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Freeport Gardening Guide: Radishes

This is a how to guide to help anyone get started in gardening.

Radishes

Radishes are hardy root vegetables grown for their crisp, colorful, and peppery roots. They can be planted multiple times in a season—and be ready to harvest in as soon as three weeks! Find out how to grow radishes and how to tell when they’re at their peak.

Radishes are an annual root vegetable and a member of the Brassicaceae or cabbage family, which includes broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, collards, and, as the name suggests, horseradish. The entire plant is edible—from root to leaves—and can be enjoyed raw or cooked. (See Cooking notes below.)

Seeds can be planted in both the spring and the fall, but sowing should be suspended when warm temperatures arrive (70 degrees or higher); this causes radishes to bolt, making them essentially useless. Otherwise, radishes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow. 

Because radishes mature so quickly, you can really sow them anywhere there is an empty space or sow in between rows of other vegetables such as carrots or beets. Radishes also happen to make excellent companion plants to help deter pests from other vegetables.

For more information on how to grow Radishes click the following hyperlink to Farmers Almanac Radishes.

For other resources please click on Cornell Universities Radishes link or click on Gardening Know How's Radishes link.  

 

Radish Seeds, Giant of Sicily:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). These large, 2-inch, round, summer radishes are bright red in color, have great taste, and good quality. We offer pure Italian seed for this heirloom from Sicily. This is a fast-growing crop, typically maturing within 30-45 days, depending on conditions.

Whole Giant of Sicily Radishes arranged on Tuscan plate with slices on brown background.

 

Radish Seeds, Blue Autumn:

Description:  A perplexing, purple-blue chunky tapered radish, with ivory-white flesh. These roots are not commonly found growing in the U.S. but are a popular hearty winter kitchen treat in Germany, where they are used in a multitude of dishes from savory hearty winter salads to robust warming soups like Rettich Kartoffel Suppe prepared with potatoes and radish. The tender white flesh is mildly flavored with hints of pepper, and these roots remain crisp and juicy even at larger sizes. These radishes are best sown in mid-late summer for fall and winter harvesting and boast the brilliant ability to store for extended periods after harvest when kept in a root cellar, cool frost-free shed or outbuilding.

Cut and whole Blue Autumn Radishes surrounded by slices on white background.

 

Radish Seeds, China Jade:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). A wonderful Chinese delicacy! It’s a daikon-type radish with the most glossy, smooth leaves and white, cylindrical roots that reach 6-8 inches. It is very similar to The White Icicle radish and ideal for fresh eating. We are enamored with this no-waste radish. Unlike other radish varieties, the leaves are free of spiny hairs and are tender, glazed, and sweet like spinach. Try this versatile variety from China in a stir fry, soup, salad, or whatever you can dream up! Sow in summer for fall harvest.

China Jade Radish with cooked radish greens and radish slices in a bowl on teal background.

 

Radish Seeds, China Rose:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). This fall-type radish from China has a piquant flavor rooted in ancient history. A carrot-shaped and cold-hardy fall/winter type radish, it grows about 6 to 8 inches long and 2 inches wide. Its texture and taste can only be described as scrumptious. We love the crispy, juicy roots sliced raw in salads and pickles, but they also lend themselves beautifully to cooked preparations.

China Rose Radishes in bowl with slices on a wooden background.

 

Radish Seeds, Chinese Red Meat:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). This colorful “Beauty Heart” radish of historic China has 4-inch round roots with white-and-green skin, but the magic is in its rose-red center, which is sweet, crisp, and delicious. A good radish to add color to salads and stir-fries. These taste incredible when harvested in the late fall or early winter, sweet and flavorful, almost like a crisp fruit. Sometimes called “Watermelon Radish” as well. Among the most important vegetables in our kitchens each winter. It is a root that most kids love and packs an extra load of antioxidants in its sweet, red flesh.

Sliced Chinese Red Meat Radishes on wooden cutting board with a pink knife.

 

Radish Seeds, Chinese Shawo Fruit:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). A unique bright green radish from northern China with a sweet flavor. Known in Beijing as a fruit radish, the roots are crisp and sweet, considered a tasty fruit substitute similar in texture and taste to pear. Northern Chinese winters are notoriously harsh; these long cylindrical radishes sweeten up when exposed to frost. This variety is traditionally offered as a sliced fresh “fruit” at opulent tea parties thrown to celebrate the famous Beijing Opera. We also love this super sweet root as a wintertime snack. Beautiful green goodness!

Whole and cut Chinese Shawo Fruit Radishes arranged in and around a bowl on dark blue background.

 

Radish Seeds, Cincinnati Market:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). These slender, scarlet-skinned roots have refreshing and piquant snow-white centers. Since the 1800s, gardeners and market farmers alike have found these gourmet radishes irresistible. Their eye-catching 6- to 7-inch roots and superior flavor earned them a glowing full-page write-up in the 1898 A.W Livingston's Sons seed catalog from Columbus, Ohio. It describes Cincinnati Market as "long-standing" with "delightfully pungent flavor" and as "the most handsome long red radish in cultivation. A tasty bite of Midwestern gardening history!

Whole and cut Cincinnati Market Radishes with a pink knife on white background.

 

Radish Seeds, De 18 Jours:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). This old French variety gives unbelievably rapid yields! The name translates as “of eighteen days,” and this radish will indeed yield roots in 18 days under ideal conditions! Round to cylindrical roots are red with white tips; the flesh is crisp and juicy. A French breakfast type, often grown under glass for off-season production.

De 18 Jours Radishes with a bolw of cut radishes on a dark black background.

 

Radish Seeds, Early Scarlet Globe:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). This is the classic round red radish. Its crisp white flesh is mild and tasty. It also has a better warm weather tolerance than many other varieties, making it a timeless staple in every garden.

A bunch of Early Scarlet Globe Radishes on brown background.

 

Radish Seeds, Easter Basket Mix:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). A magnificent mixture of some of the most colorful spring radishes on the planet. These easy-to-grow roots add lots of color and flavor to early spring salads. A rainbow of colors that consists of about 15 different heirloom varieties, making it the perfect option for those who want to try out different flavors.

Easter Basket Mix Raddishes arranged like rainbow of radishes on wooden background.

 

Radish Seeds, French Breakfast:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). This historic French heirloom dates back as far as pre-1885. It has a mild, spicy flavor, and a stunning red top with a white bottom. Its distinctive elongated shape makes it an attractive gourmet variety.

French Breakfast Radishes on a a vintage catalog page backdrop.

 

Radish Seeds, Japanese Minowase Daikon:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). A popular old Japanese favorite, valued for its culinary versatility and refreshing crunch. The giant white roots grow to 24 inches long and 3 inches wide. Sweet and very crisp, this radish is a delight pickled, stir-fried, steamed, or raw.

Japanese Minowase Daikon Radishes in a wooden Japanese box with slices in a Japanese bowl.

 

Radish Seeds, Japanese Wasabi:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). The energizing flavor found in plants like true wasabi and horseradish root can also be found in the Japanese Wasabi radish. This Daikon-type radish packs a wallop of tingling wasabi heat, making it a much easier to grow substitute for the famously finicky true wasabi root. If grown in the fall/winter, the flavor tends to be mild and sweet, but when grown in the spring/summer season it develops heat! We love to add the peppery flavor to everything, from grated atop stir fries and sandwiches to sliced paper thin to enhance a salad or your favorite Asian recipe.

Cut and whole Japanese Wasabi Radishes in a wooden box with a Japanese knife on cemente.

 

Radish Seeds, Lutea Carrot:

Description:  First noted as early as 1770, these uniquely shaped old-time radishes disguise themselves as a carrot. As bright as a buttercup, these are the most brilliant yellow-skinned radishes we have ever seen. Once a widespread and popular crop in the Austro-Hungarian empire, these golden yellow beauties are now rare treasures. A culinary marvel, it has a soft mellow flavor when raw and pairs perfectly for pickling and fermenting into krauts and kimchis. In Hungary, they’re often simmered into stews like Lecsó, a tomato and pepper casserole spiced with paprika.

A couple of whole Lutea Carrot Radishes surrounded by slices on a wooden background.

 

Radish Seeds, Malaga:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). These round or oblong roots are a very unusual color--deep plum purple/violet, so pretty in contrast with the snow-white flesh that is often tinged in violet! The roots are mild and stay firm and crisp over a long season. We are very excited to offer this Polish variety.

A bundle of whole Malaga Radishes in a blown glass multi-colored bowl.

 

Radish Seeds, Pink Dawn:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). Called Jurtzenka in Polish, which translates to "dawn" or "morning star". This is because the nearly round roots are an unusual rose-pink color. This radish is lovely in salads, on relish trays, and more. Makes nicely mild, sweet roots.

Whole and sliced Pink Dawn Radishes with coins on a white background.

 

Radish Seeds, Purple Plum:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). Here is one lovely radish, with its bright purple skin that makes this one of the most colorful varieties for marketing. The 1½” globes have sweet, crisp, white flesh that does not get pithy.

Close-up view of Purple Plum Radishes with slices and a purple handled knife on a white background.

 

Radish Seeds, Pusa Gulabi:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). This radish was bred to be high in antioxidants. The result: a gorgeous rose-pink color from skin to center. Pusa Gulabi, which means “rose” in Hindi, is a large, cylindrical, full-pink winter radish that is best for summer and fall planting. It’s a meaty radish with a nice spicy flavor and, of course, it contains anthocyanin and other healthful antioxidants. A beauty from India!

Cut Pusa Gulabi Radishes on a light background.

 

Radish Seeds, Pusa Jamuni:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). A glorious study in the magnificent colors of the natural world, this radish is a soft lavender-to-purple color from pith to skin and has an amazing, spicy flavor to match! An exceptionally nutritious root crop, this variety works wonderfully sliced thin and eaten raw or pickled, perfect for those who like a spicy, pungent radish. Market farmers will find this most rare gem is a show stopper with curious customers. This tasty heirloom will occasionally produce a few white-rooted radishes. An antioxidant-packed variety from India.

A close-up of cut Pusa Jamuni Radishes on a concrete background.
 

Radish Seeds, Red Beauty:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). We love this super-sweet Chinese variety. It is fully red from the skin to the heart, making for beautiful red pickles. It is delicious in salads, soups, and stir-fries and is just an unbeatable juicy, fresh-eating radish! This variety is also high in antioxidants, making it a nutrient-dense veggie perfect for the cool season when the winter vegetable selection dwindles. Expect a bit of variation in this variety; some roots will produce white centers.

Sliced and juiced Red Beauty Radishes with radish roses and a fan on a light background.

 

Radish Seeds, Red Rat's Tail:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). A completely unique variety you’ve never seen before. The Red Rat’s Tail radish is praised for its many tender, crisp, purplish seed pods rather than its root. The plants are exceptionally easy to grow, and highly rewarding, too, producing oodles of lightly, spicy pods that can be compared to a pungent green bean! Pick pods when they are tender and young, about 5-6 inches long. They can be eaten raw, cooked, or even pickled. A South Asian delicacy.

A close-up of Red Rat's Tail Radishes with purple blooms on wood background.

 

Radish Seeds, Round Black Spanish:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). This is a large 5-inch winter type, probably grown since the 16th century or before. It has deep, near-black skin and snowy-white flesh. The roots will keep all winter in good conditions. Fine, fairly hot flavor; good raw or cooked. Also called Noir Gros Rond D’hiver which is French for “black big round of winter.”

Round Black Spanish Radish with old coins on a gray background.

 

Radish Seeds, Sakurajima Giant:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). No other vegetable stirred Jere’s childhood imagination like the “Giant Radish” of Japan. It has been grown on the Island of Sakurajima since around 1800 and is still famous in southern Japan for its fine flavor and mammoth size. Some specimens have reached 100 lbs.! But it commonly grows to 15 pounds in its native land. It is started around the first of September and harvested in mid-winter. Fine texture and size make this the “King of Daikons”.

Sakurajima Giant Radishes arranged on table with a large Japanese book and calligraphy paint brushes.

 

Radish Seeds, Saxa 2:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). A popular European radish that matures super quickly! One of the earliest radishes we have grown. Bright red, smooth, round, perfect globes are crisp and delicious. Pretty and productive. Ready when tops are just 4 inches tall!

Radish Seeds, Saxa 2

 

Radish Seeds, White Hailstone:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). An early, old-time, white spring radish, this one is superb! Simply the best tasting radish we have tried, and many of our customers agree. It has a very mild and crisp taste.

Whole and sliced White Hailstone Radishes on a brown background.

 

Radish Seeds, Zlata:

Description:  (Raphanus sativus). The name means “gold’ in Czech, and the silky, russeted yellow roots look like orbs of pale gold. This variety is fairly spicy--Europeans love it! It resists splitting and bolting; excellent bunching type, and the young leaves are especially nice for greens.

Zlata Radishes whole and sliced showing their yellow skin with white flesh on a white background.