Permapotes
Radish

Red radish

Red radish: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar

The red radish is a small radish valued for its crispness, freshness and varying degree of peppery flavour. It belongs to Raphanus sativus in the Brassicaceae family, alongside cabbages and turnips. Red colour describes certain radish types rather than a separate species. Horseradish, Armoracia rusticana, is another plant in this family and should not be confused with black radishes or winter radishes.

The fleshy part commonly called the root is a swollen storage organ below a rosette of leaves. It may be round, oval or elongated. The skin is red or pink, sometimes with a white tip, while the flesh of many small radishes is white. A thin root continues below the swollen part. Outer colour and shape alone do not indicate how strongly peppery a particular radish will taste.

Leaves are green, variously divided and often rough to the touch. Their appearance contrasts with the smooth radish surface. If the life cycle continues, the plant develops a flowering stem bearing small, four-petalled flowers typical of the Brassicaceae family. Fruits containing seeds then form. The flowering stage is different from the stage in which a small radish has the texture desired in the kitchen.

‘Flamboyant’ and ‘Radis de 18 jours’ illustrate small, elongated red-and-white radishes. Commercial names do not guarantee the same growing time in every garden, however. Development depends on the type and conditions. Large winter radishes and daikon have a different size and growth pattern. They are not simply small red radishes left in the ground for longer, and their culinary qualities can differ too.

Texture and flavour change with age and growing conditions. A small salad radish can become hollow, fibrous or more strongly peppery as it ages, particularly in hot weather. It does not necessarily lose all flavour; its character may instead become too strong. Crispness and relative mildness reflect a balance specific to the variety and its development. The appearance of a red skin does not guarantee a tender centre.

In the kitchen, red radishes are often eaten raw, whole or thinly sliced, with butter and salt or in salads. They can also be cooked in a sautéed dish, changing their crunch and softening their character. In a vegetable garden, their compact size and generally short cycle suit limited spaces and containers. They offer a different crop from vegetables that occupy a plot for several months.

Red radish
Red radish
Characteristics
  • Lifecycle : Annual
  • Exposure : Partial Shade
  • Frost Hardiness : Frost Resistant
  • Cultivation Difficulty : Easy
  • Mature height : 15 cm
Sowing & Planting
  • Greenhouse crops : Unheated greenhouse
  • Greenhouse Growing : Not Required
  • Sowing Depth : 1 cm
  • Plant Spacing : 5 cm
  • Row Spacing : 20 cm
Maintenance
  • Maintenance : Low
  • Water Requirements : Moderate
Other characteristics
  • Soil Type : Humus-rich
  • Soil pH Preference : Neutral
  • Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
  • Disease Sensitivity : Low
  • Weed Sensitivity : Moderate
  • Pollination : Insect-pollinated
  • Propagation : Sowing