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There are many varieties of radish, the summer varieties should be grown quickly to produce tender roots.
They all prefer a sunny, fertile, well-drained soil, enriched with well-rotted manure / compost.
Radishes are members of the ‘brassica’ family and therefore are liable to attacks from cabbage root fly and flea beetle so treat accordingly.
With successional sowings, crops can be produced all year round.
Week 10; Make the first sowings in cold frames or under cloches.
Keep the plants well ventilated once they have germinated.
Give added protection by covering with agricultural fleece or similar during frost.
Week 20; Make successional sowings outdoors, at two to three week intervals, sowing the seeds thinly in 12mm (1/2") deep drills.
They should germinate within a week in the summer months and be ready for picking about two weeks later.
Do not let the roots become overcrowded, otherwise they may make foliage rather than root growth, thin the seedlings as necessary.
Keep the bed well watered, and pull the roots as soon as they are large enough, the texture and taste is better in young roots.
Mooli;
Winter radish or mooli radish as it is sometimes known has a stronger and hotter peppery taste than summer radish varieties.
Week 28-30; Sow pinches of seeds 150mm (6”) apart along the row in drills 250mm (10") apart.
Once germinated thin the plants to one radish per station 100-150mm (4"-6") apart.
These roots may be left in the ground and lifted as required, or stored in boxes of sand in a cool, airy place.
Note; subjecting them to a mild frost can improve the taste, hard frosts, will freeze the flesh and cause it to turn to an inedible pulp when thawed.
If particularly cold weather threatens, lift the crop and clean off any soil before storing in slightly moist sand in a cool, frost-free place.
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