The Humble Radish

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Brassica Growing, coping with Club Root

One of my objectives over the years has been to obtain a reasonable crop of brassicas from a plot of sandy loam which is infected with the club root fungus. Added difficulties are that it is a long way from any water supply and is attacked by pigeons and cabbage root fly!

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The humble radish - did you know it is the most abundant crop in Japan?

Richard Bailey, Wallington, Surrey

Radishes seldom get a good press. Too often they are thought of as a child's crop - or one that is unsuitable for delicate digestions!

Yet radishes have three great merits, they can be grown in almost any soil, they grow fast and you can use roots, leaves and seed pods in the kitchen. It is their rapid growth that makes radishes so important a crop in both Japan and China. Large yields per unit area, so necessary to feed a large population, are more easily achieved using quick growing vegetables from which you can harvest two, three or even four, crops a year than by growing a heavy yielding vegetable which matures slowly. However, their versatility in the kitchen is their least appreciated virtue.

For a quick salad crop sow seed thickly in drills, outside or in a pan under cover. Cut the seedlings before the first true leaves appear, when they look like a large form of the mustard in mustard and cress and use them as you would use mustard. In China, special cultivars are used for cutting as seedlings - in Britain it is a good way to use up that old packet you found behind the cupboard.

The seedlings taste very much like mustard but are slightly thicker and more solid in texture. I am told that they are especially rich in vitamin C.

The production of small, tender roots through the summer is a well known process. Although it is surprising how few exhibits of really good radishes are seen on the show bench (I consider radishes deserve far more than the 10 points given to them by the R.H.S.)

Seed can be sown out of doors from mid February, at least here in the south. A sunny position is best for early sowings but from mid May onwards some slight shade will help to produce tender roots.

At the risk of offending purists I will mention that I always sow mine between rows of onions or shallots. Taking out drills for the seeds and pulling roots for the kitchen makes me keep an eye on the weeds - which must be good!

On heavy soils thinning is important, I grow mine at 1/2 in (1 cm) spacings, or the roots will be slow to bulk up and may be woody when they do. On light soils thinning is seldom as critical.

For early sowings I find round rooted cultivars most successful 'Cherry Belle', 'Ribella' and 'Saxa' are my current favourites, I set the seed in shallow, 1 in (2 1/2 cm) drills sowing it thickly as I find that seeds germinate far better when close to each other (eat the thinnings). Whatever the weather water the drill really thoroughly before sowing. From mid April I might sow long rooted cultivars such as the old favourite 'Long White Icicle' or the newer F1 hybrids of which 'April Cross' is a good example. These are the large, white moolis imported for Indian and African dishes.

While radishes can be sown successfully all through the summer I usually stop sowing in late June when hot, dry weather here in the south makes it more difficult, or at least more labour intensive (think of the watering), to produce a quality crop. If I lived in the midlands or north I might continue sowing. But, come the first week of September, I sow a few rows of the round rooted cultivars for use in October and November.

In July, however, I sow winter radishes for use from November until March. These are quite distinct from the summer cultivars. They are substantially larger, a root can reach several pounds in weight if thinned to 12 in (30 cm), and are best served sliced or grated. Two reliable cultivars are widely available, 'Round Black Spanish' and 'Rose China' while 'Munich Beer' is an excellent cultivar less often seen in seed lists. Oriental radishes such as 'Mantanghong' (which was actually bred in Britain) can also be grown as winter radishes. Sow winter radishes in the second or third week of July (I put them between rows of onions I am soon to lift). They are best thinned to between 4 and 6 in (10-15 cm) - the wider the spacing the larger the roots. Winter radishes will survive all but the hardest frosts and should be left in the ground until needed.

Most of us who grow radishes, summer or winter, find there are always some that run to seed. This is not the waste it seems as the young seed pods can be cut and eaten as a crisp, spicy addition to salads. The pods are best cut when they are about 1 in (2 1/2 cm) long, any longer and they may get stringy. They are an excellent addition to any salads - but, oh boy, are they fiddly to pick!

The seed pods of any radish can be used in salads. 'Munich Beer' is often recommended - but in my view this cultivar is far better eaten as a radish. In China and Japan, however, where radishes are often grown specially for their pods, there are selected cultivars with extra long pods that are often used pickled in brine.

Grown quickly, in moist soil, radishes are usually trouble free. The worst pest is likely to be the turnip flea beetle whose trade mark is the small round holes often found in the leaves.

Once the seedlings develop their adult leaves they will usually withstand attack, but young plants are very vulnerable so early diagnosis and action are needed. Flea beetle thrives in hot dry conditions - so drench the rows daily. Otherwise attacks can be prevented by dusting a proprietary soil pesticide along the rows. At a later stage, as the roots swell, constant precautions against slugs are essential.

A Nutritional Note on Radish supplied by Len Cox:

Radishes contain calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, sodium and sulphur. Four ounces of radish will provide 17 calories and traces of protein, carotene and the vitamins B3 and C.

This article originally appeared in the Members Bulletin now called Simply Vegetables, the journal of the National Vegetable Society, which is sent quarterly to members. You can Join the National Vegetable Society here

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