Pathetic Radishes again

[bearded bloke]

I can't see cabbage root fly being active after summer.

Sadly .....

Cabbage root fly eggs can only hatch in cool weather, which is why these pests attack mostly cool weather crops.

.... (taken from ... How To Get Rid Of Cabbage Maggots: Cabbage Root Fly Control ) .... did you check for maggot holes Marb ? If there are tunnels it could possibly be put down to the unseasonal mild weather I guess

[Bill HH]

Well this is entirely my own opinion but the only good raddish is a dead one.

[kathyd]

I can't see cabbage root fly being active after summer. What gets my goat is the fact that all the bird seed from your feeder that falls to the floor always seems to sprout very healthy foliage in all weathers.

I speak from personal experience Marb - polytunnel, Chinese cabbage, less than 2 weeks ago . I've found you can sometimes salvage plants by digging them up and rinsing all the soil from the roots, and replanting in a new hole (or pot). If you don't have another place to plant, dig out the existing hole and run some boiling water through it, then replant when cooled. And watch adjacent plants like a hawk - first sign of wobbliness and whip it out to check!

[Zelenina]

I just came across this post, Marb, and it made me think of you

In Mexico, the humble radish plays an important role at Christmas

I'm not sure if you'll laugh or cry when you read it. But there is a bit of useful info for you somewhere in the middle.

Because I was thinking that if you really want some nice big radishes to eat in the autumn and winter you'd be better off growing actual winter varieties of radishes. They are bigger and hardier and less finicky than summer radishes, but are better known in Germany and China than in the UK. That article gives the names of some varieties and a link to a UK supplier of them. I can also recommend German Beer radishes, often called Munich or Munchener beer radishes. Some people only grow them for the pods, but they have nice big white roots as well, something like an elongated turnip to look at. China Rose is another one you might come across, with long pink roots.

You sow the seeds in July or August. I think it's a good plan to sow them in a patch that was recently occupied by onions or garlic, so that the bits of oniony roots that are still in the ground confuse the brassica root flies when they want to lay their eggs. That's my theory anyway, and it seems to work.

Then when the seedlings get a bit bigger you thin them out to give enough space for the roots to grow big, and weed them a bit, and water them if the weather is dry. A sprinkling of organic fertiliser would probably help them too. Then just leave them in the ground and forget about them for a while like that big one you once grew.

[Marb67]

Thanks, I appreciate the info. The trouble is you never seem to see these more exotic types for sale in garden centres and the like.

Now they are even more pathetic

[Lisasbolt]

Marb, i always have the problem of over sowing my radish seeds, i just get far too carried away, this year i got some modular trays and planted 2 seeds per cell. They popped their heads up nicely and about 2-3 weeks after, i planted straight into the ground of the PT, about an inch-inch and a half apart, the two would just push each other out the way and leave plenty of space, these worked great and i am having very juicy crunchy larger than gold ball sized radish.

[skeggijon]

I always get confused when I see people struggling with Radishes - they always seem the easiest thing in the world to grow to me.
I went to check the lotty the other day and found a dozen French Breakfast Radishes ( a bit past eating size) that had grown at the side of one of the paths, where I must have dropped some seeds.

I know a lot of people seem to have difficulty with them though. Maybe I just have Radish fingers

[Guest]

I just came across this post, Marb, and it made me think of you

In Mexico, the humble radish plays an important role at Christmas

I'm not sure if you'll laugh or cry when you read it. But there is a bit of useful info for you somewhere in the middle.

Because I was thinking that if you really want some nice big radishes to eat in the autumn and winter you'd be better off growing actual winter varieties of radishes. They are bigger and hardier and less finicky than summer radishes, but are better known in Germany and China than in the UK. That article gives the names of some varieties and a link to a UK supplier of them. I can also recommend German Beer radishes, often called Munich or Munchener beer radishes. Some people only grow them for the pods, but they have nice big white roots as well, something like an elongated turnip to look at. China Rose is another one you might come across, with long pink roots.

You sow the seeds in July or August. I think it's a good plan to sow them in a patch that was recently occupied by onions or garlic, so that the bits of oniony roots that are still in the ground confuse the brassica root flies when they want to lay their eggs. That's my theory anyway, and it seems to work.

Then when the seedlings get a bit bigger you thin them out to give enough space for the roots to grow big, and weed them a bit, and water them if the weather is dry. A sprinkling of organic fertiliser would probably help them too. Then just leave them in the ground and forget about them for a while like that big one you once grew.

That is brill. That has made me chuckle especially someone having a tradition of hiding their pickle in the christmas tree (see comments at the bottom)

[bramble]

I have tried, year on year and can never get Radish to grow successfully for me.
Good luck to all who can succeed but for me, I will just buy from the supermarket.

[Marb67]

Well I transplanted 16 from the ones ( F Breakfast) I had just about growing in the greenhouse through winter in the cat litter tray and they all grew really well. I have kept them well watered and shaded with netting while the sun has been very hot. Suffice to say despite doing everything textbook as best I can most have grown thin and weedy with just a small amount decent-ish size but even those are not as fat as they should be given the watering.

16 in a square foot bed with decent compost I would have thought they would have come on better. Just sown some of those long purple ones that look like long beets so will see what happens. Those who say radish are a quick catch crop are on another planet because I find them painfully slow growing.

[bearded bloke]

Hi Marb, did you compact them into the soil when you transplanted them ? Radish is a member of the brassica family & the general advice given is to 'heel in' when transplanting seedlings

[Marb67]

Yes,they are firmly in.

[maverick451]

Marb I really dont know why you have the problems with Radish

Just get a 10L pot, put some compost in it, pack it down.

then get a pencil, poke some holes in a couple of inches apart and about an inch deep, put 1 seed in each hole then close the holes in.

Water to keep the soil moist and keep in a sunnyish position.

After 5 weeks you will have radishes

If you want ill be happy to take some pics and do a little grow along with you.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I am struggling to offer further advice apart from what I do.

I use flower buckets cut down to about 6" high, these are fill to with about 5" of pre- watered mpc. Seeds are placed individually about 30 to a pot and covered with 1/4 inch of compost. This process is repeated about once a fornight until I have 4 pots on the go, then as one pot becomes empty I set further in different compost.

The first setting in the GH end of Feb will produce 50/50 spindly and good radish after that I get very few spindly ones.

As the weather warms up they sit on the side of my pond in full sun and when they need watering I plunge the entire pot into the pond allowing it to drain on the side.

[Containergardener]

Potty how long does yours take to get to picking stage?