Radishes An Old Idea That Is New Again

[cjp1953]

Planted my tillage radishes Thursday and have tiny leaves showing.I just hand tossed them like you would grass seed and they took off.

[adewilliams]

I planted some in July that have progressed well, but I have some rather shady spots where the radishes didn't take off like I would have hoped. Any recommendations for a shady area cover crop?

[cjp1953]

Originally Posted by adewilliams

I planted some in July that have progressed well, but I have some rather shady spots where the radishes didn't take off like I would have hoped. Any recommendations for a shady area cover crop?

I would contact a local garden supply and seed store.I wonder if clover would work?Red crimson clover is mixed in with radishes and sold that way as a blend at a huge farm and seed supplier near here.Really don't know how it would stand up in the shade.

[svalli]

The tillage radishes, which we got did not produce really big taproots, but we got quite tall flowering plants. I wonder if those would have grown fleshier roots, if planted later when the time of daylight is shorter. These may as well be a variety which do not form thick roots at all.

Now I found out that those seed pods are edible. I will go to the field tomorrow and I will check how those seed pods are and maybe pick some.

Sari

[cjp1953]

The seed store I bought my Tillage radishes had them labeled Torpedo Daikon radishes.I have a 1 pound bag but only used maybe less than 1/4 pound.Next year I might plant rows 6 to 8 inches apart instead of just tossing them like grass seed.They're supposed to get large but I had to wait 2 weeks to get them in as the supplier was out of them.So I planted on the 15th of Sept. instead of the first week as I planed,I hope they get large enough to do what I wanted and that is to break up my soil and continue to do no till.This is the first time with this type of cover crop.The past 6 years I have used hairy vetch and winter rye but the root system is very thick and takes a while to break down so I could plant.It should frost at the end of October,so I'm wondering if they will very large but I think they will do the job better than past cover crops.

[jillian]

I planted these radishes on September 16. This is in a new garden bed I have been working on. It still had a pretty thick layer of partially unfinished compost on top but they seem to be growing well?
Obviously they are planted heavily , I just tossed them about . Can anyone say if these look like what they should at this point? Some of them along the edges have some slightly curled edges and are not as large as the radishes in the center of the bed.

[cjp1953]

Mine were planted 1 day before and are the same size but not as thickly sowed.

[jillian]

Originally Posted by cjp1953

Mine were planted 1 day before and are the same size but not as thickly sowed.

Thanks. At first I intended to make holes and plant 3 or 4 inches apart. I quickly changed my mind The bed is 8 1\2 ft. X 24 ft. (yes, long story) so I would probably still be out there planting seeds. I wasn't certain how well they would grow so I scattered the whole 1\4 lb. packet!

[cjp1953]

From what I read on them,you could cover with soil but no more than 1/4 inch or just hand throw.The person at the feed store I buy from grows them and said that would work fine.He also told me not to go too heavy with them.I guess the more room they have the better to get to a larger size.You'll get more growth from yours with your mild weather I'm sure.Let me know how they do.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by jillian

Thanks. At first I intended to make holes and plant 3 or 4 inches apart. I quickly changed my mind The bed is 8 1\2 ft. X 24 ft. (yes, long story) so I would probably still be out there planting seeds. I wasn't certain how well they would grow so I scattered the whole 1\4 lb. packet!

Way too thick my friend.

Worth

[cjp1953]

Originally Posted by jillian

Thanks. At first I intended to make holes and plant 3 or 4 inches apart. I quickly changed my mind The bed is 8 1\2 ft. X 24 ft. (yes, long story) so I would probably still be out there planting seeds. I wasn't certain how well they would grow so I scattered the whole 1\4 lb. packet!

I just watered mine an hour ago and the leaves gave off a scent that my wife said smelled like a scented candle.Have you noticed any kind of smell coming from yours yes?It had a very pleasant aroma to me.

[maxjohnson]

Originally Posted by cjp1953

I just watered mine an hour ago and the leaves gave off a scent that my wife said smelled like a scented candle.Have you noticed any kind of smell coming from yours yes?It had a very pleasant aroma to me.

I remembered growing Black Spanish radishes to seeds and the flowers had very nice aroma.

[cjp1953]

From what I have read,it's in the spring they give off an oder as they decay in the ground but I don't have a very large garden.When I saw them last before we had a layer of snow some were the size of large carrots a couple of inches out of the ground.

[Nan_PA_6b]

Radish pods are yummy (taste like radishes) and don't kill the plant. Harvest pods all summer and leave the roots to do their thing in the fall.

Nan

[svalli]

I picked some of radish seed pods last fall and used those in salad and stir fry. The ones I picked early were good, but the later ones were getting tough. If we grow these again on our field, I will start picking the seed pods sooner.

Sari