Radish

Raphanus sativus

No root crop is quicker. Radishes are crisp, peppery and ready four to six weeks after sowing. Sow a short row every couple of weeks for a steady supply. Spring and late summer sowings do best, because summer heat makes the plants flower and the roots hot. They fit nicely in the gaps between slower vegetables.

Looking after it

Water: Radishes need normal watering, but keep it steady so the roots grow fast and mild. Dry soil makes them woody and hot. A soaking after a dry spell splits them. Feeding: No feeding is needed at all. Radishes grow so fast that ordinary garden soil is enough.

Harvest and keeping

Pull a few at a time once the roots are about 2.5 cm across. If you leave them in the ground, they soon turn woody, bitter and very hot. Cut off the leaves and the thin tip of the root. In a plastic bag in the fridge, they keep up to a month.

What can go wrong

Flea beetles. Tiny round holes appear in the leaves, mostly in warm, dry weather. The damage usually only spoils the look. Keep seedlings watered and cover them with fine insect mesh.
Bolting. In hot, dry weather the plants send up a flower stalk and the root stops swelling. Sow in spring and late summer and keep watering. Pull up plants that flower, but you can eat their young pods.
Split or woody roots. Roots split when watering is uneven and turn woody when they get old. Water regularly and pick them at about 2.5 cm across. Split roots are still good to eat.

Growing facts: RHS, UC ANR and seed-company sowing guides. Radish care: RHS. How many to grow: Kansas State and University of Missouri extension. pH: University of Connecticut and University of Maryland extension. Keeping: University of Missouri extension.