How to get a good harvest of radishes in open ground. Radishes - growing in open ground Timing for sowing radishes in open ground

Radishes are a vegetable crop that is widely cultivated throughout the world. It was even grown in space - on the International Space Station during experiments with plants. Being one of the earliest vegetables, it is very popular in Russia, since greenhouse radishes ripen in April and become the first salad crop that can restore the supply of vitamins in the body after a long winter. Gardeners love radishes for short time maturation and relatively simple growing technology.

Not everyone knows that radish is not an independent botanical species, but only one of the cultural forms of the Radish species. According to the botanical classification, this species belongs to the Cabbage family and is included in the Radish genus.

Radish is a species (or rather subspecies) of annual or biennial plants that is widely cultivated as a vegetable crop throughout the world. It has a thickened edible root, covered with a red or white-red skin. The leaves are lyre-pinnate. The petals of the inflorescences are white or pink.

At the moment, it is customary to distinguish between three main groups of varieties of this vegetable - Japanese, European and Chinese. Radishes are either annual (roots and seeds in one year) or biennial (roots ripen in one year, seeds in the next).

Among the many varieties, there are both those intended for greenhouses and those that grow better in open ground. Radish varieties also differ in the shape of the root crop, which ranges from spherical to almost cylindrical.

There are two main versions of the appearance of this vegetable in Europe. According to one of them, it was originally bred in southeast Asia, to be precise - in Ancient China. This version is based on the fact that the great Middle Ages traveler Marco Polo brought radishes, among other wonders, to his native Venice, which subsequently quickly spread throughout Western Europe.

However, there is an alternative version, according to which radishes were known back in Ancient Greece. In particular, many sources refer to the fact that the Hellenes sacrificed this root vegetable to their gods. But even if this is indeed the case, it is obvious that Europeans subsequently forgot about this vegetable for many centuries, until Marco Polo rediscovered the radish, bringing it from China.

The main product for which the radish vegetable is grown is a small root vegetable the size of a walnut or even a chicken egg. But in some varieties, young leaves are also suitable for food. The root vegetable often has a characteristic sharp-sweet taste, which is given to it by the mustard oil contained in the tissues of the plant.

In Russia, radishes are valued for their early ripening. It can be sown in semi-warm greenhouses in early spring, and in April the first harvest can be harvested from these beds. The vitamins contained in root vegetables make this vegetable very popular for those who want to restore immunity after several winter months. Radishes contain vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, E, C, etc., as well as useful microelements: sodium, phosphorus, calcium, iron, magnesium, iodine and cobalt. With all this, the energy value of 100 grams of radish does not exceed 16 calories.

This vitamin and mineral composition, coupled with low calorie content, gives green radishes and their root vegetables a whole range of healing properties:

• improvement of appetite,
• normalization of blood sugar levels,
• improvement of gastrointestinal motility,
• cholesterol withdrawal,
• bile and diuretic effects.

With all this, radishes are a good choice for those who want to lose weight. This vegetable is not only low-calorie in itself, but also normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. In particular, it improves digestion, normalizes metabolism, promoting better breakdown of fats.

There is also scientific evidence that radishes can reduce the likelihood of intestinal cancer, suppress colds and inflammatory processes.

Finally, radishes are present in many recipes for anti-aging masks for home cosmetology. With the help of this vegetable, oily or, on the contrary, dry skin of the face is normalized, hair is strengthened, and traces of bruises are removed from the skin.

However, the main purpose of radishes is still ordinary home cooking. This vegetable has a very peculiar pungent taste. Depending on the variety, this taste can vary from almost mustard to sweetish-fresh or completely bland. Slightly spicy fresh radish is an excellent spring vegetable, which is the first guest from the domestic garden in the new season.

In the vast majority of cases, the radish plant (its root vegetable) is used in its natural fresh form - in salads or simply as a fresh snack. After many months of eating cereals and last year's root vegetables, fresh radishes are pleasant to eat just like that - like an apple. Fresh radish salad with herbs is a real classic, which every housewife prepares in April-May.

Not everyone decides to heat treat this vegetable. Meanwhile, radishes boiled in salted water are an excellent side dish for meat and poultry. Some cooks add radishes to a pilaf recipe, and a stew of meat and vegetables with the addition of radishes acquires a completely unique taste. There are even more exotic dishes, such as radishes stuffed with meat, cheese or mushrooms and baked in the oven.

As for the tops, radishes are a crop that can be used as food whole. Most often, young leaves are added to salads, green borscht or cabbage soup is cooked from them. Stewed radish greens are an excellent side dish for meat.

At the beginning it was already said that there are three geographical groups of varieties. They differ from each other in the structure of the shoots and the shape of the roots. At the same time, there are varieties with a wide variety of root color options - red, purple, yellow, black and white.

The most common are red varieties of radish, of which the most famous and widespread in Russia are Anabel, Slava, Politez, Rhodes, etc. The most famous representatives of other colors are Viola (purple), Zlata (yellow), Panther (black), Firefly ( white).

Since radishes are a subspecies of radish, white radish varieties are often confused with radishes and, conversely, radishes with white radishes.

Of course, there is a gradation of varieties according to ripening time. The earliest and fastest-ripening varieties include Rhodes, Korund, Lyubava, Sora, Molniya, etc. Growing radishes of these varieties takes 18-25 days from sowing to the full ripening of the root crop. However, early varieties store very poorly, so they need to be consumed in the coming weeks after harvest.

Varieties with standard ripening periods are Anabel, Viola, Slava, Vera, Saksa, etc. These varieties ripen only a little longer - 25-30 days.

The Red, Rampoush and Champion varieties take the longest to develop. From the moment of planting radishes to harvesting, 35-40 days pass. Only late-ripening varieties are suitable for long-term storage.

One of the most unusual varieties is watermelon radish. The root crop of this variety is quite large - up to 8 cm in diameter. Moreover, on the outside it is covered with a white-green skin, and inside there is a bright raspberry-colored pulp. In addition to the fact that watermelon radishes have excellent taste, they also have great decorative potential. This root vegetable can be a great addition to a salad, main course, or even a cocktail.

General information about radish growing methods

Radish is one of the cold-resistant crops, so it can be grown all year round: in early spring and late autumn - under film, in summer - in open ground, in winter - in glass and film greenhouses. True, different varieties should be selected for each period of the year.

Radish seeds wake up and sprout already at a temperature of 3-4 °C. However, the most favorable temperature at the germination stage is 12-15°C. After the root crop begins to form, the optimal temperature becomes 15-18°C.

Young radishes in open ground can safely withstand short-term frosts with temperatures not lower than -3°C. A more serious decrease in temperature, as well as a longer duration of frost, greatly inhibits the formation of root crops and stimulates the appearance of shoots.

High summer temperatures are also undesirable for radishes. Most varieties do not grow well in high summer temperatures, so in most cases radishes are planted only in early spring and autumn, when air temperatures are close to optimal.

Another feature of radishes is the relationship between the duration daylight hours and productivity. If daylight lasts 12 hours or more, then the plant begins to form an arrow, that is, a stem on which the seeds ripen. This is undesirable, since all the plant’s forces, which should have gone into root growth, are spent on this arrow. This is another reason to plant radishes only in spring and fall. In summer, daylight hours can be forcibly reduced by covering the radish crops with opaque material.

Open ground sowing technology

The first step is to prepare the bed. For this purpose, humus is added in the fall in a volume of 4-5 centners per hundred square meters. Also, mineral fertilizers will not be superfluous. In particular, it is recommended to apply 600-900 g of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers per hundred square meters.

In early spring, as soon as the weather and field conditions allow, the area should be harrowed to prevent excessive evaporation of moisture, and a few days later the area should be cultivated to a depth of 3-4 cm. At the same stage, it is recommended to apply 2.5-3 kg of ammonium nitrate per hundred square meters. .

After preparatory work you can proceed directly to sowing. Provided that sowing took place in mid-March, the first harvest can be expected in early April. This is facilitated by optimal weather conditions for a given period of time - short daylight hours, good soil and air humidity, low temperatures. In such conditions, radishes form large, juicy root crops. In the summer, the same variety will no longer be able to produce as high a yield as in the spring.

It is recommended to sow radishes in the ground using the belt method, making 5-10 rows on one belt. There should be at least 15 cm between the rows, and 60-70 cm of row spacing should be provided between the tapes themselves. You can also use the broad sowing method, but only if you are sure that weed control will not be very exhausting. The seeds are planted to a depth of 2 to 2.5 cm. If the area is small, then you can simply scatter the seeds manually into grooves made in advance with a hoe. On a large plot, it is better to use at least a simple mechanical manual seeder.

After the seeds are in the soil, it is recommended to water the radishes to obtain friendly, uniform shoots. If necessary, the bed can also be covered with agrofibre.

In early spring, to protect the beds from frost and speed up the emergence of seedlings, the crops can be covered with film or agrofibre. After the first shoots appear above the surface, it is advisable to treat the beds against cruciferous flea beetle. For these purposes, a mixture of equal parts of wood ash and tobacco dust or lime is used. Treatment is carried out two to three times with an interval of 4-5 days.

To combat mucous bacteriosis and false powdery mildew It is better to use special preparations that can be bought in the store.

After the first leaves appear, it is advisable to thin out the crops if they are too thick. Minimum distance There should be about 5 cm between plants.

Radishes in a greenhouse special care does not require, but in open ground it is also necessary to loosen the rows and control weeds. If the winter had little snow and the spring did not rain, the radishes need to be watered 2-3 times. For one square meter The beds need to be poured with 10 to 15 liters of water.

ABOUT planting radishes in open ground in spring Today we’ll talk in our article about rules of cultivation and care, because radishes are a favorite crop of gardeners, and for good reason. Possessing excellent taste, it is extremely unpretentious in cultivation - it grows best at +18 degrees and is not afraid of frost down to -2 degrees C. In this article we will look at various ways and methods of growing radishes in open ground, with the help of which it is easy to obtain a high yield .

Features of growing radishes

Radishes are a distant relative of cabbage; biologists include this vegetable in its family. Mustard oil contained in the root vegetable gives a well-known bitter taste, which is distinctive feature and its other brother - radish.

Most often it grows in our beds annual species However, there is also a two-year-old radish, which produces seeds only the next year after planting.

Watch the video! The best varieties of radish for open ground and greenhouses

According to the speed of ripening, there are several categories of plants:

• ultra early varieties(21 day);
• early varieties(25-30 days);
• mid-season(31-35 days);
• late ripening(35-45 days).

Due to such a variety of varieties, and the fact that the root crop is cold-resistant, growing radishes is possible with early spring until frost.

Important! Radish is an active daylight crop; with a 12-13 hour day it actively grows its roots, and already with a 14-15 hour day it begins to bloom and becomes unsuitable for consumption and becomes bitter. Therefore, when re-sowing in summer, late-ripening varieties should be selected.

It can also be cultivated at home; for example, it is widely practiced to grow radishes on a windowsill in seedling boxes or in cassettes.

A healthy root vegetable should have an even shape - from cylindrical to round (depending on the variety), a smooth skin without spots or flaws, and a tail (spindle) up to 10 centimeters. A ripe, healthy root vegetable is crunchy, slightly bitter or pungent in taste, with juicy pulp without coarse fibers. The skin color changes from bright red to yellow or even purple.

For an early harvest, we choose early ripening varieties.

Watch the video! How to sow early radishes correctly

When to sow radishes in open ground: optimal sowing dates in spring and summer

The end of April is the period when seeds can be sown directly in open ground.

As already mentioned, radishes are a cold-resistant crop and can withstand frosts down to -4 degrees.

If you plant radishes at a temperature of 0-10 degrees, the seeds will germinate slowly within 14 days. At temperatures from +10 to +15 degrees - in a week.

Important! The optimal temperature for full growth for radishes is considered to be +15 degrees. Above +20 - the root crop begins to shoot (bloom) to the detriment of the taste and filling of the root.

Growing radishes in the garden without a break for a whole month is possible - you need to select seeds of varieties that can easily endure long hot days, do not throw out the flower and do not lose their taste.

Planting dates in spring

This way you can start early boarding radishes as soon as the snow melts.

• On South- from the second half of March.
• IN middle lane and Moscow region- from the second half of April.
• In the Urals, Siberia and the North-West- from the beginning of May.

By planting the root crop in waves, with a difference of 12 days, it is easy to provide yourself with it throughout the warm season, daily replenishing your diet with calcium and magnesium, which radishes contain in abundance.

Summer planting dates

You can sow radishes all summer long, provided that the beds are covered with covering material in the afternoon to prevent bright sunlight from entering and causing bolting.

The only exception in the growing time is June - July; its long warm days are not suitable for the ripening of the fruit, which needs only 10 hours of light per day. If the daylight hours exceed this threshold and the temperature remains + 25-30, the plant begins to bolt - the vegetable becomes hard and bitter, such a fruit can no longer be eaten.

But in August you can plant radishes.

Watch the video! Radish is all-season. How to get tasty root vegetables in summer

According to the lunar calendar 2019

Favorable days for lunar calendar in 2019 for planting radishes in open ground:

• March – 10-12, 15-17, 23-25, 27-30;
• April – 2-9, 11-15, 24-27, 29, 30;
• May - 1-4, 12-14, 21-23;
• June - 9-11, 18-20;
• July - 25-31.

Unfavorable days according to the lunar calendar in 2019 year for sowing radishes:

• March - 6, 7, 21;
• April - 5, 19;
• May - 5, 19;
• June - 3, 4, 17;
• July - 2, 3, 17.

Choosing a radish variety - 8 best radish varieties

There are varieties that are suitable for constant high yields.

1. Red giant — late variety, suitable for long-term storage. Reddish-pink elongated fruits reach incredible sizes and weigh up to 300 grams! The pulp is white, juicy, and has a sweetish taste.

Important to know! Fruits that have a white tip become hollow when left in the soil; they must be removed at a strictly specified time.

How to plant radishes in open ground correctly

Before planting seeds in the ground, it is important to prepare loose, moist soil - dig the bed with a shovel, removing clods and debris from the ground. It is recommended to apply fertilizers in advance, preferably in the fall, adding about one bucket of rotted manure to one bed, mixing it well with the soil.

Choosing a place for planting and preparing beds

For a bed with radishes, it is better to choose a place that is lit in the first half of the day or in the evening.

Radishes prefer light and loose soils with neutral acidity.

The root crop responds well to organic matter, so before planting add a bucket of compost or humus per 1 square meter. m.

Important! Fresh manure must not be introduced!

Mineral fertilizers can be added to the soil per 1 square meter. m:

• superphosphate 2 tbsp. spoons;
• potassium sulphide 20-30 g;
• ammonium nitrate 1 tbsp. spoon.

It's good to dig everything up.

To help the earth warm up faster, you can cover the bed with film.

Rules of crop rotation and proximity of crops

Radishes can be planted after almost all vegetables, with the exception of cruciferous cabbage, radishes, watercress, daikon, mustard radish.
Radishes are often grown in joint beds with spinach, corn, parsley, lettuce, carrots, onions, garlic, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, beans and peas.

Ideal neighbors: leafy and pumped lettuce, they will repel the cruciferous flea beetle.

Pre-sowing preparation and seed treatment

• To check the suitability of seeds for planting, they are dipped in a saline solution in a glass of water 1 tbsp. spoon of salt. Those seeds that float are unsuitable for planting.
• The rest need to be washed and disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate.
• Place the seeds in a gauze bag and immerse it in a saturated solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes. Then rinse with clean water.
• You can also use growth stimulants for faster seed germination.

Watch the video!

Option one

Prepared beds, according to the conditions for growing radishes, need to be watered abundantly - seeds germinate best in moist soil. By planting radish seeds to a depth of no more than one centimeter, the soil on top is compacted, achieving maximum contact of the seed with the ground.

In order for the root crop to have an even shape and reach its mass, the seeds must be planted at a distance of 5 cm, and there should be at least 10 cm between the beds. The first shoots are visible already on the third or fourth day.

Advice! To ensure that the first wave of sowing does not die from night frosts, it is best to cover the beds with film or non-woven covering material from five in the evening until the morning.

Option two

If there is no room in the garden for several beds of radishes, but you really want to grow them, you can resort to using a special board with markings. Markings are applied to a large board according to a 5*5 cm pattern, and cloves are made one centimeter high. This is necessary for the best seed placement depth. The board is placed on a flat surface of the bed, which is first loosened and leveled. By pressing on the surface of the board, equal holes are made in the soil, into which radish seeds are then placed and watered abundantly.

Watch the video! Tricks for growing radishes

This planting scheme makes it possible to get from one square. meters to five kilograms of harvest, because there will be about 400 holes from the cloves in such a bed.

Option three (winter)

This option is suitable for planting seeds in winter. Select a site with a slope to the south and light, loose (preferably sandy) soil.

Important feature The choice of such a place is its floodability with spring waters - for winter growing of radishes, the soil in the spring should be dry, low-lying and wet places are not suitable for such a scheme. Starting from the second half of October, the beds are prepared, and only with the arrival of the first frosts are dry seeds sown. The sowing is covered with humus or peat mixture on top.

Advice! Optimal time for this option - the first half of November.

Option four (winter)

In order to enjoy the fruits of radishes two weeks earlier than usual, you need to sow them in frozen soil between December and February. The method of such sowing is simple - snow is removed from the beds prepared in October, and the seeds are placed in furrows made in the fall 4 centimeters deep. The sown material is covered with compost or peat mixture to a height of no more than two centimeters and left until spring.

How to grow radishes in a greenhouse

Greenhouse - perfect place For impatient gardeners, as well as those who plan to grow radishes for sale, it is easy to get root vegetables earlier than usual, without putting in much effort. A stationary greenhouse (it is best to use polycarbonate options) is equipped with a drip irrigation system, which will ensure an uninterrupted supply of moisture to root crops and will relieve the gardener of unnecessary headaches.

Growing radishes in a greenhouse occurs in the same way as in open ground - in rows with a distance of 8 centimeters or in a continuous manner (under a marker) described above.

When growing radishes in a greenhouse, you need to constantly monitor soil moisture (is the irrigation system working), lighting, and find and exterminate pests in a timely manner.

The greenhouse is ideal for obtaining a high yield of radishes from seeds - at the very beginning of its growing season, the air temperature should be from 2 to 16 degrees Celsius, after the first sprouts emerge, the temperature is set at 6 degrees Celsius and only after four days it is gradually increased to the initial values .

Watering a plant in a greenhouse should be done moderately, but constantly - ideal option in this case, there will be an automated drip irrigation system that supplies moisture to the root of the plant, preventing it from drying out.

Seedling care

To get a high yield, you need to follow three main points of plant care:

• water on time;
• aerate the soil;
• protect seedlings from pests.

Watering

Radishes love moist soil - it is because of it that the pulp of the root crop becomes juicy and dense. It is best to water vegetable beds in the evening, little by little, but every day - only in this case it will not feel thirsty and the correct tubers will form. Even short-term drying out of the soil leads to a deterioration in the quality of the product, so watering radishes should not be skipped.

Before the second true leaf appears, the soil is watered to a depth of at least 8 centimeters, and then the volume of moisture is increased, “shedding” it by 15 centimeters.

On the other hand, excessive waterlogging leads to cracks in the tuber and a “watery” taste, which also reduces the quality of the fruit.

The main rule for regulating watering is the air temperature and weather conditions - in dry, windless weather it is watered every evening, and when cold weather sets in, watering is done no more than 2 times a week.

Aeration

Loosening the soil - important condition proper development of plant roots. The oxygen supplied to them allows the leaves and tuber to form correctly.

You should constantly loosen the soil between the rows of radishes, preventing the formation of a hard crust, or add a mulching top layer of peat, which will retain soil moisture.

Protection of seedlings from pests

The main pest that prevents radishes from fully developing is the cruciferous flea beetle, which eats the first succulent leaves of the plant, thereby stopping its growth and development. There are several ways to protect yourself from this pest:

1. 1. Covering with agrofibre. Immediately after the first shoots appear, the entire bed is covered with thin agrofibre, which easily transmits light and moisture, but prevents the penetration of insects.
   2. Tansy powder. Tansy or celandine flowers prepared in advance are ground into powder and the radish seedlings are sprinkled with such powder. The strong smell prevents the flea beetle from eating the first green leaves with which the tuber is formed.
   3. Sticky flags. To the checkbox from dense material a sticky mixture is applied, with which you need to “mark” the first radish shoots. This way the flea gets onto the sticky surface without causing damage to the seedlings.

Watch the video! Radish care and cultivation in a greenhouse

Having fresh juicy radishes on your table when the frost is fierce outside is not only pleasant, but also useful. Small size, the red “festive” color of the root vegetable is capable of lifting your spirits on a cloudy day and replenishing the body’s reserves of vitamins and minerals. It’s even more pleasant and healthy if a fresh, such an appetizing vegetable can be consumed not from time to time, buying it at an expensive price in the market, but every day, receiving required amount harvest from an ordinary box on the windowsill of your apartment. Someone may have doubts about the possibility and advisability of growing radishes at home. The question is correct and requires clarification.

Is it possible to grow radishes on a windowsill?

If you want, then yes. It takes a minimum of time to get a harvest, the costs are purely symbolic, and caring for it is no more difficult than caring for an ordinary flower in a pot.

In addition, growing radishes on a windowsill does not mean placing boxes everywhere, turning the room into a vegetable greenhouse. It is enough to allocate one room for a month or use an insulated balcony to have fresh vitamins in winter. Although the place for sowing is not as important as compliance with certain conditions for selection and preparation planting material, land, care.

Where does the struggle for the harvest begin?

Selecting seeds for winter planting

Knowing how to grow radishes on a windowsill in winter is important, but even more important is knowing how to sort suitable seeds from unsuitable ones. First we make a visual choice. When purchasing, we look at the appearance of the seeds.

High-quality ones will be: - approximately the same in size; - natural brown color; — without traces of gray plaque; - no musty smell.

In practice, you can only check planting material at home. To do this, fill the seeds with water, let them sit for swelling, and look at the result. For landing we take the swollen ones that have sunk to the bottom. We remove everything that floats - it’s a defect.

An important factor in choosing seeds for home grown– grade of planting material. We need early ripening varieties (ripen in 20-30 days) that do not require special exclusive conditions.

Of the most famous we can use the following:
Soundboard – does not throw out “arrows”;
Dabel and Champion are never hollow;
Zarya, Carmen, Early Red, Quarta - unpretentious to lighting and watering;
The 16 days variety is the leader in terms of harvest time. Two weeks, and it’s served.

Preparing seeds, soil, containers

The process of preparing seeds for winter planting begins at the stage of checking their quality. On the one hand, we cull, and on the other, we increase germination. After all, any grains thrown into the ground slightly sprouted will sprout much better and faster than dry ones.

And further. To ensure the simultaneous germination of all planted radish seeds, preliminary calibration of the grains is required. That is, sorting by size. And it’s a good idea to do preventive maintenance of planting material - keep the seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate. They will germinate better and “sick” less.

Nothing complicated here, now on the ground.

The easiest option is to collect land, say, in a country house or under a house. Something will grow, but we need a healthy harvest, and not isolated frail shoots. Therefore, it is better for us to take the “correct” soil for growing radishes on the windowsill. It’s quite possible to buy it, a solution for the lazy, or mix it yourself. The second is more economical, but certain components are required.

Here are some examples of possible soil options for winter growing radishes on a window.

By composition:
Option one - garden soil, humus, sand in equal proportions.
Option two - garden soil (1 bucket), ash (1 glass), half an egg shell.
Option three is a mixture of soil and peat in a 1:1 ratio.

To increase productivity and accelerate the growth of young shoots, we can add a certain amount of mineral mixtures to each of the substrates. Sold in stores, instructions for use for each type of vegetable are included.

The seeds have been selected, the soil has been prepared - it’s time to pick up the container.

Wooden boxes are considered the best containers. The tree breathes, and so does the soil. But this is not a rule, but rather the best option. It is quite acceptable, as most people do, to use plastic store containers or individual containers. When growing radishes in a common “field,” we make or buy boxes with dimensions the width of the window sill of the room, with a minimum container depth of 14 centimeters.

The next step is to plant the radish seeds in the ground.

The process available to an amateur in practice looks like this:
1. We make holes in the ground if these are single cups, or grooves if these are boxes, to a depth of about 1.5 centimeters.
2. Water the depressions warm water.
3. Distribute the seeds along the furrow at a distance of approximately 3 centimeters from each other, cover with soil and lightly water again to slightly compact the substrate.
4. Cover the container with glass or polyethylene, which is fine, and wait for germination. For complete germination of radish seeds on the windowsill, we maintain the temperature on the balcony or in the room at 18-20ºС. This is ideal.

3-4 days after the first “joy” (green radish shoots) appears, we remove the shelter and send the sprouted seeds to a place where the air temperature will be at 8ºC. This is for hardening. We stayed for 3-4 days - we take it back to comfortable conditions growth.

If we need radishes that are juicy, not hollow, and ripen quickly, we must provide the plant with the necessary amount of light. There will be no full-time lighting; we won’t see anything in the “beds” other than green forcing. The daylight hours are short - add artificial lighting. Using standard incandescent lamps (not cold glow), we can not only provide seedlings with light, but also raise the room temperature by several degrees. What is important for winter growing root crops on a balcony with low temperature air.

Even if we choose varieties that are unpretentious to growing conditions, we still need to monitor soil moisture. The harvest, you know, will not be large on dry land. But an excess of water, as well as a lack, will not lead to good. We water the seedlings without additional feeding. Minerals found in clean water and required for growing a full-fledged crop on a windowsill in winter are quite sufficient for this vegetable.

If you really want to have a record harvest, fertilizing is acceptable. The amount of fertilizer is determined by the instructions.

Radish is a crop that does not tolerate heat. When the climate is artificial, let it be moderate. Therefore, if there is a choice regarding the location of the boxes with seedlings, then we choose the balcony. The temperature there is lower than in the room. It is possible not to place boxes with seedlings above heating radiators.

That's all, if we talk about the main components of growing such a simple, but valuable in content, root crop in an artificial microclimate. Now we know how to grow radishes on a windowsill in winter, with a minimum of effort. But it should be noted that this type of harvesting is suitable not only for winter. With absence land plot, we can successfully grow root crops at any time of the year and in unlimited quantities. After all, the conditions for keeping the boxes with the substrate will depend only on us and our desire.

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How to grow radishes on a windowsill

Radish is an annual cold-resistant vegetable crop. Its root vegetables are loved by many for their pleasant, slightly spicy taste. The article Radish is a good root crop tells in detail about sowing this plant and caring for it. And in the middle of winter, it’s especially pleasing that you can grow radishes, like other vegetables, not only in your garden bed, but also on your home windowsill. True, for this you need to take it into account biological features(high requirements for soil moisture and fertility, lighting and temperature conditions) and create the necessary conditions.

You can grow radishes not only in your garden bed, but also on your home windowsill.

Temperature

In a home garden, the most difficult thing to ensure is suitable temperature : ordinary indoor radishes are not suitable - the plants stretch out, bend, the root vegetables become flabby and tasteless. Moreover, I would not advise placing containers with crops on the windowsill: warm and dry air from central heating radiators is the worst enemy of radish seedlings. I'm in room conditions It was never possible to get it to form more or less decent root crops suitable for food.

In general, in the conditions that suit this culture, you and I will not be too comfortable. Therefore, if there is a non-residential premises that does not freeze in winter, it is better to move the radishes there. Its seeds germinate at +1. +2° C, but it is advisable to keep them at a temperature of +18 after sowing. +20° C until shoots appear. Seedlings grow well at temperatures from +6 to +8° C; during the period of root crop formation, it can be increased to +12. +16°C on cloudy days and no more than +18°C on sunny days. At night the temperature is reduced to +8. +10° C.

Lighting

If you want to get a harvest of fresh radishes in the first half of winter, you need to take care additional lighting– without this, full-fledged root crops will not form. Use fluorescent lamps, installing them as close to the planting boxes as possible. In natural light, radishes can be sown on the windowsill after January 20, if the windows face south, and from February 10 - on the west or east. Please note: if there is little light for the seedlings and too much heat, then you will not be able to get anything except elongated tops.

I illuminated the crops with the “Z Harvest” phytolamp, but this turned out to be not enough: either the height of the lamp was chosen poorly, or some other reasons were at play, but the shoots stretched out, and I had to frequently add soil.

You can choose equipment for additional lighting of seedlings and “beds” in your home garden in our catalog, which includes offers from various gardening online stores. View a selection of phytolamps and lamps for seedlings.

How to properly grow radishes on a windowsill

Varieties for growing at home

If we are going to grow radishes on the windowsill at home, we need to choose the right variety for this. It is best to take early ripening ones, but the most important thing is not the speed of ripening, but resistance to bolting and lack of reaction to lack of lighting. As a rule, not only those who have no garden at all take up growing vegetables at home, but also those who want to continue the season of vitamins even in winter, and here short daylight hours and central heating can become a hindrance. Therefore, it is better to choose radish varieties that grow quickly and do not require ideal conditions.

Perhaps the fastest-ripening radish is the “16 days” variety. The round, bright red roots can be harvested 16–18 days after sowing; later they become tough. It’s very convenient that they don’t rush to bolt and don’t crack, which means they can be grown perfectly at home.

From 18 to 25 days, the varieties “Diego” (a hybrid with root crops up to 5 cm in diameter) and “Dabel” (tolerate low temperatures well), their root crops do not dry out from the inside and remain crisp for a long time.

20–30 days after germination, radishes of the “Deka” variety are harvested, whose crimson root crops grow more than 3 cm. This variety is also good because it is not in a hurry to bolt even during long daylight hours.

“Champion” is ready for consumption 25–28 days after planting; its roots do not become flabby or hollow.

And the “French Breakfast” variety, in addition to early ripening, is famous for the fact that it does not require hasty harvesting - its pink root vegetables remain crisp for a long time after ripening, and the pink skin remains tender and juicy.

You can choose one or more of these varieties so that radishes on the windowsill at home will bring only pleasure without disappointment.

The subtleties of growing radishes on the windowsill

Growing radishes on a windowsill at home may fail for two reasons: the air temperature is too high and the length of daylight is inappropriate.

Radishes are considered a cold-resistant crop; they can easily survive even slight frosts, but excessive heat forces them to devote all their energy to bolting and flowering, and not to growing root crops.

If you have an unheated room at home where you can provide an air temperature of 18–20 degrees, then this is where you can grow radishes on the windowsill. The ideal daylight hours should last 10–12 hours. Window sill, near which there is no heating devices– a wonderful place for this culture. If such conditions can be created, then radishes at home will delight the owners all year round. You need to sow it every 2 weeks in small batches, then the crop will constantly ripen and your family will not lack a vitamin-mineral complex with excellent absorption.

In the summer after 6 pm, seedlings need to be protected from the sun with an opaque covering material. And in winter, accordingly, add fluorescent lamps so that the plantings receive at least 10 hours of light every day.

The most common soil sold for growing vegetables will do. If you have the opportunity and desire, you can prepare it yourself - mix an equal amount of garden soil (preferably black soil), sand and humus (or compost). You can add a little wood ash. Only for use at home, it must be disinfected; this is done by exposure to low or high temperatures– freezing on the street or balcony, heating on a stove or stove. If this is not possible, then before sowing you need to spill it with a strong solution of potassium permanganate.

Any utensils that are usually used for seedlings will do - wooden boxes, plastic glasses, clay pots. The main thing is that the depth is at least 15 cm (preferably even more) and there are drainage holes. It is very convenient to use special cassettes for seedlings: one plant grows in each cell, and a common tray collects excess water. It is important that each plant has its own place with a diameter of at least 5 cm, and if the description of the variety promises large root crops, then even more.

Whatever dishes you choose, you need to arrange a drainage layer of expanded clay or any other suitable material, pour soil on top so that there are a few centimeters left to the top of the dish, compact it. Before sowing, seeds are also disinfected with potassium permanganate and left in warmth and moisture overnight - just wrap them in several layers of wet gauze.

Sowing is done to a depth of 1 cm, then covered with film or glass for several days, periodically moistening with a spray bottle. After the emergence of seedlings, the shelter is removed, and the plants are hardened by lowering the air temperature to +6–8 degrees for several days. When growing radishes on a windowsill at home, not everyone follows this procedure; it is difficult to say exactly how it or its absence affects the harvest.

If vegetables grow at the same temperature, if they are not threatened by frost, as they are outside, then the hardening procedure becomes meaningless.

Radishes on the windowsill should be watered regularly with water at room temperature; you should not over-water them, but you should also not over-dry them. It is advisable to rotate the dishes so that the plants do not stretch in one direction towards the light source.

If the soil is not fertile enough, then a week after germination, and then during the formation of root crops, the plants are fed. A solution of ash is perfect for the first time and mineral fertilizers for the second. But usually there are enough radishes on the windowsill nutrients, which are in properly prepared soil, and cannot be sown a second time in the same soil.

After watering, the soil around the plants needs to be loosened; if there is a dense planting, then thin out; weeds should not be allowed to appear. That's all there is to caring for this crop on the windowsill. The harvest should be harvested in a timely manner so that perfectly grown root crops do not crack or become stiff.

Video “Homemade radishes in winter”

This video is about how you can grow radishes on a windowsill under LED lamps in winter.

Not everyone has the opportunity to grow radishes in a garden or greenhouse due to lack of them, but city dwellers can get them all year round in their apartment.

Radishes, which any indoor gardener can grow on a windowsill, are no less tasty and healthy than growing them in a garden bed. The main thing is to choose suitable varieties, unpretentious in care and yielding even in ordinary containers for seedlings, and provide the seedlings with the necessary care.

Radishes on the windowsill: the best varieties

Radish seeds must be purchased in specialized seed or garden stores - no bazaars or shopping “from grandmothers” if you don’t want to run into fake or weed seeds.

On the windowsill it is better to cultivate early ripening hybrid varieties that ripen in 16-25 days.

The varieties are suitable for producing radishes on the windowsill by growing from seeds

• 18 days. Ripens on 18-20 days in the form of cylindrical reddish fruits weighing 20-25 g with non-bitter, tender pulp that is pleasant to the taste.
• Firstborn. It produces a harvest in 17-19 days from round, dark red radishes with juicy, tender contents, weighing 30–35 g.
• French breakfast. One of the most popular varieties with long red roots with white tips and a mild, pleasant taste. They weigh approximately 45 g and ripen in 23-25 ​​days.
• Heat. A hybrid that produces a harvest of dark red round fruits with whitish or pinkish tasty pulp in an average of 25 days. They weigh 25-28 g. If you want to grow radishes on a windowsill, gardeners often recommend “Heat”.
• Camelot. It ripens in 23 days in the form of flat-rounded bright red fruits weighing about 30 g. The highlight of this radish is that it gives a decent harvest even with a lack of light.
• Duro. Ripens in 23-25 ​​days, the fruits are red, weighing up to 40 g, the flesh is slightly spicy, white-pink, crispy and pleasant to the taste, does not crack.

The “16 days” radish ripens first: 15-16 days pass from the emergence of shoots, and the harvest is ready for harvest.

Many agree that green onions or dill can be grown in a window, but the question of cultivating radishes leaves them bewildered: can root vegetables grow on a windowsill? Of course they can, if you provide them suitable conditions for fruit growth and formation. This method will not require special costs and difficulties in care.

Preparing soil and radish seeds for growing on a windowsill

This does not mean that you will have to turn your apartment into a radish plantation: growing radishes on a windowsill does not require much space, just a warm balcony or a couple of window sills.

Preparing radish seeds for planting

Before growing radishes on a windowsill, you need to prepare the purchased achenes for sowing:

• We fill the seed material with water and evaluate the result: high-quality seed will fall to the bottom, bad seed, along with debris, will end up at the top.
• We remove garbage and seeds - pacifiers and take them out good material on a cloth to drain the water.
• We sort through the remaining achenes, discarding those that are too small (they may not sprout) and those with a gray coating (already infected with diseases).

After checking the quality of the seeds and rejecting unsuitable material, we dry the radish seed and sow it. You can soak it in a growth stimulator if you want to get the harvest a few days earlier, or germinate it in damp cloth– the roots and sprouts will hatch on the third day, and on the fifth day it will be possible to plant the plants in the ground.

Preparing the soil for growing radishes from seeds on a windowsill

It is easier to buy ready-made garden soil - universal or for producing tomato seedlings: it is ideal in composition. You can dig up soil in the garden and make a soil mixture according to any of the options:

• 1 part soil and 1 part peat
• Equal parts of soil, sand and humus
• A bucket of soil, a glass of wood ash and crushed shells from 1 egg

Be sure to heat the soil taken from the garden in the oven or steam it in a water bath to get rid of possible pests.

Pour the soil mixture into plastic containers or wooden boxes 15-20 cm deep.

How to grow radishes on a windowsill

Sowing radish seeds in boxes

Having prepared the seed material and containers with soil, we proceed to sowing radishes:

• We cut grooves in the ground no more than one and a half centimeters deep.
• Carefully, so as not to wash them away, pour warm water over them.
• Sow seeds every 3 cm.
• Sprinkle the crops with soil and water them carefully.
• We place the boxes on the balcony or window sills with an air temperature of 18-20 degrees.
• We stretch the polyethylene and wait for the radishes to sprout.

On the third or fourth day the first shoots will appear. Immediately remove the cellophane, keep the radish for three days in a cool place with a temperature of about 8 degrees (for hardening) and place it back.

How to grow radishes on a windowsill

Caring for radishes on the windowsill

To grow high-quality radishes on the windowsill, we provide the plantings with appropriate care.

Lighting

To form good fruits, radishes need full daylight – 10-11 hours. When daylight hours are short, we provide additional lighting using phytolamps with a warm glow: they are bright and warming, which is also beneficial for plants.

We do not allow an excess of light, otherwise the vegetables will stop growing root crops: you will only get lush tops and flower arrows.

Temperature

Radishes need a body, but they don’t like heat: they grow flabby fruits and limp greens. If it is possible to grow it on an insulated balcony, we choose it, since heating radiators are usually located under the window sills. They dry out the air and overheat the soil.

Watering

This crop is moisture-loving: we make sure that the soil does not dry out. Watering the radishes plain water room temperature, leaving it to stand if it is chlorinated.

Radishes in boxes do not require fertilizers: additional minerals enter the soil with water. If you want to grow organic crops, especially for children, you should not feed the plants with chemicals; it is better to lightly dust the soil with ash.

Harvest

Root crops grown on a windowsill or balcony are eaten as they ripen. As soon as they ripen, we immediately harvest them, otherwise the vegetables will harden, lose their juiciness and become bitter. Remove radishes from plastic bag and keep it in the refrigerator.

Don't throw away the tops: radish leaves contain no less vitamins than root vegetables. We use them to prepare cold soups or add them to salads.

There is no need to throw away the soil after harvesting: you can plant radishes in it again, and even without applying fertilizer.

It is now clear that radishes, which are not particularly difficult to grow on a windowsill, can be grown at home all year round. To ensure that it is always present in the diet, we sow the seeds in different boxes every 10 days.

Growing radishes on a glass balcony

Hello, dear guests!

First of all, I want to say that to plant radishes on glassed balcony It is better to choose varieties that do not bolt.

Here are the varieties: Heat, Novired, 18 days, French breakfast.

It is better to sow radishes in square boxes measuring 60x60 or 50x50 centimeters and 10-12 centimeters high.

Sowing should be done on April 12-15 in the room, and then, after 3-5 days, when shoots appear, take the boxes out onto the glassed-in balcony.

For radishes, a soil mixture consisting of 1 part chernozem and 1 part peat is suitable. To a bucket of this mixture you need to add 1 tablespoon of nitrophoska or nitroammophoska.

The boxes need to be filled with soil mixture and grooves made, 1.5 - 2.0 centimeters deep, at a distance of 10 - 12 centimeters from each other.

If your crops are thickened, then they need to be thinned to 3 centimeters between adjacent shoots.

Radishes should be watered sparingly. You can loosen and hill up the seedlings a little while they are young.

Radish is a cold-resistant plant and loves a lot of light, but still in April the nights can still be very cold and it is better to cover our crops with film and open them on warm days.

The soil must be kept moderately moist at all times, not over-dry or over-moistened.

Overgrown radishes must be removed on time, as overgrown radishes begin to crack.

During the spring you can grow up to 3 crops of radishes on a glassed-in balcony. In this case, the second sowing should be carried out on April 25, and the third before May 10. Later produce growing radishes at home on a glazed balcony it is very difficult, since the temperature for plant development becomes very high and the daylight hours are very long. And radishes are a short-day crop.

Growing radishes at home: how to avoid failures

They decide to sow radish seeds, knowing that this crop is unpretentious, early ripening, and already 20 days after germination they can count on a harvest.

My friend, inspired by the bright prospect of enjoying “her radishes” in early spring, sowed the seeds in pots and placed them on the window.

Radish is a cold-resistant crop; its seeds are sown in the soil as soon as the temperature rises above 5°, and even in winter crops Radishes work great. After 4 days (still the temperature near the window was 18°), shoots appeared and quickly began

Radish varieties and hybrids for central Russia

grow. And that’s when she sounded the alarm: although the bushes were sitting freely, each in their own pot, they were stretched out, did not grow, and withered away. In general, she never got any crispy root vegetables.

The failure is explained by the fact that Radishes require special conditions. Seeds germinate at a temperature of about 20°, and when the seedlings barely hatch, the temperature is reduced to 6–8° for 4–5 days. Only when the bushes get a little stronger do the temperatures rise again to 14–17° during the day. However, the night (for good growth and development of radishes) should be cool - 8–10°.

It is worth approaching carefully and to the choice of soil. The best soil– the one intended for cucumbers or tomatoes, pH 6–8, containing 140 mg of nitrogen (N), 40 mg of phosphorus (P) and 280 mg of potassium (K) per 1 liter.

Shade-tolerant, productive varieties and hybrids with a compact rosette of leaves, resistant to flowering and forming a large rounded root crop. These requirements are met 16 days, Carmen, Krasa, Ultra early red, F1Dabel, F1Donar, F1 Firstborn, F1 Tarzan and others.

Radishes good lighting required(the indicated varieties and hybrids are no exception). In March, of course, there are more and more sunny days, but this is not enough. On a south-facing window on a sunny afternoon there is enough light, but the temperature is too high for radishes, and the bushes can literally “burn” if they are not protected by a light curtain. In cloudy weather, especially on northern windows, radishes cannot be grown: due to lack of light, the plants stretch out.

In industrial conditions, radish crops develop well under illumination from 9 to 14 thousand lux, with a daylight duration of 10–12 hours. It cannot be made longer, otherwise you may end up with rows of flowering plants rather than root crops.

In an apartment or house, in order to bring the conditions for growing radishes closer to ideal, you will need a lamp with a reflector for several fluorescent lamps.

A lamp with two fluorescent lamps coped with the lighting of the “bed” with an area of ​​60x50 cm. It was hung at a height of 30 cm from the plants. In addition, we installed a small fan powered by a plug with a USB input. It provided a gentle breeze while consuming minimal electricity, and the crops did not overheat.

True, radishes also have one more requirement, which is difficult to maintain in an apartment with central heating: plants need moderate but constant soil moisture.

Radishes grow in small pots, so with daily morning watering, by evening the lump of earth is already dry as gunpowder. Even if the plants do not die, they will form roots that are bitter, rough, and ugly.

The easiest way to deal with the problem is to pour a layer of sphagnum or sawdust into the tray where these pots stand. Any fibrous, moisture-intensive neutral substrate is suitable, which will save moisture, releasing it as needed, and will not deprive the roots of oxygen.

Feeding will also be required. The first is carried out at the beginning of the formation of the root crop, the second - during the period when the root crops gain weight, using water soluble fertilizers, which contain nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in equal quantities.

Radish, along with green onions and salad, is one of the early ripening vegetables that comes to the table a month after the seeds germinate. Radishes are widespread everywhere, wherever early ones can be grown. vegetable crops. And our Russian summer resident, coming to the site for the first time after hibernation, always tries, at least in the dirt, to sow a small bed of radishes.

Radish planting dates

Radishes are popular among summer residents not so much because of their high content ascorbic acid(25–40 mg per 100 g), how much due to precocity. By choosing the right varieties and using some tricks, its harvests can be obtained throughout almost the entire year, although by summer the need for it decreases: other sources of vitamins appear. On average, radishes ripen within 24–35 days.

Radish is a cold-resistant plant: its seedlings easily tolerate short-term frosts down to -4 o C, and adult plants up to -6 o C, which allows radishes to be sown at the earliest possible date. It is believed that the best time for sowing radishes is when the soil warms up to 7–13 o C, but the root crop is best formed at a soil temperature of about 16–20 degrees Celsius.

Even such miniature plants are not afraid of frost

In general, radish seeds begin to germinate already at a temperature of 2–3 o C. But if you sow radishes very early, its seeds will not be lost, they will sprout in due time. However, prolonged exposure to cold can cause bolting to the detriment of root crop growth. Those wishing to get very early harvests should take this into account: before sowing, water the furrows with warm or even hot water, and cover the bed with non-woven materials for the first time.

Experienced gardeners sow radishes for the first time very early, often on an ice crust, when the top layer of soil has thawed by 3–4 cm. Of course, the crops are covered plastic film, and then non-woven materials, but this approach allows you to get the harvest even earlier.

Planting radishes in spring

Based temperature ranges, it turns out that in the middle zone, in particular in the Moscow region, and regions with a similar climate, the first sowing of radishes is possible around April 10–15, although, of course, it happens that there is still snow at this time, and it happens that spring comes much earlier.

Actually, no one is stopping you from starting sowing these days in the northern regions, but this will involve early preparation of the bed (raking out snow, thawing the ground with boiling water, etc.). If you do not use extreme agricultural technology, then the sowing time in most regions of Siberia, the Urals, and also in the North-West falls at the beginning of May.

In the south of Russia (Kuban, Astrakhan region, etc.) it is not uncommon to sow radishes in open ground at the end of winter, and March is a completely normal month for this work.

When can you plant radishes a second time?

The life of radishes in the garden lasts no more than a month. It is useless to keep plants that are lagging in growth in the hope that root crops will appear on them later. After the main harvest, the entire bed must be cleared of plant residues and prepared for re-sowing. To increase the period of consumption of radishes, they are sown in several periods at intervals of 12–15 days, the last one is sown no later than May 25.

Summer sowing: is it possible to plant radishes in June

The last spring sowing is possible in the last days of May, since at a later date only flowering flowers grow from sowing. But at the very beginning of August, when the days become shorter, sowing can be resumed.

Why can't radishes be sown in the usual way, say, in June? Radish is a “long day” plant. This means that when daylight lasts 17 hours or more, the plant quickly reaches the flowering stage and the arrow appears. The root crop that develops in the presence of a peduncle grows small, rough and inedible. True, non-shooting radish varieties have also appeared, for example, Vera, Aries, Tarzan: they develop normally in almost any light conditions.

The Vera variety is characterized by resistance to flowering and can be planted almost at any time

A short day in the garden can also be arranged artificially. For radish lovers who want to get a normal harvest at any time, there is this opportunity: cover the beds with radishes from 19:00 to 7:00 in the morning. The cover is made of lightweight, light-proof materials. Cover is applied starting from germination for 15–20 days.

Soil selection and preparation

Literally all gardeners sow radishes, but not everyone gets good results. Radishes grow well in light and nutritious soils, in beds not located in the shade of trees. And in order to improve heavy clay soils, you have to take care of this in the fall, or even for more than one year. During the autumn digging, 2–3 buckets of humus or peat and the same amount of sifted river sand are added per 1 m2 under the radishes.

You cannot apply fresh manure to the radishes: the foliage will be abundant and the root crops will not form. The best predecessors for radishes are cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and peas. You cannot plant radishes after any cruciferous vegetables: radishes, turnips, any types of cabbage.

In the spring, after the snow has melted, surface loosening is carried out on the site of the future radish bed with a rake (initially light, and later heavy). When the soil is ripe, use a garden fork to dig shallowly and add compost - two buckets per 1 m2. As the clods dry, they loosen and level the bed and at the same time add 30–40 g of ammonium nitrate per 1 m2.

Preparing seeds for planting

Without significant loss of germination, radish seeds can be stored for 5–6 years. To obtain an early harvest, you can calibrate the seeds on special sieves or sieves, the cell diameter of which is about 1.5 mm. For sowing, seeds with a diameter of at least 2 mm are selected. Radish seeds do not require any further treatment: they are sown dry.

True, those who want to speed up the emergence of seedlings sometimes soak the seeds in water for 6–8 hours and even let them sprout. This is a dubious task: the gain in the speed of harvesting will not exceed 1–2 days, and it is more difficult to sow sprouted seeds than dry ones. And the probability of their death in the event of an unexpected cold snap is also considerable.

Planting methods

Typically, radishes are sown on level beds, although in many regions suffering from excessive rainfall, the beds are raised somewhat above the furrows. They are almost always placed in open ground, although early sowings are covered with film. Greenhouse cultivation is rarely used.

Planting seeds in the ground

On the flat surface of the bed, the grooves are pressed with a slat to a depth of about 1 cm at a distance, for early ripening radishes, 12–15 cm from one another. Seeds prepared for sowing are placed in the grooves, placing them 3 cm from each other. After sowing, the seeds are planted to a depth of 1–2 cm with a light rake or “seeding” through a thin sieve over a bed of humus or peat.

There are varieties with elongated root crops (for example, Ice Icicle, Slava, etc.). To obtain a good harvest, they require light hilling during growth. Therefore, when sowing them, furrows with a depth of 4 cm are prepared, and the seeds are still planted only to the same 1–2 cm.

The ice icicle is more shaped like a daikon and requires a little hilling

After sowing, the bed is carefully moistened using a watering can with a strainer and covered with a transparent film until germination. At a temperature of 18–20 °C, seedlings appear on the 5–7th day.

Video: sowing radishes in open ground

Planting in a greenhouse or greenhouse

To obtain very early harvests, radishes are sometimes grown in protected soil. The greenhouse is filled with hot manure and covered with a 15-centimeter layer of turf soil and humus. Seeds of early-ripening varieties are sown (in the south in February, in the central regions in March) with a feeding area of ​​4 x 5 cm, and of mid-ripening varieties - 5 x 6 cm. Then the greenhouse is covered with frames and mats. After the emergence of seedlings, the mats are removed during the day and the greenhouse is ventilated.

A similar situation arises with stationary greenhouses. You can start sowing radishes in a polycarbonate greenhouse in the middle zone as early as March, if the daytime temperature inside stays within 15–18 ºС, and at night 8–10 ºС. At the end of the month, you can sow in ordinary film greenhouses. If the greenhouse is heated, then radishes can be sown in it throughout the year.

Radishes are grown in a greenhouse in industrial scale, ordinary summer residents do this infrequently

Before the emergence of seedlings in the greenhouse, they try to maintain a temperature of 16–18 ºС. Immediately after the sprouts appear, it is reduced to 6–8 ºС for 3–4 days, optimal temperature in the future - the same as for open ground.

Planting in egg boxes

By using egg cartons for sowing, gardeners save seeds and avoid the need for thinning or replanting plants. This is done very simply. The conical top of the cells is cut off, leaving holes at the bottom. The trays are placed with the holes down on the bed and pressed lightly. In this case, the required amount of loose soil is pressed into the cells, forming evenly spaced holes for sowing. To prevent the cells from being carried away strong wind, them by any in an accessible way(for example, with wire staples) are fixed to the ground.

Using egg cells to sow radishes is already becoming something of a tradition

Having carefully calibrated the seeds, sow one in each hole (if among the seeds there are unsuitable ones, some portion of the bed area will be lost). The cells are covered with earth, or better yet, with a mixture of soil and sand (1:1) and watered well. In the future, everything happens as in a regular garden bed.

Home sowing

Radishes can be grown even at home: on a balcony or sunny windowsill. Of course, this requires large areas, so this technique is rarely practiced. It is also necessary to strictly adhere to the necessary temperature regime and lighting. So, when grown on the south side, sowing is carried out already at the end of January, and on other window sills - in February. With later sowings, you can only get tops.

For sowing, use any deep boxes of sufficient size, into which soil is placed that meets all the requirements for radishes. In general, the sowing technique does not differ from that in the case of open ground.

Planting schemes

It is useless to get carried away with thickened sowing: the thicker it is, the worse the result. The earliest varieties require the smallest feeding area; they are sown according to a 3 x 10 cm pattern (that is, a distance of 10 cm is sufficient between the rows). Late-ripening varieties are placed more freely: according to patterns from 5 x 15 to 8 x 20 cm.

Step-by-step process for planting radishes in open ground

So, if we summarize everything that has been said, it turns out that sowing radishes in the garden is completely simple and includes the following steps.

1. Autumn digging of the beds with the application of fertilizers.

   Digging up a garden bed is the hardest physical work in the garden.

2. Spring loosening and leveling of the bed with the addition of compost.

   In the spring, add compost under the rake and work it shallowly into the soil.

3. Seed preparation.

   If possible, damaged and small seeds are discarded

4. Making seed furrows according to the selected sowing pattern.

   You can even mark the grooves with a plank

5. Placement of seeds into furrows.

   

The procedure may be slightly modified. For example, if the soil has become very dry, before planting the seeds, you should water the furrows using a watering can without a strainer. Perhaps in this option, subsequent watering will not be required.

Transplanting radishes

At a young age, radishes tolerate transplantation well. Therefore, if you sowed the seeds too thickly, but they sprouted well, you don’t have to throw away the extra plants when thinning. But it is absolutely forbidden to leave the density in the garden bed: the harvest will not be obtained. However, the transplant should be carried out as early as possible.

To do this, water a bed with dense plantings abundantly and very carefully pull out excess plants from it. They are immediately transplanted to a new place, where they are also very well watered. This operation is a little reminiscent of picking seedlings, but when transplanting the radish roots, you must try not to injure them at all: specimens with a torn off tip, even if they take root, will not produce a normal root crop. The transplant should be carried out in cloudy weather, preferably in the evening.

Joint planting of radishes

Radish is a very friendly crop: almost no neighbors disturb it, and, in fact, it does not harm anyone. A good choice would be to plant any salad vegetables nearby: they protect the radish from the flea beetle. Beans and nasturtium also protect radishes from various pests. Next to it you can plant parsley, onions, garlic, and peas.

Most well-known guides for gardeners name only the rarely grown spice plant, hyssop, as an unfavorable neighbor for radishes. In addition, the situation with cucumbers is ambiguous; there are different opinions on this matter. But, in fact, cucumbers grow after the spring radish harvest is harvested, so this issue can be removed from the discussion.

Video: tips on joint planting of radishes with other crops

Radishes are a vegetable that is very desirable in the spring, when there are still few vitamins in the garden beds. Sowing radishes is not difficult, but its agricultural technology is simple in appearance: it grows in well-fertilized beds and requires a lot of moisture and light. Therefore, inexperienced summer residents must first think carefully about where to plant them, and also be prepared for the fact that radishes will require constant care.

Radishes are one of the first to supply vitamin products to our table. And even if it has little nutritional value, it is respected: after all, it launches a conveyor of continuous harvest that will work for several months. It is not difficult to sow radishes, but not everywhere and they do not always grow well enough.

Timing for planting radish seeds in the ground, germination time

Radish is an early ripening and cold-resistant crop; it can be sown early, and after a month it is time to harvest the earliest varieties. You can harvest radishes all summer long, but only in spring there is an urgent need for it: then radishes are replaced by other vegetables.

Radish seedlings tolerate frosts of -4 o C, and adult plants can withstand -6 o C. It is sown when the soil warms up to at least 7 o C, and plants develop best and root crops are formed at 16–20 o C. In principle, seeds germinate at a minimum positive temperature, but in prolonged cold weather the seedlings cannot be obtained root vegetables, but only flower arrows.

Therefore, if you want to sow seeds very early (in March), the furrows should be watered with hot water and the crops should be covered with non-woven materials. This can be done already when only the top 3–4 cm of soil has thawed.

Radishes are not afraid of the cold, and even their seedlings do not die in light frost

The best time for sowing radishes is in April: in the middle zone in the middle of the month, in the south - at the beginning, and most often already in March, and in the north - closer to the May Day holidays. Seeds hatch quickly: in warm weather this can happen already after 4–5 days, in April, with moderate warmth, in a week or a week and a half.

After harvesting, you can sow radishes again, but the last sowing is carried out no later than the end of May: from June or July sowing you can get only flowering flowers, since radishes do not set root crops during long daylight hours. You can, of course, cover the beds from the sun every day, but “it’s not worth it.” True, there are also non-shooting varieties (Vera, Tarzan, etc.), but it is better to resume sowing, if desired, only in August.

Selection and preparation of soil and beds

Not all gardeners produce good radishes. It does not tolerate shading at all and does not grow well in clay soils. The crop thrives best in light, nutritious soils. Sand must be added to clay soils. Radishes should not grow in a fertilized bed fresh manure, but humus must be added in the fall. The norm is up to two buckets per 1 m2.

Radishes grow best after cucumbers, tomatoes, peas, and carrots. Unsuitable predecessors are all cruciferous vegetables, including any cabbage.

The bed prepared in the fall is only loosened in the spring with a heavy rake, having previously scattered 30–40 g of ammonium nitrate or urea per 1 m2. In those regions where it is customary to arrange high beds, this is also done in the case of planting radishes; more often this is not necessary.

Checking seeds for germination and preparing them for planting

Radish seeds are stored for quite a long time: germination begins to decline only after 5 years. If you have old seeds lying around the house, before sowing it is better to check their germination in the usual way: spread a dozen seeds on a damp cloth and keep them at room temperature. After 10 days, those that could sprout will definitely sprout. By counting the number of seedlings, you can decide for yourself whether you need to buy fresh seeds.

Radish seeds are quite large and easy to handle.

To get powerful root crops early, the seeds can be calibrated using special sieves: best seeds have a diameter of at least 2 mm.

There is no need to do anything else with them; radishes are usually sown with dry seeds.

Some fans soak the seeds for 6–8 hours, or even wait until they hatch. This hardly makes much sense: the harvest may ripen only 1–2 days earlier, and there will be more hassle with sprouted seeds. In addition, such seeds may die in the event of unexpected frosts.

Rules for planting radish seeds in open ground, planting schemes

Sowing seeds in a garden bed is done according to the usual rules for a gardener. Using the corner of a hoe or using a slate, make shallow grooves at a distance of 10 cm for early ripening varieties to 15–20 cm for late ripening varieties. The earliest varieties, as a rule, need a small feeding area, and the seeds are laid out every 3 cm. For late-ripening varieties, 5 to 8 cm are left between the seeds. More dense planting will not lead to saving space, but to a disastrous result: getting good root crops it won't work.

The sowing depth of the seeds is 1.5–2 cm: since radish seeds are quite large, you can spread them out individually. If there are a lot of seeds, sometimes they are sown using the “salt the bed” method, but immediately after the emergence of seedlings they should be thinned out without delay. After sowing, the seeds are sprinkled with soil, or possibly humus or peat, and the bed is lightly trampled.

The sowing technique is no different from sowing seeds of most vegetables.

The bed is carefully watered from a watering can with a strainer and covered with film until the shoots appear. If stable heat has already established, you can use spunbond, or even do without shelter at all.

Video: sowing radish seeds in a garden bed

Some gardeners sow radishes in cardboard egg boxes. In this way, seed savings are achieved and sowing is made more uniform. Cut off the tops of the cells, lay them out on the bed with the holes down, and press the cells a little. For strength, they are pinned to the ground, for example, with thick wire. Sow calibrated seeds one at a time into each resulting “hole”, after which the cells are filled with soil and watered.

In egg cells, radishes can be sown more evenly

Care and harvesting

Caring for radishes is not difficult, but it is needed constantly: the bed cannot be abandoned for a week. Therefore, those summer residents who can only visit their plots on weekends rarely grow good root crops. It's all about watering: the bed should never dry out. Even a layer of mulch does not always help; radishes need to be watered often. Soil moisture should be at least 80% of the maximum possible. If you don’t water the radishes, the root crops will either not grow at all or will be overly bitter, and more often than not, the plants will simply collapse due to drought.

But you can’t swamp the bed either: it’s too a large number of water can lead to cracking of root crops. However, even in normal weather, radishes have to be watered daily (morning or evening), and in dry weather - twice a day. Actually, on fertile soils nothing more is needed except periodically loosening the soil and weeding the beds of weeds. Many gardeners do not feed radishes at all: the fertilizer applied to the garden bed is enough for them to last a month. If the soil is not nutritious enough, give 1-2 fertilizing with mullein infusion with the addition of wood ash. If mullein is not available, you can also use mineral fertilizers with a reduced nitrogen content.

You can use special mixtures for root crops for feeding.

Radishes do not ripen all at once, but quite quickly. The first root crops are pulled out selectively as they are ready, but in a maximum of a week it will be necessary to harvest the entire crop. It is better to pull out the radishes in the morning and water the garden bed in the evening. The harvest does not last long, a maximum of a week in the refrigerator, and this is not required: usually radishes are eaten immediately, straight from the garden.

Radishes are an early-ripening crop; every gardener tries to grow them. This is not difficult to do, but you need to be prepared for the fact that you will have to care for the garden bed every day.