Radish can be called the most common vegetable in summer cottages. After all, its cultivation is not difficult, except that protection from the cruciferous flea is required. And the rest is simple: planted, watered, about three weeks later a harvest of juicy, vitamin fruits is ready. But lately, many gardeners have complained that they do not succeed in a good radish: it either turns yellow, sometimes bitter, sometimes it does not make fruit. Let's see why there are problems with obtaining a high-quality radish crop, how to properly care for this simple, but at the same time very mysterious crop.
What radishes need for good growth and development
Radishes can grow everywhere: at home, in the garden, in a greenhouse or in a greenhouse. There is even experience in space growing culture - it grew on the International Space Station. Judging by the prevalence and popularity of this plant, it has no special claims, but you need to know that the proper level of yield can be obtained under certain conditions.
Soil for radish
Vegetable grows well on fertile, breathable sandy loam or loamy soil. It is important to determine the level of its acidity. When planting radishes on alkaline soil, it will develop poorly, turn yellow, and if the soil is too acidified, many nutrients will go into a state in which radishes cannot absorb them. If last year, on the site where you plan to plant radishes, table beets grew, then it can be an excellent indicator of acidity:
- if the leaves of beets had a pronounced red tint, then the acidity of the soil is increased;
- green leaves of the culture with red veins signal a slightly acidic soil reaction;
- the saturated green color of the leaves and red stalks indicate neutral soil.
It is easy to determine the acidity of the soil with ordinary vinegar. To do this, take a teaspoon of land and pour a small amount of acetic acid. Foaming as a result of the reaction will tell you about the acidity of the soil:
- a lot of foam has formed - this is a reaction of alkaline soil;
- little foam appeared - the soil has a neutral reaction;
With neutral acidity of the soil, a reaction with vinegar is observed, but a little foam is formed
- there was no foam at all - the soil was acidified.
Acidic vinegar does not respond to vinegar
In case of increased acidity, lime or dolomite flour is added to the soil during digging at the rate of 300 g / sq. m To improve fertility and soil structure, peat, humus, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are added to it. The application rate per 1 sq. M can be as follows:
- 40 g of superphosphate;
- 15 g of potassium salt;
- 10 kg of humus.
Fresh manure to radishes is contraindicated, as it provokes the rapid growth of green mass to the detriment of the development of the fetus.
Illumination and planting density
Radishes should not be planted with daylight hours above twelve hours. The best time for sowing the crop is early spring or late summer. The rest of the time, radishes will grow, but they will not produce a crop of root crops. Land for planting vegetables should be well lit. In shaded places, there is a great chance that the radish will go to the top.
It is important to keep track of the thickened landings. The distance between plants should be at least 2 cm, otherwise a large radish will not grow - seedlings will not have enough nutrients, moisture and space.
In order not to waste precious spring time on thinning radishes, especially since during this procedure the delicate roots of the plant are damaged, it is possible to glue the seeds of the crop on strips of blotting, newsprint or toilet paper in advance, even in winter:
- A strip of paper at regular intervals is greased with a paste of brewed wheat flour, potato starch.
- Using a toothpick or a pointed match, put a radish seed on a drop of glue.
Radish seeds are recommended to be glued at a distance of 4-5 cm from each other
- The strip can be rolled up into a small roll for easy storage.
In the spring, it remains only to lay a strip in the furrow and cover it with earth.
The nuances of care
Not only thinning, but also weeding, loosening of soil on a bed with radishes should be carried out carefully, being careful not to damage the roots of the plant. Otherwise, it may go into the arrow.
Thinning is recommended not by pulling out excess plants, but by pinching.
If you do not have the opportunity to regularly water the radish, then it is better not to plant it at all. With a lack of moisture, the root crop may not start, start the arrow, and if it grows, it will be fibrous, stiff or bitter. Radish is watered abundantly every two days. To avoid moisture loss, the bed can be mulched with sawdust, mowed grass.
The biggest problem for radishes is its main enemy - a cruciferous flea, which can destroy seedlings literally in a day. Therefore, immediately after planting, it is necessary to take measures to protect the plant from this pest: dust the beds with ash, cover it with moisture and breathable material and do not remove it until the leaves of the plant are coarsened and become unattractive to insects.
Cruciferous flea - a small insect parasitizing on plants of the cruciferous family
Another important nuance of obtaining a high-quality radish crop is timely harvesting. Root crops are harvested as they grow larger. If you over-harvest the crop, the radish will lose its juiciness, voids will begin to form inside the root crop, it will become coarser.
Subject to the rules of agricultural technology, it is quite easy already at the end of spring to get a harvest of tasty, juicy vegetable, which opens the summer season of plenty
The basic rules for radish care are quite simple, but it is their non-compliance that leads to problems with growing vegetables.
Video: tricks and subtleties of growing radishes
Possible problems with growing radishes and ways to solve them
We love radishes for planting and caring for them. Even a beginner gardener can easily plant and grow this vegetable, if he has the necessary knowledge about the features of growing a crop and gives it at least a minimum of attention. The main thing to remember is that any problem is easier to prevent than to deal with it later.
Table: Problems That May Occur During Radish Growing
| Description of the problem | Possible reason | Ways to solve the problem |
| Radish does not rise | Radish seeds lost their germination |
|
| Planting soil was too wet and cold | In early spring, plant radishes in a greenhouse, where the earth has already warmed up enough, or on a bed that was previously insulated with a film and spilled with a solution of EM drugs | |
| It grows poorly, leaves are pale, yellowish and small | Lack of nitrogen in the soil |
|
| The root crop does not form | Radish lacks light |
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| Seeds were buried too deep in the soil. | Seeding depth should not exceed 2.5 cm on light soils and 1.5 cm on heavy soils | |
| There is too much nitrogen in the soil. This is evidenced by the lush tops of plants | When preparing the site, it is not recommended to introduce organic matter into the soil. Manure can only be applied to previous crops | |
| Radish lacks potash fertilizer | Planting of ash, which can provide the radish need for potassium | |
| Redundancy of irrigation | Observe the optimal watering regime. An increase in the rate of introduced water is allowed during the development of the first true leaf and in the period of root ovary | |
| Hollow, fibrous fruit | Lack or excess of moisture; | Optimization of the irrigation mode of the radish according to the above standards |
| Deep seed placement; | Seeding at the recommended (indicated above) depth | |
| Missed deadline for harvesting radishes | Promptly remove ripened root crops from the beds. The cleaning interval should be no more than 4-5 days | |
| Radish is bitter | Lack of moisture | Irrigation mode adjustment: moderate in cold weather, plentiful in heat. Irrigation rate - 10-15 liters per 1 square. m. It is better to moisten the soil in the evening |
| Cracking | Thickened planting |
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| Lack of soil moisture or uneven watering | Adjustment of the irrigation regime, especially during the loading of root crops. A bed with radishes should be constantly in a loose and wet state. Do not allow the soil to dry out, and then carry out abundant moisture | |
| Wrong variety selection | Choice of non-cracking varieties, e.g. Vera MS | |
| Overheating in the garden | Timely harvesting of root crops, taking into account the above recommendations | |
| Goes to top and blooms | Poor seed: small or old | Selection for planting large and fresh seeds |
| Landing during a day when daylight hours are 12 or more hours | Early spring or late summer landing. Sowing radishes at other times requires sheltering ridges with opaque material to shorten daylight hours | |
| Growing a variety that is unsuitable for a given climate zone | Selection of a variety adapted to the conditions of a particular area | |
| Damage to Radish Roots | Pinch thinning, accurate weeding and loosening | |
| Black fruits inside | The defeat of the blackening of the roots of radish. This is a disease that leads to the appearance of grayish-blue spots on the roots of the plant, as well as in the pulp of the fetus. |
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| Radish leaves in holes | Cruciferous flea attack |
Chemical treatment of radish plantings is not recommended, since the plant is early |
| Wither and turn yellow leaves | Black-footed sprout disease | Plants affected by the black leg must be removed, and the bed should be shed with a 1% solution of Bordeaux fluid or a solution of copper sulfate (5 g per 10 l of water) |
Photo gallery: problems with growing radishes
- Cruciferous flea severely damages the leaf plate, thereby disrupting photosynthesis
- You will get small radish fruits. if you plant it on acidic soil that has not been previously cultivated
- One of the causes of cracking of radish fruits is abundant watering after drought.
- Radish blooms because it is a plant of short daylight, in summer in the sun it goes into color and becomes inedible
- When the radish lacks moisture, its root crop, if formed, grows hollow and rough, and the plant itself immediately shoots arrows
If you accept the conditions of the radish, you are ready to systematically water it, not to give it too much anxiety, to provide it with the necessary supply of nutrients, that is, to show a little attention and care about the crop, then as a result you will get an early and high-quality crop of healthy, vitamin and juicy radishes.
