Gadenin日本語Get the appHow to tell a root is ready
Leaf size tells you almost nothing about the root, because a well fed plant can carry an enormous canopy over a slim root. The reliable signals are the diameter of the shoulder where it meets the soil, and the number of days since sowing. Together they are accurate to within a few days.
Scrape the soil away from the shoulder of two or three plants along the row and measure across. A full sized daikon is two to three inches (5 to 8 cm) across at the shoulder, and it will have been sixty to ninety days from sowing depending on temperature. Push the soil back afterwards if you are leaving it a little longer.
The second signal is the outer leaves. As the root finishes filling, the lowest leaves start to yellow and lie flatter against the ground while the inner leaves stay upright. That change means the plant has finished bulking and is now living off its root, which is the point at which quality begins to decline.
| Signal | Not ready | Ready | Past it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoulder diameter | Under 2 in (5 cm) | 2 to 3 in (5 to 8 cm) | Wide but cracked or dull |
| Days from sowing | Under 55 | 60 to 90 | Beyond 90 |
| Outer leaves | All upright, mid green | Lowest leaves yellowing and flattening | Many leaves yellow and collapsed |
| Shoulder surface | Smooth and firm | Smooth and firm | Cracks, rough patches, soft spots |
Pull one root as a test as soon as the first shoulders reach two inches. One sacrificed root tells you more about the state of the bed than any amount of looking at leaves.
Why leaving them too long ruins them
Past maturity the center of the root goes hollow and pithy. The cells in the core keep expanding while the plant can no longer fill them, so the flesh turns dry and spongy and a cut root shows a hollow channel or a ring of soft tissue down the middle. From the outside the root often still looks perfect, which is why people are surprised.
Overmature roots also split more readily, because the skin has lost its elasticity, and in warm autumn weather they become fibrous and sharply pungent. Late nitrogen makes all of this happen sooner, which is the practical reason to stop feeding after the second top dressing.
The way to avoid it is to harvest progressively. Take the biggest roots first, every few days, working along the row, rather than waiting for the whole bed to be uniformly large. A bed harvested over three weeks gives you far more good roots than a bed lifted in one go.
Lifting without breaking the root
A long white root snaps easily, and it usually snaps because someone pulled from the leaves while the lower half was still gripped by firm soil. Loosen first, pull second, and pull straight up rather than at an angle.
- Pick a dry day Lift when the soil is moist but not wet. Wet soil clings to the root and to your hands, and roots lifted in the wet store much worse because the skin stays damp.
- Loosen the soil alongside Push a fork in four to six inches (10 to 15 cm) from the root, angled away, and lever gently. Do not lever towards the root or you will spear it.
- Grip low and lift straight Take hold of the base of the leaf stalks right at the shoulder, not halfway up the leaves, and pull vertically with a slight twist. If it resists, loosen again rather than pulling harder.
- Cut the leaves off at once Trim the leaves to about half an inch above the crown as soon as the root is out. Left on, they keep drawing moisture out of the root and it goes limp within a day.
- Brush, do not wash Rub the soil off with your hands or a dry brush. Washing before storage leaves the skin damp and starts rot at any nick.
Storing the crop
Daikon stores best cold, dark and slightly damp, which is close to the conditions it grows in. Trimmed roots keep for a few weeks in a fridge wrapped loosely, and for two or three months buried in damp sand or soil in a cool shed or clamp, stood upright with the shoulders covered.
In mild winters the simplest storage is the ground itself. Leave the roots in place with soil mounded well over the shoulders and a covering of straw, and lift as you need them. Cold ground keeps the texture dense and increases sweetness. Where the ground freezes hard, lift before the first deep freeze, because a frozen shoulder rots as soon as it thaws.
Check stored roots every couple of weeks. Remove anything soft, and take out anything that has started to sprout new leaf, since a sprouting root is drawing on its own flesh and will go pithy.
| Method | Conditions | Keeps for |
|---|---|---|
| Left in the ground | Soil mounded over the shoulder, straw on top | Through a mild winter |
| Buried in damp sand | Cool dark shed, 32 to 41F (0 to 5C) | Two to three months |
| Fridge, trimmed and wrapped | Cold and humid | Two to four weeks |
| Dried in strips or salted | Cold hung out of rain, or in brine | Months |
Store the leaves separately and use them within a day or two. They are good eating while fresh but they wilt far faster than the root and spoil it if stored alongside.
What to write down at harvest
Harvest is when the season's real numbers become available, and they are the numbers you will use to plan next year. Record the date of the first harvest and the days from sowing that represents, the shoulder diameter of a typical root, and the date the first hollow or split root appeared.
Also note the proportion of roots that were forked or stunted, and where in the bed they came from. A cluster of forked roots at one end almost always means stones or a compacted patch there, and marking that on a sketch of the bed lets you dig that area properly before the next sowing instead of repeating the same result. Over two seasons this turns into a genuinely accurate sowing to harvest window for your own garden.