Gadenin日本語Get the appGo by size, not by days
Decide when to harvest by size, not by the date. When the shoulder showing above the soil is three quarters of an inch to an inch and a quarter (2 to 3 cm) across, it is ready. Weather shifts the timing, so from about 20 days after sowing, check every day.
Radishes sown the same day do not all size up together. Pull the biggest first and the rest get more light and room and catch up. There is no need to pull the whole row at once.
- Look at the shoulder Check the width of the colored shoulder above the soil. About as wide as the top joint of your thumb means it is ready.
- Pull the largest first Pick the plumpest ones. The gaps they leave give the rest more light and soil to catch up.
- Grip the leaves at the base Gather the leaves near the root and pull straight up slowly. If the soil is hard, loosen around the root with a finger first.
Radishes pulled in the morning hold more water than those pulled in the evening and are crisper.
What happens when you wait too long
Two or three days past prime, the roots get fibrous and much hotter. Leave them longer and they go hollow and pithy inside and the skin splits. Waiting for bigger radishes only lowers the quality, so err on the small side.
Overgrown radishes are hot and hard to enjoy raw, but cooking tames the heat. Roast, braise or saute them, or add them to soup, and nothing goes to waste. Peel them if the skin is tough.
| Condition | How it looks | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Prime | Three quarters of an inch to an inch and a quarter across, glossy | Raw in salads or quick pickles |
| A little past | About an inch and a half across, thicker skin | Roasted, braised or in soup |
| Well past | Split, hollow or stringy | Peel and cook, or compost |
Cut off the greens right after picking
Once pulled, the leaves keep drawing water out of the root and it goes limp within hours. Cut the greens off about half an inch (1 cm) above the root right away and carry roots and greens separately.
Unwashed roots in a bag in the refrigerator crisper keep about a week. The greens are tender and should be used the same day or the next, in a stir-fry or soup.
| Part | How to store | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Roots | Greens removed, in a bag in the crisper | Five days to a week |
| Greens | Wrapped in a damp paper towel in the crisper | One to two days |
| Extra roots | Sliced and quick pickled | One week to ten days refrigerated |
The greens are a harvest too
Radish greens are tender and as useful as the roots. Young leaves are the mildest, and they pair well with oil, so they suit sauteing or blending into pesto. Insect holes do not matter once they are washed.
The greens spoil faster than the roots. Pick with a plan to use them the same day or the next. Any you cannot use can be blanched in salted water, chopped and frozen.
- Use the young leaves The tender inner leaves are best. Leaves that feel coarse to the touch are better cooked.
- Wash them the same day Soak and swish them in a bowl of water to remove soil and insects, then dry them before refrigerating.
- Blanch and freeze the extra Blanch briefly, chop and freeze in small portions. They go straight from the freezer into soup or a stir-fry.
Stagger sowings for a longer harvest
Sow everything at once and it is all ready at once, more than you can eat. Sow a little every two weeks and the harvest comes every two weeks too. In a container, 10 to 15 radishes per sowing is plenty.
If bed space is short, you can sow between other crops or along the edges of beds. The crop is short enough to fit in the gap before the next planting.
- One row every two weeks Divide a bed into three and sow each section two weeks apart. Put a dated label at each sowing.
- A little in every gap Before the next crop goes in, sow along bed edges or between plants. They are done in about three weeks and out of the way.
Saving seed for next year
Leave a few plants in the ground and they bolt, flowering white or pale purple, and form slender pods. When the pods turn brown and dry, cut them, dry them further and shell out the seed to sow next year.
Radishes cross easily, so if daikon or other cabbage family crops are flowering nearby, the next generation may look different. For a home garden it is still perfectly usable, and you can sow as generously as you like.
- Leave a few plants At harvest, leave three or four well shaped plants in the ground. Pick ones at the end of a row where they will not be in the way.
- Cut when the pods are dry When the pods are brown and rattle when shaken, cut the whole plant. Left out in rain, the seed can sprout inside the pod.
- Dry and shell the seed Dry them in an airy, shady place for about a week, then crack the pods to remove the seed. Store it in a paper envelope somewhere cool and dark.
The flowers and young pods are edible too. The pods have a mild radish bite and are good raw or lightly sauteed.
Diagnosing a disappointing harvest
You pull a radish and it is thin, split, hollow or forked. The cause is in how they were sown, watered or what soil they grew in, and all of it can be fixed next time. Lay the pulled roots side by side and compare them.
- Thin root, big leaves Not thinned enough, too much fertilizer, or too little sun. Next time keep them two inches apart and use less fertilizer.
- Hollow inside Pulled too late. Harvest before they pass an inch and a quarter (3 cm), and sow fewer so you can keep up.
- Forked roots Stones or unfinished compost in the soil. Next time dig 8 inches (20 cm) deep, remove stones and use only finished compost.
- Green, tough shoulders Not enough soil hilled up, so the shoulder was exposed to sun. Still edible but less tasty. Hill up each time you thin.