of root crops proceeds continuously, while they reach large sizes. This is observed when sowing radishes in late summer (August 15-20).

If summer crops are closed at 8 pm and opened at 8 am using a frame made of black film, black spunbond, roofing felt, etc., good production will be ensured.

Radish is a light-loving culture. In low light, especially during the first period of growth, the plants are strongly elongated, roots are formed slowly. This is observed when sowing radishes in the greenhouse during the winter months.

Thickening during sowing also leads to the rapid shooting of plants. Therefore, before sowing, mark the garden bed with a marker, and then sow 1 seed in the designated nests. However, do not forget to check the germination of seeds, it must be at least 85%. The distance between plants for early varieties is 5x5 cm. When sowing in rows for summer varieties - 7x7 cm, without a marker, thinning is necessary at the distance indicated above. For most novice gardeners, good radish yields do not work out precisely because of untimely thinning.

In the first period of growth, the need for water in radish is small, but from the moment the root crop is formed, it increases. The transpiration coefficient of radish is 800, which means that the plant consumes 800 parts of water to form one part of dry matter. With a lack of water, the roots are small, woody, with a long coarse root.

When establishing the water regime, temperature conditions must be taken into account. In cold weather, watering should be sparse and moderate. With the onset of warm days, the ability of the roots to supply water greatly increases, so watering should be frequent and abundant. In hot and dry weather, the weekly watering rate should be about 10 l / m².

Lack of water also leads to early shooting, roots become tough and tasteless.

The best for growing radishes are loose sandy loam soils with a high content of organic matter and a slightly acidic or neutral reaction. Heavy clayey, silty-humus and sandy soils are not very suitable for it.

Radish, like all early ripening crops, has a high vigor of growth, therefore, requires enhanced nutrition and is very responsive to fertilization. The best predecessors for this culture are cucumbers and tomatoes. Radish can also follow well-fertilized field crops (potatoes, peas, beans, beans).

You should not only sow radish after cabbage and root crops, and also freshly watered areas should not be taken away for its cultivation.

The introduction of readily soluble forms of mineral fertilizers into the soil increases the yield of root crops. Particularly good results are obtained with the introduction of nitrogen fertilizers, which, in addition to improving the taste of root crops, delay the formation of a flowering stem.

To get an early harvest, it is advisable to grow radishes in greenhouses, hotbeds and under shelters.

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Growing radishes in greenhouses, hotbeds and under shelters

When growing radishes in a greenhouse, they act as a compactor to the main crop (cucumbers, tomatoes). Rows with radishes are placed in the middle of the row spacings, parallel to the row of the main crop. To prevent the main crop from shading radishes in the first period of growth, sowing and picking it is carried out 1-2 weeks before planting the main crop. Avoid thickening. If the plants are too elongated, it is necessary to add soil or hilling. The hypocotal knee not covered by the ground does not form a root crop.

At the beginning of the formation of a root crop, the plants are fed with a full mineral fertilizer (50-60 g of ecofosca per bucket of water). Top dressing is repeated when the root crop is formed.

When growing radishes in greenhouses and shelters, it is the first crop, and after it the greenhouses occupy the second crop (cucumbers, tomatoes and other heat-loving plants, planted in June). Sowing is carried out at an early date, which depends on the weather conditions and the design of the greenhouses, their provision with heat. As a rule, most vegetable growers have greenhouses and shelters in their gardens, the heating of which depends on solar insolation. Therefore, in our zone, the sowing time falls on the first or second decade of April.

To speed up the emergence of seedlings, seeds are germinated before sowing. To do this, they are soaked for two hours and spread in a thin layer on gauze, covered with a coarse calico cloth. Place the cuvettes or saucers in a warm place. As soon as the seeds begin to peck, they are sown.

The greenhouse soil must be carefully leveled before sowing. If the soil is too dry there, it should be watered before sowing. If its humidity is excessively high, the earth is shoveled to the full depth and laid in rolls, and the frames are slightly opened.

At a very low air temperature in the greenhouse, it is better to postpone the sowing until the required mode is established - 15-20 ° C in the air, 10-12 ° C in the soil. Too high (above 35 ° C) temperature in the greenhouse is harmful to radishes.

As with growing in a greenhouse, sowing is carried out with germinated seeds under a marker so that the seedlings are not thinned out in the future. Early varieties are sown with a feeding area of 4x5 cm, mid-early ones - 5x6 cm, late leafy ones - 7x7 cm. The seeds are covered with soil by 0.5 cm. They will germinate faster if the soil is compacted after sowing.

Then the greenhouse is covered with frames. If they are not glass, but film, then it is better that the film is double. In cold weather, the plants are additionally covered with spunbond. The temperature in the greenhouse or shelter is regulated by opening the frames.

Radish crop care

When radish shoots appear, it is necessary to immediately remove additional shelters and reduce the temperature to 6-8 ° C. Before the formation of the first true leaf, the temperature in the greenhouse in cloudy weather should not be higher than 6 ° С, and in sunny 7-8 ° С. In the future, until the beginning of the formation of root crops, it is maintained at a level of 10-12 ° C.

At the beginning of the formation of root crops, the optimal daytime temperature is 15-18 ° C (on cloudy days 12-15 ° C, on sunny days 16-18 ° C), at night 10-12 ° C, but not higher than 15 ° C. Since radish is very sensitive to light and produces small non-marketable roots in low light, it is necessary to monitor the cleanliness of the glasses and film.

Large, high-tasting marketable root crops are obtained with soil moisture content of 60-65% of full moisture capacity. When squeezed in the hand, such soil is compressed, and when released, it easily cracks. At the same time, the ground in the greenhouse should not be waterlogged, otherwise the plants will get sick with the "black leg".

At early terms of sowing, radishes are watered with warm water (20-25 ° C) moderately and rarely. Later, depending on the weather, watering is increased, but this is done no more than twice a week. Drying out of the soil in greenhouses leads to premature arrow formation and lignification of the root crop. Enhanced ventilation is required for normal growth. In sunny weather, the frames are raised to a height of 5-6 cm. In the future, ventilation is increased, especially in the warmest hours. With the onset of warm weather, the frames are removed altogether.

If the seedlings are stretched out, it is necessary to add soil to the plants or huddle them to cotyledon leaves. This work should be done during the period of "molting" of the root, that is, when the skin of the root cracks and the beginning of its thickening. The dusting of the earth and hilling favor the formation of root crops, delay their shooting.

It is better to fertilize radish at the beginning of the formation of root crops. For feeding, slurry is used diluted with water 1: 5, with the addition of 30 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium chloride per bucket of solution. The presence of phosphorus in the first feeding is very important for early varieties.

Harvested radishes selectively. In early varieties, the first harvest begins 20-23 days after germination, in mid-early varieties after 25-27 days.

Growing radishes in the open field

Sowing radish in the beds can be carried out at several times. But you cannot sow it when the apple tree is blooming, as this coincides with the summer of the cabbage fly - the most dangerous pest for radish.

Since radishes require nutrient-rich structural soil, they start cooking in the fall. Deep plowing is done to the depth of the arable layer. Since autumn, mineral fertilizers are applied with 60-80 g of ecofoski per 1 m². Poor soils require filling with organic fertilizers (humus or compost) at the rate of 3-5 kg per 1 m². In the spring, a shallow digging of 12-14 cm is done, and then harrowing.

The first sowing of radish in our region is carried out in the first ten days of May. The seeding rate of seeds is 2 g per 1 m². The seeding depth is 1.5-2 cm. In order to get a radish harvest during the entire growing season, each subsequent sowing must be done when the first true leaves begin to develop in the previous one - after about 10-15 days. The latest date for ground sowing of radishes is the first half of August.

An important reserve for increasing the yield of this crop is sowing with the largest seeds with a diameter of at least 2.5 mm. It was noted that the weight of root crops when sown with large seeds was more than three times higher than the weight of root crops from small seeds.

With the emergence of seedlings, the soil in the aisles is loosened and weeding is done. Where the seedlings are thickened, the plants are thinned in rows.

Radish pest control

To protect crops from damage by cruciferous flea beetles, which can destroy crops even before the emergence of shoots, weed control, frequent sprinkling, and loosening of the soil are carried out, since when dry and hot, flea beetles multiply rapidly. In the morning, once a week, the beds are pollinated with wood ash or sprayed with infusions of garlic and tobacco.

The cabbage fly can inflict great damage on radishes, which from mid-May to the end of June lays eggs on the ground near the stem or on the stem itself, from which larvae emerge after 6-7 days. They eat the roots, make holes in them. Affected roots become unusable.

To combat the fly, a repelling mixture of 100 g of wood ash, 100 g of tobacco dust, 1 teaspoon of ground pepper is used. It is introduced into the aisles, after which the soil must be loosened to a depth of 2-3 cm every 3-4 days.

A good protective means is to cover the ridges with spunbond, which is reinforced with wire arcs. Chemical protection of radish as a green crop is unacceptable for sanitary and hygienic reasons.

At the beginning of the formation of root crops, the plants are fed with urea 10 g per 1 m². It is best to do this in wet weather or before watering. In dry weather, regular watering is necessary.

Autumn sowing of late varieties of radish: Red Giant, Autumn Giant, Ertapishar on August 1-10 allows you to have its fresh roots in winter and early spring. With these sowing dates, radishes do not pass the light stage, as a result of which there is an increased growth of root crops. By September 1-10, the radish of these varieties reaches a weight of 200-300 g. With the onset of frost, it is harvested and stored as a radish. The storage temperature should be 0 + 1 ° C.

To obtain earlier production from open ground, radishes can be sown before winter. The most suitable for this purpose is the variety Rose red with a white tip.

The garden bed is prepared before the onset of inclement weather. It should be leveled and have a fertile structural light soil. They bring 2-3 kg of humus and 40 g of ecofosca.

The seeds must have a high germination capacity. They are sown in such a way that seedlings do not appear before the frost begins. Roughly in our region, this is the end of the first decade of October. After sowing, the rows are mulched with peat or humus. The mulched soil does not form a dense crust, warms up better in spring, serves as a good guide for inter-row cultivation of crops before emergence. When seedlings appear, fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers of 15-20 g / m² and inter-row processing is carried out. Further work on care and cleaning is no different from work during the spring sowing period.