How To Do Organic Radish Farming In India

"Nothing beats the tangy crunch of fresh radish in a salad"

Fast and super easy to grow, radishes are a reliable year-round staple that will add their inimitable peppery crunch to salads and sandwiches. 

Best sown directly from seed, they will be ready to harvest in as little as 35 days during warmer weather or around 6-8 weeks in winter.  

Choose a full-sun spot - in summer, somewhere with protection from the hottest afternoon sun is ideal - and work through some compost to make the soil friable before sowing your radish seeds. 

• Sow the seeds in rows spaced according to the packet instructions. 
• Seedlings can be thinned out if necessary once they have two true leaves. 
• While the seeds are germinating, make sure the soil is kept moist. 
• Once they've sprouted you can lightly sprinkle the soil along the side of the rows with mulch to aid moisture retention. 
• For a really sweet, crisp crop, liquid fertilise your radishes every 2-3 weeks with a diluted certified organic fertiliser. 

The small mouthful-sized varieties of radish will be ready to harvest first, but the larger-rooted ones like daikon will need up to 60 days of growing before harvesting. Make sure you have a continual supply of radishes to harvest by resowing seeds every 2-4 weeks. 

Also, because they grow so quickly and are shallow rooted, you can easily put them amongst taller, longer-lived crops like tomato and corn.  There's nearly always space to squeeze in some radish seeds. They will even grow happily in pots, so they're perfect for sunny balcony or courtyard gardens. Protect young radish seedlings from snail and slug attack using beer traps or copper tape and maintain a regular watering schedule to prevent the roots from splitting. 

"Ideal companion plants, radishes grow well with other row crops like lettuce, spinach, parsnip, carrots and peas."

Varieties Of Organic Radish Farming

'French Breakfast' :

Oblong and scarlet with a white tip, this French heirloom has crisp white flesh and a mildly pungent flavour. A reliable winter cropper.

'Watermelon' :

This round radish is a bland white colour on the outside, but slice into it and you'll discover a blushing pink core which, with its white rind, resembles watermelon. A showstopper in salads or open sandwiches. 

'Black Spanish' :

With black skin and pure white flesh when sliced, this unique radish is loved by chefs and a great one for pickling.

Dalkon :

Large long, white roots that take longer to grow than the small round radishes, but the mild, fresh flavour is worth the wait. Used fresh or pickled in many Asian dishes, it can also be steamed or stir-fried. 

'Champion' : 

The classic bright red ball-shaped roots growing to around 4cm in diameter. Their crisp, white flesh with a mild flavour makes them great for salads and garnishes. 

Best Tip For Radish Farming

Though our word radish derives from the Latin for "root", you can also eat the leaves as radish greens as well as the taproot.

Scientific Details Of Radish

• Common name: Radish 
• Botanical name: Raphanus sativus (R. raphanistrum subsp. sativus)
• Family: Brassicaceae
• Aspect & soil: Full sun; well-drained soil
• Habit: Fast-growing biennial root vegetable
• Propagation: Seed
• Difficulty: Easy