Growing Radish

Raphanus sativas : Brassicaceae / the mustard or cabbage family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
    P P P     P        

(Best months for growing Radish in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 46°F and 86°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 1 - 2 inches apart
  • Harvest in 5-7 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Chervil, cress,lettuce, leeks, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes
  • Avoid growing close to: Hyssop, gherkins
  • Cherry radish
  • French Breakfast radishes

Small, spicy tasting root vegetable usually round but some longer varieties. Available in a range of colours between red and white.

Very easy to grow. Good for a child's first garden as seedlings appear in two or three days. Sow between other vegetables as they will mark the rows until the slower germinating plants appear.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Radish

Wash well and remove leaves and roots.
Use raw in salads or on their own with bread and butter.

Your comments and tips

01 Oct 23, Hosea (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Hi, I sowed some white radish in the end of July. Now they are blooming but roots are very small. Will the roots continue to grow? and what should I do for them?
05 Jul 23, Marija Rupar (Canada - Zone 3a Temperate Short Summer climate)
Hello I live in Robson valley bc can you let me know when is good time to plant black Spanish radish for fall harvest ! Thank you
06 Jul 23, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 5a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
Your Black Spanish Radishes are a a winter variety - Germination (seed to seedling) happens at temps of 50f - 75f (10c - 24c) and will take 6 to 10 days. --they take anywhere from 30 to 70 days to mature (that is from sprouted seedling to harvest) - you can harvest them when they are about 3" to about 5". Plant anywhere from about two months before the first expected fall frost to 3 weeks before the first expected fall frost. Your best option is to figure out your first expected frost date - count back 8 weeks and call that your "expected planting date" - then check LAST years temperatures at or around your "expected planting date" -- if the temperatures sync up with the germination temperatures (10c - 24c) for Black Spanish Radishes, then it is a good time to plant, if not try and tweak your "expected planting date" so you will have the correct germination temperatures - and enough time for your radishes to grow. The reason your days to harvest has such a wide range is: you can harvest from 3" up to 5" -- additionally, when planting closer to fall/winter the number of hours of sunlight (and the intensity) varies a lot - for example: in my area on August 10th I get 14:36:05 hours of daylight .... and on September 30th I get 11:43:20 hours of daylight -- both are fairly good planting dates with August 10, 2022 having temps of (high/low) 20.4c/ 12.8c AND September 30th having temps highs of 20.4c and lows of 8.7c ==> but September has about 20% less daylight hours and the suns intensity is much weaker -- this means radishes planted in September will take longer to grow and mature than radishes planted in August.
05 Jul 23, (Canada - Zone 3a Temperate Short Summer climate)
Best to plant either May or June
01 May 23, Alice (Australia - temperate climate)
My Grandfather always mixed radish seed with carrot seed in river sand and this help to thin out the carrots, not only because of the two types of seed, but because as you harvest the radishes - starting with the new shoots that are a great micro green, and this in turn thins carrots out :)
08 May 23, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Or just put sand with radish or carrots in a salt or pepper shaker and plant rows only about 3-4 cm
06 Jan 23, Andres S Del Villar (USA - Zone 8b climate)
You may want to do a soil test so you know what you have and what you don't. Using all that potting soil you may need some lime mix in there. If your organic is right out of the bag and not aged you just have to wait several yeas before it's broken down well.
23 Dec 22, Andres S Del Villar (USA - Zone 8b climate)
Hello, I have been growing vegetables here in Manteo, NC for the last 10 years, zone 8b. I believe your planting times are at least 30 days too early . I plant most of it by seed outdoors maybe and that may be the reason.
05 Jan 23, (Australia - temperate climate)
Read the paragraph at the bottom of the page. It is general advice, There could be many different sub climates within the same climate. Generally it is about soil temperature required for germination.
12 Dec 22, (USA - Zone 9a climate)
what radishes grow best in zone 9A?
Showing 1 - 10 of 144 comments

Christine, you can probably eat them without harm (they're a brassica), but the leaves are usually covered in prickly hairs, so why you'd want to is the main question - I would rather just eat the radish. You can certainly eat turnip and beetroot leaves, so radish leaves might be ok cooked? Perhaps you can let us know how you go with them?

- Chris

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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