Guv's Gardens
Photo: Self, en:Jengod, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sun
- Full sun to light shade
- Soil
- Moist, fertile
- Soil pH
- Slightly acid to neutral, pH 6.0-7.0; tolerates up to pH 8.0
- Water
- Keep moist
- Hardiness
- Hardy
- Height and spread
- 10-15cm
Guv's tipFlea beetles go for radishes. Use crop covers and keep the seedlings watered so they grow away. Sow from March to September.
Through the year
Timings are for the UK as a whole. Northern and exposed gardens often run a couple of weeks later.
When to plant
Sow Mar-Sep (Mar-Aug in some advice)
Harvest or flowering
Harvest Apr-Dec; winter radishes into Jan-Feb
Pruning
None
Making more plants
Seed
Watch out for
Flea beetles
Look for: Small round holes in seedling leaves
What to do: Crop covers, keep seedlings watered to grow away
Cabbage root fly
Look for: Maggots in roots, stunting and wilting
What to do: Crop covers or insect-proof mesh
Slugs and snails
Look for: Irregular holes in leaves, slime trails, seedlings eaten
What to do: Hand-pick at night, barriers, beer traps, encourage predators; ferric phosphate pellets sparingly
Club root
Plasmodiophora brassicaeLook for: Swollen distorted roots, wilting
What to do: Raise pH by liming, improve drainage, raise plants in pots
Downy mildew
Hyaloperonospora brassicaeLook for: Yellow patches above, grey/purple growth below leaves
What to do: Remove affected leaves, improve air flow, avoid wetting foliage
Always read and follow the label on any treatment, and check it is approved for use where you live.
Safety and spread
Pets and people: Low. The roots are edible; handling may cause mild skin irritation from isothiocyanates. Not on the ASPCA list
Weed risk: None known
Growing somewhere else? See this plant for the USA.
The Plant Doctor and the Guv's book
Printable pest and disease charts with real photographs, and all 50 UK plants in one book.
