When to Pick Radishes

[Earl K]

I have planted about 20 radish seeds about a month ago.I did pick one the other day and was small but tasty.My question is -When and how do you know when exactly to pull those babies up?

[pepper4]

New myself so may not be totally correct but I planted about 60 radishes roughly 2 months ago, going strong but for my taste not ready to pick. Still smaller then I want. I did read though if they go too long they will taste hot. I guess it's whatever your preference is

[Earl K]

I had bought Champion radish.It says 28 days to harvest,I'm at the 28 days but some have not matured yet.I guess you just have to keep an eye on them and pick when ready.Thanks for the info.

[smokensqueal]

Ya I had some that said 22 days to harvest and I picked them at about 25 and I think it was to early. But for some reason I had some that split. Still need to figure out why they split.

[!potatoes!]

from what I've seen, radishes split when they get a lot of water at a certain point in development. they try to add too much storage tissue at once.

leaving radishes too long can make the roots woody, too, but you shouldn't need to worry about that at ~30-45 days...the 'days to harvest' thing is really days after germination, not planting, so that may add a few days to your count, too.

[jal_ut]

If your radishes are too close together, they won't readily make a good root. It is best to plant them about 2 inches apart.

Keep the area damp. If they get dry, they will bolt.

You can move a little soil by the root with your finger to see how big the root is getting. I like them about 3/4 -- 1 inch in diameter. If they get too big, they may get kinda hollow and spongy.

[applestar]

I pick them to thin them when they're growing close together -- baby ones with small leaves are good in salads as long as the hairy leaves don't bother you. Otherwise, I cook them with other greens. Usually par-boiled and sautéed, but they're good par-boiled, chilled and chopped, served with soy sauce and bonito flakes or sesame seeds, eaten with rice too.

After that, I pick them as soon as they look big enough to enjoy. Wash and eat right away -- if you wait until later, they taste sharper IMO.

[Gary350]

My experience with radishs is they are very good in cool weather. When the weather turns hot 80 degrees the radish gets spicy hot. Most people don't eat then after they get hot so you let them go to seed. Put a paper bag over the top of the plant with a twist tie to collect the seeds. I like the hot spicy radish they are good in chinese stir fly they can be used as a substitute for ginger root.

[jacklyns]

Hi,
I planted my radishes on 6th of March. I can see the stalk growing from the ground as being reddish in colour, yet when I pulled up one which had leaves about an inch long, there was nothing at the base. Nasty shock, I tell you, as they are supposed to be very easy to grow. Am I doing something wrong? According to all the other posts, it should have been ready for picking by now.

[kkalasa]

I also planted radishes at the beginning of March and I don't think mine are ready yet but I'm not sure how to tell. How large should the top leaves be? Some of mine are really bushy.

[kkalasa]

Well here's an article I found on radish growing problems,
[url]https://gardening.about.com/od/problemspests/tp/Radish-Growing-Problems.htm
[/url]

I just pulled most of mine up, a few had red roots but none of them bulbed. I think it was heat, it's been very warm especially the last 2 weeks.

The leaves are edible though so I saved them and I'll add them to a salad tonight, better than nothing.

[jacklyns]

I think !potatoes! has made an important point. The 25 days must be post germination when the little shoots begin to show. Although I planted on the 6th of March, I didn't see anything until a good fortnight later. So, maybe I need to give it a couple of weeks more.

[garden5]

Here's a tip for radishes: keep the shoulders of the radish covered with dirt or else the sun will green them. However, (now, I know this is rather off-topic) don't do this with onions; they need to grow on top of the surface of the soil.

[sped]

I planted 2 rows about 100 July 27th, and sprouted on august 1st,
30 days and I have 1 inch nice radishes, I did plant a total of 6 rows 12 days apart, so got lots of them. fall is nice and cool and they grow great. very easy. just keep the 2 inches apart and watered. moist ground not drownded.
Good luck and try them in the FALL.

[stella1751]

I don't generally grow radishes, because they aren't a favorite plant. However, some short-season corn I tried this year proved to be seriously short-season, like 50 to 60 days, and I couldn't bear to see empty garden beds this soon. I planted 18 square feet two Tuesdays ago, another 18 square feet the Tuesday after that and a final 18 square feet this Tuesday. The first batch is already on its fourth or fifth set of leaves; the second batch is beginning its first set of true leaves; the third should be popping up on Saturday.

It's fun. I had no idea planting radishes could be such a good time! No idea yet how they will turn out. I thinned the first batch an inch apart and then got smart on the second batch, thinning them two inches apart. It'll be interesting to see how they fare.

According to the Farmer's Almanac, our average first frost here is September 19. I've seen radishes survive six inches of snow, but does anyone know how low a temperature they can take without snow to insulate them?

[smellyrose]

It's been about 27 days since I planted radish seeds. I have picked a few of them in the last week, they started to push out of the ground and I could see that they were round and about the size of a small superball before I picked them.
They taste good, a little spicy but not too hot.

[jal_ut]

It is really worth the time it takes to place the seed 2 inches apart and avoid the thinning. Giving them space is very important to get them to make a good root. You must keep them damp. Do not let them dry out or they will bolt. They respond well to good fertile soil.