at a glance

Latin Name: Raphanus sativus (radish), Brassica rapa (turnip)

Sun: Full Life Cycle: Annual for eating; biennial for seed Ease of care: Easy
Direct sow or transplant: Direct sow Height: 6 inches for small salad types, 18 inches for large storage types
Container Friendly: Salad radishes & turnips yes; large storage varieties, no.
Microgreens: Yes Sprouts: Yes

Hailing from what we now call Southeast Asia, radishes have been cultivated for over 4000 years, moving west along
the Silk Road. Ancient Egypt celebrated radishes before the Pyramids were built. Ancient Greek and Romans records
describe a spectrum of small, large, round, long, mild and sharp varieties. Radishes are now beloved in countless cui-
sines across the globe.

Wild forms of the turnip are found throughout western Asia and Europe, where they coadapted with northern Euro-
peans extensively for at least 2000 years.

As you grow radishes and turnips, you are joining an immense legacy of humxns and plants coadapting and growing each other.
In what ways is your garden growing you this season?

types of radishes & turnips

Salad: When many of us imagine are quintessential storage radishes;
a ‘radish,’ we picture a small root, Purple Top and Black Spanish are
round & red, no larger than a golf ball. quintessential storage turnips.
Indeed, salad radishes and turnips are
petite as well as quick-growing: We’re Microgreens: Marvelously quick-
often savoring them three weeks after growing, any radish and turnip seed
sowing. There are many round as well will grow marvelous microgreens!
as long and narrow ‘icicle’ type radish- We especially love to sow old seed
es; turnips are mostly round. Though with potentially questionable ger-
crimson skin is most common in rad- mination as microgreens in winter.
ishes, a sumptuous spectrum of rose,
plum, burgundy, white and lime green On Radishes, Sweetness & Spice:
skin also exist. Salad turnips, like To- Radishes and turnips, though often
Like everything, the radishes we see at the
kyo Market, are often white though spicy, are not inherently spicy. Their
grocery store and even farmer’s market is a
some are scarlet and even lavender. fraction of the diversity that exists, which
spice is in fact a response to heat stress
is a fraction of the diversity that existed a as well as limited access to moisture
Storage: Often the size of baseballs century ago. Enjoy sowing and savoring the and nutrients. So if you love spicy
and even softballs, storage radishes extraordinary diversity of radishes, Friends! radishes, stress them out! Grow them
and turnips are often grown in fall in summer, in mediocre soil without
to overwinter in root cellars. With 50+ days from sowing consistent moisture: They’ll be spicy as well as fibrous and
to harvest (rather than 20+ for salad types), storage types may also send up a seed stalk even before their root is full-
are best sown in late summer so they mature into the cool size. If you’d love sweeter roots with a juicy crunch, sow
of fall. Sown in spring, maturing into the heat of summer, into rich soil with consistent moisture in cool seasons and
they’re often small, fibrous and spicy. Watermelon radishes in the shade (if at all) in summer.

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 sow
Direct sow: Like other root crops, radishes and turnips
struggle to thrive with the root disturbance of transplant-
ing, so direct sow them always!

Days to germ: 4 days in warm soil, 8 days in cool soil

Germination Temperature: Radishes and turnips are ex-

ceptionally tolerant of early spring soils, germinating in
temperatures as low as 40°F, 4°C. Optimum radish ger-
mination range is 55 to 85°F, 35 to 29°C.

Spacing within rows (a row may be a single row or a

~2 inch-wide band):
Salad radish: Sow ¾ to 1 inch apart, thinning to 1 seed-
ling every 1 to 2 inches for full-sized roots. Think outside the row! Though we usually sow in rows in our
Storage radishes and turnips (as well as rutabaga): larger gardens, when we grow radishes and turnips in containers we
Sow 10 seeds per foot, thinning to 1 seedling every 4 often sow a carpet of them rather than rows, sowing a single seed
inches. Enjoy the baby roots as you thin them out! every inch in a grid. Just be sure to thin as you do all roots! The
Salad turnip: Sow seeds 1 inch apart. If you love small thinnings above we washed and tucked on sandwiches for lunch.
turnips, don’t thin at all; thin to 2 inches apart for me-
dium and 3 inches apart for larger roots.
you’d love to savor your thinnings as they grow. Thin
To Thin or Not to Thin? One of the most challenging your seedlings before their leaves overlap to ensure they
facets of gardening, thinning is the fine art of creating are not competing above the ground for light or below
space for abundance to become. It’s counterintuitive that the ground for nutrients. Your first thinnings of radish
removing life might be conducive to life, but indeed, it and turnip will essentially be microgreens and you’ll be
is. You’re growing your plants to ultimately eat (kill...) harvesting baby roots as you continue to thin in the com-
them anyway, so make their lives less stressful along the ing weeks. Enjoy every bite!
way! Especially because the thinnings of so many plants
Spacing between rows: 12 inches
are delicious, it’s hugely worth overcoming your fear and
stepping up to the challenge. Have your cake and eat it, Seeding depth: Radish: ½ inch, Turnip: ¼ inch
too? Thin your radishes and eat them, too! As a general rule, sow seeds twice their depth. Radish
seeds are larger than turnip seeds, so we sow them just a
Our thinning mantra is ‘early and often’ because it’s best bit deeper.
to thin younger rather than older plants, especially if
When: Undaunted by frost, radish and turnip thrive in
the coolness of spring and fall. Growing sweeter with the
abundant moisture of these seasons, radishes and turnips
are always among the first seeds we sow as harbingers of
spring.

Growing in Containers: Salad radishes and turnips are

easy to grow in containers though large storage types
generally do not thrive. The bigger the container and
richer the soil, the greater the chances your roots will be
delicious as well as abundant. In our experience, radishes
can grow in containers holding less than 10 gallons of soil
though they truly thrive in 10 gallons or larger.

Also, in containers, think outside the row! Though we usu-

ally sow in single or or 2-inch rows in our larger gardens,
when we grow radishes and turnips in containers we often

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Radishes are harbingers of spring, though not all are sown in spring! With 50+ days from sowing to harvest (compared to 20+ for
salad types), storage types like watermelon radish are best sown in late summer so they mature into the cool of fall.

sow a carpet, sowing a single seed every inch in a grid leav- before first frost and sow another succession 2 to 3 weeks
ing the outer two inch diameter of the container unseeded. later. These second successions often mature brilliantly,
Since the weed pressure is generally less in containers and even if frost comes early.
there is no need to navigate paths through, paired with their
modest nutrient requirements, a carpet of radish is a very Let’s Talk Frost & Fall: In the first decade of Fruition
effective use of space. Just be sure to thin as you do all roots! Seeds growing in Zone 5, first frost came between mid-
September and mid-October. How to determine frost
Succession Sowing: Because they grow so quickly, salad dates as climates change? First, ask as many local growers
radishes and turnips can be sown and harvested from early as you can! Second, ask google and you’ll find maps as well
spring to mid-fall. We sow every three weeks for contin- as sites you can enter your zip code; see what patterns arise
ued abundance. Here are some keys for growing radish from several searches. With that benchmark, keep in mind
and turnip all season: that frost dates are increasingly variable so err on the side
of frost coming early just to be sure there is ample time for
Spring: Once snow has melted and the soil has drained roots to grow as large as you’d love.
to be able to sow, we often sow salad radishes and turnips
between early and late April here in Zone 5. Resist sowing Common mistakes:
storage types in spring, Friends! We’ll soon share why. ~ not thinning
~ thinning too late (after leaves are overlapping)
Summer: Once we approach final frost (mid-May in Zone ~ sowing watermelon radishes and other storage types in
5), we only sow salad radishes and turnips in the shade of spring rather than late summer
larger plants (like peas and tomatoes) to reduce their heat-
stress and resist becoming spicy and fibrous in summer. We Companion planting: Since they grow so quickly, salad
also sow salad radishes, one seed every six inches, as we sow turnips and radishes (except watermelon radish and other
carrots! Learn more in our companion planting section. storage types) can be grown easily alongside slower-grow-
ing plants like peas, lettuce and even in the shade of toma-
Fall: Timing is everything! toes in summer. Just be sure to not crowd your plants and
harvest your roots before their leaves are overlapping with
With 50 to 60 days from sowing to harvest (compared to
their surrounding company!
20+ for salad types), storage radishes and turnips are most
sweet, crunchy and succulent sown in late summer as they
Also, we love to interplant radish among our carrots.
mature into the cool of fall. Sown in spring and matur-
Here’s the thing: Carrots often take 2+ weeks to germi-
ing into the heat of summer, storage types often grow
nate, even in the height of summer. Meanwhile, the weed
small, fibrous and spicy, so resist sowing them prior to two
seeds are shooting to the sky! Since radishes sprout in just
months before fall frost, early/mid-August here in Zone
a few days, we sow a single radish seed every six inches
5. For full-sized storage roots, sow no later than six weeks
in each row of carrots, allowing us to see where the car-
prior to frost.
rots are planted even if they haven’t emerged yet. If we
For all inquiring minds, as Petra’s mother loves to say (!), need to weed along the edges of the row (very likely, so
this window is also the optimal timing for rutabaga. sadly!) before they emerge, we have radishes to guide us.
As the carrots are emerging, we’re harvesting the young
Timing for salad radish and turnip is less exacting, hoo- radishes to ensure they’re not competing with each other.
ray! We sow our first salad types for fall about one month Enjoy!

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 cultivate
Soil: Radishes and turnips thrive with full sun in deep, Pests: Flea beetles emerge in spring and though their minute
loose and fertile soil with ample moisture. Like all root munchings are tiny and damaging only to aesthetics, they’re
vegetables, they struggle to thrive and grow large roots easily thwarted by floating row cover comprehensively cov-
in compacted or dense clay soils. As noted above, spice is ering your plants, with or without hoops. Cabbage root
a sign of stress, often too much heat or too little water. maggots can also significantly savor your roots before you
do, though they’re also easy to control with floating row
Radish: Optimum pH range 5.8 to 6.8 cover, too. This pest pressure is especially strong in spring.
Turnip: Optimum pH range is 6.0 to 7.5
Diseases: We rarely see diseases on our radishes and turnips
Fertility Considerations: Be sure to test your soil, if here in the Northeast, though here are four that may arise:
you haven’t in the last year; our Soil Testing Made Simple Alternaria leaf spot, white mold, clubroot and blackleg.
will set you up for success. Incorporating compost and
other organic soil-building fertilizers prioring to plant- Here are the easiest ways to prevent disease in all plants:
ing will make a tremendous difference. Nutrient-dense soil grows healthy plants with vigorous
immune systems; overcrowded plants are more susceptible
Thinning: Thinning is crucial to grow full-size rad- to disease; water soil rather than leaves in the morning
ishes and turnips. Thin seedlings as soon as their first true rather than evening to reduce leaf humidity. Crop rota-
leaves appear. Great news: these thinnings are delicious! tion always helps! Finally, disease-resistant varieties make
Continue to thin as the weeks go by, enjoying tender, a huge difference, though even disease-resistant varieties
baby roots as you make space for your largest roots. For may not thrive with cultural practices.
more about thinning, see page 2.
Season Extension: Radish and turnip are cold-hardy
Weeding: As with all direct-seeded crops, it’s important plants that will feed you abundantly in fall, though they
to stay on top of weeding to give seedlings the chance to succumb to deep winter here in Zone 5. Floating row cover
grow without competition. Once plants are established over hoops (available on our website), cold frames and other
(and won’t be hindered by it), mulching is an excellent means of season extension allow you to plant later and still
way to reduce weed pressure while retaining moisture. harvest full-size roots later into the fall and even early win-
ter. In our high tunnels, we’re often harvesting radishes
Feeding: If you’re eager to boost the health and nutri- for the holidays. As a general rule, several light frosts won’t
ent-density of your radishes and turnips, foliar feed or damage radishes and turnips, though several hard frost will
root drench every two weeks with dilute fish emulsion greatly reduce their quality, so we tend to harvest them all
or compost tea. before the serious frosts become consistent.

harvest
Salad radishes: Radishes can and 50 days. If you don’t
be harvested and enjoyed at plan to enjoy your radish-
any size, though they’ll be- es and turnips within one
come fibrous if left in the week, resist washing them
ground longer than 3 or 4 to prevent moisture loss.
weeks. If you don’t plan to
enjoy your radishes and tur- Storage Radishes & Tur-
nips within one week, resist nips: We begin to harvest
washing them to prevent these roots once they’re the
moisture loss. size of a baseball, often 50
to 60 days after sowing. In
Salad turnips: Young roots the right conditions, they’ll
can be harvested at 30 days quickly swell to the size of
(and are smoothest, creami- This is my father, Ralph! Harvesting a D’Avignon radish a softball! Once they size,
est and turnip-sweet when we’ve been selecting for a decade! Countless generations of harvest anytime before con-
small); full-sized roots are humans and plants are embodied in each seed. Also, these sistent hard frosts to store for
often harvested between 40 radishes often grow hollow and pithy once they grow larger. the winter.

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 Radishes and turnips grow in a vast spectrum of colors, shapes and flavors respond-
ing to both nature (genetics) and nurture (environment). While variation is always
expected (think of the variation in people!), ‘squeezed’ roots (far left) are often a
response to stony, clay soils while spice is a stress response to high temps as well as
limited water and nutrients.

storage
Though we only ‘store’ salad radishes and turnips as skin and leaves at their crown will store the longest. To
pickles and kimchi (see our recipes and harvest preserva- protect your crowns while harvesting, resist pulling from
tion tips on pages 7 and 8!), storage types can easily sur- the stems and dig gently instead, doing your best to not
round you with delectable abundance all winter and even damage the root with your tool.
through spring.
Especially if you’re hoping to store your storage radishes
Here are the simplified steps to storing your radishes and and turnips all winter, give your roots a wide berth as you
turnips through the winter at home: dig them. We often place the digging fork one foot away
~ shake off excess soil in garden from the roots, just to be sure we don’t puncture any roots
~ remove all the top greens, leaving only a scant inch of stem unintentionally. Enjoy any roots that do break within a
~ tuck in a closed plastic bag and refrigerate week or two! To store radishes that are intact, shake off
excess soil but resist washing your roots, since a layer of
And here are some deeper details to set you up for greater soil helps them store. After snipping back the foliage to
success: within 1 inch of the root, tuck your radishes into a closed
bag in the fridge, washing only those you’ll enjoy for the
Maintain the Crown Though we don’t support oli- next week or two. In root cellars, radishes and turnips are
garchies (!) we do respect that storage roots with intact stored at 32°F, 0°C with 98% relative humidity.

seedkeeping
Life cycle: Salad types are weak biennials; storage types period (at or below 45°F, 7°C for at least 6 weeks) to trigger
are strong biennials. a seed-producing response once re-planted; salad roots have
no ‘required’ vernalization though 10 to 20 days in the fridge
Strong biennials like watermelon radish are crucial to is optimal to prevent early bolting in future generations.
grow as biennials; weak biennials, by contrast, can be
grown as annuals in many climates. If you’re sowing salad radishes and turnips for seed in
one season, sow your roots as early as you’re able. Once
As biennials, radish and turnip roots need to experience cool they’re large enough to make selections, remove all but
temperatures (ie, winter) for a period of time before they’ll their tiniest apical leaf buds and tuck in a (labeled!) bag in
send up flowering stalks. Storage roots require a vernalization the refrigerator for 10 to 20 days before replanting.

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Whether you’re re-planting salad or storage roots approx- to ‘heal over’ before re-planting to prevent rot: Look for
imately as deep as when they were harvested, leaving 1’ the moist cut edge to turn matte. This may take an hour to
between as well as within rows. They’ll soon sprout leaves one day, depending on temperature and humidity.
and send up seed stalks, funneling all the energy stored in
their roots into the next generation becoming. Since flow- Wet or dry seeded: Dry
ering stalks can be quite tall, trellising to prevent stalks
from falling over is optimal, especially in humid climates. Seed Cleaning Notes: When harvesting turnip seeds,
harvest single branch-
Self or cross-polli- es or entire plants
nated: Both radishes when the green pods
(Raphanus sativus) and turn gold. As you’re
turnips (Brassica rapa) looking for ripening
are cross-pollinated seed on any brassica,
though, as unique ge- keep in mind they
nus/species, they don’t flower from the bot-
cross with each other. tom up so they ripen
Brassica rapa also in- from the bottom up.
cludes napa cabbage and Turnip seed pods will
broccoli raab, so be sure shatter when mature,
to check in with your so harvest onto a clean,
latin names and main- hole-free cloth or tarp.
tain an isolation dis- For smaller quantities,
tance of at least one half harvest seed pods into
mile or cage your plants After vernalization, we re-plant each root in spring and if you’ve never a clean, dry bucket.
seen them go to seed, it’s quite astonishing: Each darling radish and turnip
so they won’t cross.
down at your feet sprouts a dozen or so spires rising five feet or higher,
Compared to quickly
bursting into hundreds of blooms, turnips canary yellow and radish white,
Minimum Popula- shattering turnip seed
both mustard-y sweet. Pollinators flock to the ruckus with long, green pods
tion Size: All living emerging from each pollinated flower, turning to gold as the seed matures.
pods, radish seed pods
populations suffer from do not shatter on the
inbreeding depression; a minimum of 20 plants and ideally 50 plant, making for an easier harvest and more forgiving
or more is optimal for radish genetic diversity and resilience. harvest window. Harvest the dry, brown seed pods and
dry them further on screens with fans: The crispier the
Qualities to select for: Root color, shape and smooth- pods the easier the seed processing will be! Open radish
ness; leaf quantity, architecture and strength. Overall vigor seed pods by hand or (gently!) with a mallet. Use fans and
with early emergence is always a fabulous selection metric! screens to separate the chaff; watch our seed keeping video
Flavor is difficult to select for in salad radishes and turnips, tutorials to set you up for success.
since they’re so small and tend to not survive once cut.
Storage types may be tasted and evaluated for internal col- Seed storage & viability: When stored in optimum
or by cutting off either a circular ‘cheek’ of one side of the conditions, radish seeds hold their germination up to 6
root or a thin, narrow slice. Either way, allow the wound years. Enjoy our Secrets of Seed Storage blog for more tips!

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Insight & inspiration daily! FruitionSeeds @fruition_seeds

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 our varieties: Salad Radish
Organic Organic
D’Avignon Sora Radish
Radish Gloriously easy to grow,
HEIRLOOM Beloved we love Sora’s classic
in France, we are quite cherry-belle, bright red
smitten ourselves. and round! So vigorous,
Thriving in the cool of we’re often harvesting
spring and fall, we’ve Sora three weeks after
been known to tuck we sow her, munching
D’Avignon beside to- her delectable thinnings
matoes to grow in the and it’s impressive how
shade, even in the heat of summer. sweet her roots can stay, even as she sizes.

Storage Radish

Organic Watermelon Radish

HEIRLOOM If we are what we eat, let’s be this beautiful! We just love these massive,
crisp and marvelously juicy watermelon radishes, so sweet without any radish heat.
Harvested before a hard frost and stored well, watermelon radishes are easily enjoyed
all winter in curries, soups, roasted and grated fresh as salad and slaw! We also ferment
watermelon radish in our kimchi each autumn.

Salad Turnip

Organic Tokyo Market

Sweet, petite, juicy and mild, Tokyo Market is not your average turnip! Bright white
and bite-sized, we love Tokyo Market raw in salads or on the grill, roasted or as a
fabulous snack right in the garden. At Fruition, we sow these luscious turnips in spring
and fall, the same timing as salad radishes, since they remain juicy and mild in the cool
weather.

Preserving the harvest:

We love to pickle radishes and turnips with vinegar as well as lacto-fermentation. Dill, garlic, curry
powder, juniper berries: There are so many flavors to pick for your pickles!

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 Microgreens
It’s easy to surround yourself with microgreen abundance! Enjoy Fruition’s free online mini-course, Microgreens Made
Easy where you’ll find step-by-step video tutorials to keep it simple and fun. We love to savor microgreens all winter
long and can’t wait to share everything we’ve learned with you!

Organic Organic Purple

Confetti Mix Radish for
Radish Microgreens
A kaleidoscope with a Gorgeously vibrant with
touch of spice, purple a touch of spice, we’re
and green radish micro- often harvesting purple
greens are one of our fa- radish microgreens ten
vorite feasts for our eyes days after sowing. Here
as well as our taste buds, are enough seeds to sow
tossing them salads and three 10″ x 20″ trays!
sandwiches often ten
days after sowing. Here is enough Confetti Mix radish
seed to sow three 10″ x 20″ trays, enjoy!

Recipe Inspirations:
~ radishes and turnips are delectable raw, grilled, roast, pickled or fermented ~
An ingredient (or main ingredient of) a salad
An ingredient (or main ingredient) of slaw
Dipped in hummus or baba ganoush
In a sandwich or wrap Kabobs on the grill
Tacos with radish escabeche Sliced roots in ramen
Nachos with radish Radish Raita