You Can Plant And Harvest This Delicious Vegetable In As Little As A Month
One of the worst parts of home gardening — which is meant to be a pretty zen experience, for the most part — is definitely the long wait between planting veggies and harvesting them. If you sow seeds in the springtime, certain varieties could take until well into the summer to be ready, which is an awfully long time for the impatient folks among us. That's why we're so captivated by radishes, which can go from seed packet to picking in as little as four weeks, depending on variety!
Radishes are a great addition to your garden for a number of reasons. Their speedy growth cycle means that you can often squeak multiple rounds of radishes from the same plot over the course of a year; they make worthy companion plants for many popular species; and, best of all, they're downright tasty. When plucked from the ground at the appropriate time, radishes have a peppery bite that's terrific in salads ... maybe with Alex Guarnaschelli's four-ingredient weeknight salad dressing? The leafy tops are also edible and add interest to your next plate of braised or sautéed greens. If left to bolt, you can even eat the seed pods of the radish; some cultivars are grown specifically for this purpose!
Although there are tons of specific varieties of radish, they can be divided into four categories: salad radishes, winter radishes, oriental radishes, and seed-podded radishes. Grow one, or grow several! Not only are radishes quick to sprout, but they are also uncomplicated and effortless to grow, whether potted or sown directly in the ground. Gaming the system with strategic planting can ensure that you have radishes to enjoy almost year-round.
Here's what you need to know about growing radishes
The best times to grow radishes for a big harvest are the early spring and late summer. Unlike some vegetables, radishes don't love the heat, and gardeners will have the most success if they time their planting so that the radishes can complete their growing cycle before or after the dog days of midsummer. Savvy gardeners will have one round of salad radishes at the start of summer, and another one as fall is creeping in. That's to say nothing of longer, hardier winter radishes, which enjoy the cooler days of autumn. As long as the weather isn't scorching, radishes appreciate at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. They don't require a ton of room, so they make a great "in-between" crop to fill empty spaces in your garden.
Like we said, radishes are fairly undemanding and beginning gardeners can be very successful with them. It is important to water radishes correctly, however. The flavor and texture of the radish is directly impacted by watering, so it's crucial that you know how to do it right. Just like the ideal way to water tomatoes is with a soaker hose, so will this system of irrigation treat your radishes well, because they like regular, deep watering. The edible roots are underground, after all, so you really want that life-giving hydration to permeate. Other than watering, make sure you thin out your radish seedlings when they get a few inches high, as crowded plants can make the roots shrivel. With a little bit of dedication, you'll have yummy radishes in under a month from the time you plant them!