Step-by-Step Growing Guide
Radish is the fastest vegetable in the garden, with some varieties ready in 22 days — making it perfect for teaching children, filling gaps between slower crops, and marking rows of slower-germinating seeds. Grow in any well-drained soil at pH 6.0–7.0; radishes tolerate poor soil but bolt in heat and become pithy in compacted ground. Sow directly 1cm deep in rows 15–20cm apart and thin to 5–8cm spacing — overcrowding is the most common reason radishes form no bulb. Sow in cool weather: spring or autumn, avoiding the heat of summer (above 24°C causes bolting and hollow, pithy roots). Succession-sow every 7–10 days for continuous harvest. Water consistently — 2.5cm per week — never letting soil dry out; drought causes the roots to become pithy, hot, and woody. No fertiliser is needed in reasonably fertile soil; excess nitrogen produces lush tops with tiny, all-leaf plants and no bulb.