Daikon Radishes

Tracydr · October 7, 2011

So, what's the secret to growing huge daikon's? I just bought some gorgeous, two pound radishes to make kimchi with. I'd just love to pull some of these out of my gardens. I know I can't do them in my raised beds, as they are sitting on really hard ground with lots of rocks. The beds are only 8" inches before hitting that compacted earth.
I have some better, in ground gardens that don't get as much sun, about 3 hours a day, especially during our radish growing season. I usually use these beds for greens and small radishes, although I have peppers and eggplants there that appreciate the shade in summer. How loose does the soil need to be? How much sunlight?

Worth1 · October 7, 2011

The soil doesn't have to be real loose as long as its moist and there is no hard pan.
Though I would think a rich loamy soil would be best.
Full sun to no less than 6 hour of direct sunlight should be enough.
Never grown one but I would think it wouldn't be much different than any other radish.

Worth

salix · October 7, 2011

Tracy - just go for it. I planted some a few years ago not really knowing how they grew. Just sowed them like regular radishes in between some tomatoes and promptly forgot about them. The foliage just got lost in the tomato foliage. In late September while cleaning out the beds, there they were! Gotta admit, they scared me - needed the potato fork to get them out, some were over 2 feet long. Just perfect, no worm/insect damage, and very crisp texture. Not sure if I had thinned them myself, or they "thinned" themselves somehow, by crowding out the weaker plants. Ended up with about a dozen of these huge things, gave most away as they were too hot for our taste. They were so big they needed to be washed in the laundry tub. And they stored very well, for a couple of months in the regular refrigerator crisper. There was a repeat performance the following year, I made sure to give them lots of water, but they were still too hot for me. Oh, and the soil was only loose for the first 8 or 10 inches - but the soil below was not really hard, just not 'worked'.

biscgolf · October 7, 2011

they will grow down into fairly hard soil... we use them as tillage radishes on the farm in our red clay based virginny soil... just harvested this year's volunteers this week.

October 7, 2011	#1
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	Daikon Radishes So, what's the secret to growing huge daikon's? I just bought some gorgeous, two pound radishes to make kimchi with. I'd just love to pull some of these out of my gardens. I know I can't do them in my raised beds, as they are sitting on really hard ground with lots of rocks. The beds are only 8" inches before hitting that compacted earth. I have some better, in ground gardens that don't get as much sun, about 3 hours a day, especially during our radish growing season. I usually use these beds for greens and small radishes, although I have peppers and eggplants there that appreciate the shade in summer. How loose does the soil need to be? How much sunlight?

October 7, 2011	#2
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	The soil doesn't have to be real loose as long as its moist and there is no hard pan. Though I would think a rich loamy soil would be best. Full sun to no less than 6 hour of direct sunlight should be enough. Never grown one but I would think it wouldn't be much different than any other radish. Worth

October 7, 2011	#3
salix Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: north central B.C. Posts: 2,310	Tracy - just go for it. I planted some a few years ago not really knowing how they grew. Just sowed them like regular radishes in between some tomatoes and promptly forgot about them. The foliage just got lost in the tomato foliage. In late September while cleaning out the beds, there they were! Gotta admit, they scared me - needed the potato fork to get them out, some were over 2 feet long. Just perfect, no worm/insect damage, and very crisp texture. Not sure if I had thinned them myself, or they "thinned" themselves somehow, by crowding out the weaker plants. Ended up with about a dozen of these huge things, gave most away as they were too hot for our taste. They were so big they needed to be washed in the laundry tub. And they stored very well, for a couple of months in the regular refrigerator crisper. There was a repeat performance the following year, I made sure to give them lots of water, but they were still too hot for me. Oh, and the soil was only loose for the first 8 or 10 inches - but the soil below was not really hard, just not 'worked'.

October 7, 2011	#4
biscgolf Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Virginia Posts: 353	they will grow down into fairly hard soil... we use them as tillage radishes on the farm in our red clay based virginny soil... just harvested this year's volunteers this week.