How to Grow Radishes From Seeds And Harvest Them

Last Updated on April 27, 2022 by Real Men Sow

Radishes can be grown anywhere, and are best grown as a fill-in crop due to its approximate time taken from sowing to harvest. You can grow them at the start or end of the growing season, making radishes one of the easy plants to sow in vegetable gardens. 

Radishes

How To Grow Radishes

Despite them being able to be grown anywhere, they prefer full sun or part shade but need full shade if you live in a hot climate. You must keep the soil moist for you to be rewarded with wonderful harvests

How To Sow Radishes Early in Plug Trays

Sowing early means you’re supposed to sow indoors, undercover. You may sow it into containers, greenhouse borders, or plug trays.

Your Plug trays should be filled with potting mix and firmed down. Sow a pinch of 3 to 5 seeds per module, cover with more potting mix, then water them. They need to be in a warm place for them to germinate. Once the seedlings fill their modules, plant them out under row covers or hoop houses.

What Soil To Use When Planting Radishes

The soil they’re planted in should be enriched with well-rotted compost or manure. Drop the plugs into the holes you’ve dug. They should be 15cm apart from all directions. Waiting for the weather to warm up means you need to cover them with row cover or horticultural fleece.

How To Sow Radishes Directly

It’s easiest to sow your radish in the place where you’ll grow them. Radishes can germinate under 5°C, so you can sow from very early spring under row covers or hoop houses. The rows need to be 20cm apart and the seeds should be sown thinly and 1cm apart. Water the seeds then wait for a week for them to germinate. The seedlings should be thinned to 2cm apart within the row. 

How To Grow Radishes For The Winter

Radishes can be sown towards the end of summer, giving you a chance to harvest them in autumn or early winter. You may sow the regular red radishes into containers to be able to move them under cover once the weather turns cold.

Asian varieties of radish naturally prefer growing in cooler temperatures. Winter radishes are leafier and can be used like spinach once harvested. This variety needs to be sown at least 30cm apart from each other then thinned to give 5cm space between each plant. 

How To Care For Radishes

Radishes don’t like competition, so it’s best you remove weeds when you see them when you’re thinning seedlings and harvesting the first roots. Radishes tend to become woody and peppery if they aren’t watered enough, make sure to water them once a week or twice a week if your area’s in a dry spell.  

Avoid Flee Beetles

They usually attract flea beetles during spring to midsummer that poke tiny holes into your radishes’ leaves. Cover your radishes with row covers or fine insect mesh to avoid the flea beetles. You may also delay sowing to the second half of summer to avoid your radishes growing through spring to midsummer.

Harvesting Radishes

Once they’ve reached their final size, you may proceed to harvest them. It’s best not to delay the harvest because they may become woody and very spicy within a matter of days. The biggest roots should be lifted everytime you harvest so that the others can continue to grow. 

How Long Does It Take For Radishes To Mature?

Winter radishes need up to 10 weeks to mature. Lift them when needed and you can leave them there as long as the ground isn’t frozen solid. They can also be cut off and stored in your refrigerator for a month.

Share your experience in growing radishes in the comments! Tell us all about it, we’d love to know!

Real Men Sow
Real Men Sow

Hello, I’m Pete and I’m currently based in the west of Scotland, in a small place called Rosneath, where I’m exploring my garden adventures. I personally started gardening around 6 years ago and initially, I started out by growing my favorite fruits and berries, such as strawberries, Raspberries & Gooseberries. Since then I’ve added a lot of vegetables and working closely with my neighbor, it’s been a lot of fun.