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Radish failure

BigladBiglad Posts: 3,265
in Fruit & veg
Despite a good germination rate and good early growth, my radish didn't seem to want to form the bulbous edible bit  :( 

The ones that I left in have now started to flower/seed.

Any ideas where it went wrong? I'm presuming the growing medium (mainly MPC) and feeding regime (just watering!!!) may hold the answer.

Also, can/should I use the seeds produced? How/when are they best collected?

TIA

East Lancs

Posts

  • BigladBiglad Posts: 3,265
    Just bumping this. Any advice folks?
    East Lancs
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    The seedpods work just like the Rat tailed radish seed pods do 

    "...You can use 'Rat's Tail' radish any way you'd use round, red radishes. They're also nice tossed into stir-fries, stews or any cooked dish that could use a little kick. They lose some of their pungency when cooked, but remain crunchy. The pods are also great pickled...."

    https://www.thespruce.com/rats-tail-edible-podded-radish-1403478

    I had a batch of radish this year that just didn't get fat ... I wondered whether the weather was too warm for them. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    I agree with @Dovefromabove, it's probably conditions. My first couple of crops were fine, but my later sowings did exactly the same as yours @Biglad. Every sowing went into the same MPC and I grow them in little troughs, so I think it's likely to be conditions rather than anything you've done. They don't grow for long enough to exhaust nutrients in the MPC. Sometimes they can do this if they don't get enough light and start to stretch, or if they get stressed when seedlings (slugs love them here).
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    My radish failures have usually been down to it being too hot combined with insufficient watering. The first makes them bolt before they develop and the second results in no swollen root - or a tough and woody root.
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
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