Cherry Belle Radish
|
Vegetable Gardening: Growing Radishes With Worm CastingsRadishes are easy to grow and are a favorite of the first-time garden. It's zesty flavor makes an excellent salad ingredient and it's health properties are widely regarded. Low in calories but dense in nutrients, radishes are a staple of the dieter's menu.
|
Which Radish to Grow in Your Vegetable Garden?
Because radishes germinate and mature very quickly, they are usually the first vegetable harvested from the garden. You should supply radishes with a constant supply of water and nutrients to prevent them from becoming tough and pithy.
For this reason and because of their shallow roots, the Cherry Belle make an excellent radish variety to grow in shallow self-watering containers.
For this reason and because of their shallow roots, the Cherry Belle make an excellent radish variety to grow in shallow self-watering containers.
- Daikone Radish: A.k.a Chinese radish, oriental radish. This large, white, mild-tastings radish requires more growing depth than the usual radish.
- Cherry Belle: Red on the outside and white on the inside, this is the classic radish we are are familiar with.
- Easter Egg: A radish mix of reds, purples and white radishes that mature over an extended period.
- Spanish Black: This unusual and rare black radish is a longer keeper than the traditional varieties. Quite bitter tasting when eaten fresh, it mellows with time.
- D'Avignon: This French variety of radish is long and cylindrical, growing 3-4 inches long. It is red with white tips and matures in 3 weeks
Radish Planting
Radishes are ready for harvest very quickly. For all-season harvesting, do succession plantings of radishes every week or so. Companion plant one radish harvest with other, later maturing vegetables (beets, carrots, spinach and parsnips) to expand your growing space.
- Starting in early spring, direct sow radish seeds 1/2 inch deep
- You can plant the radishes all together and protect against flea beetles with a row cover.
- Harvest your radishes when they reach large marble size, otherwise they become pithy and bitter.
Organic worm Castings™ and VermaPlex® Applications for Radishes:
- Mix in Black Castings™ into your garden soil at a rate of 1 pound per 50 square feet.
- At seed planting, apply VermaPlex® at a rate of 40:1 (40 parts water to 1 part VermaPlex®).
- Two weeks after emergence, apply VermaPlex® at a rate of 20:1.
- At root enlargement, apply Vermaplex® at a rate of 20:1.
"VermaPlex® can be applied as a drench or as a foliar spray."