Radish "Blue Autumn and Winter"

Here's what's ahead:

• Quick-Start Guide

• Getting Started

• Sowing

• Transplanting

• Location

• Care

• Harvest and Enjoy

Quick-Start Guide

Do you prefer to keep your garden a device-free zone? We get that. We’ve drawn up a cheat sheet with the most important information about sowing your thyme, so you can take it with you into the garden. Just print out our quick start guide.

Quick-Start Guide [A4 Format]

Getting Started

Radish "Blue Autumn and Winter" is a rather rare variety of root. The elongated, violet turnip with white flesh was used as a medicinal plant by the ancient Egyptians. Its juice is said to have a cleansing effect thanks to being so rich in vitamin C and key minerals.

You can start growing the radish indoors, or save yourself some work and just sow directly outdoors from June. These plants are all about instant gratification, as it only takes about 4-8 days for the first seedlings to sprout!

Important information at a glance:

• Germination depth: 2-3 cm, dark germs

• Germination temperature: 12-20 °C

• Germination time: 4-8 days

• Prefer house/harvest: March-April/August-October

• Sow outdoors/harvest: June–August/September–October

• Row spacing: 25 cm

• Plant spacing: 10 cm

• Root depth: 40 cm

• Location: sunny to semi-shady

• Soil: humus rich, loose soil

• Type: Medium Eater

• Plant Family: Cruciferae

Sowing

Pre-sowing in pots:

You can pre-sow your radishes indoors and later transplant them.

Here's what you'll need:

• Potting soil

• Growing pots or bowls

• Shower-ball, spray bottle or other preferred watering device

• Calendar sheet with seeds

You can start growing indoors as early as March. To do this, fill the growing pots or growing bowls with growing soil. Then use your finger to drill holes about 2-3 cm deep in the soil - one hole in each pot – in the seed tray. Be sure to space the holes roughly 2 cm apart, so the plants have enough space to grow. Then tear the calendar pages up into small snippets, each containing one seed, and place the snippets into the holes. Close the holes and place the pots or bowls near a bright window. Be sure to keep the soil moist until germination.

Direct sowing outdoors:

You can also sow your radish seeds directly in your garden.

Here's what you'll need:

• Vegetable soil

• Pot or bed

• Shower-ball, spray bottle or other preferred watering device

• Calendar sheet with seeds

From July you can sow the radish directly into an outdoor bed or in large pots. To do this, simply make grooves in your bed at 25 cm intervals, roughly 2-3 cm deep. The snippets of seed-paper should then be distributed in the grooves at a distance of 10 cm and slightly pressed to the ground. Close the grooves, water the soil, and then...just wait! Just be sure to keep the soil moist here as well.

Transplanting

Here's what you'll need:

• Pricking stick or spoon

• Vegetable soil

• Larger pots (possibly)

When direct sowing, the seedlings only have to be transplanted if they grow too close together. You should prick out radishes that have been grown early after about 3 weeks. Using a pricking stick or spoon handle, you can gently lift them out of their shells and then place them individually into larger pots. As long as it's not freezing outside, the seedlings can also be planted directly into your vegetable patch. Just be sure to leave enough space between plants.

Location

Radishes like a sunny to partially shaded location. They get on well with many other plants and are therefore perfect candidates for a mixed culture. Here are a few examples of bed neighbours that will get along well with your radishes, as well as those that you shouldn't plant next to them. We don't want any awkward situations in bed...

Good/bad neighbours:

Good: bean, pea, strawberry, carrot, lettuce, chard, parsley, spinach, tomato, zucchini

Bad: cucumber, types of cabbage, cress, radish, onion

Care

It is important that radishes get enough water. You should water them regularly, especially during dry spells. The soil should be loose and have a high humus content. You can increase the humus content, for example, by regularly mulching or by spreading garden compost. The humus allows the soil to store moisture better and does not dry out as quickly. You can find more information about mulching here.

When it comes to nutrient requirements, radishes are "moderate-feeders", i.e. they need a reasonable amount of nutrients. You can read exactly what that means for your radishes and for your garden as a whole in this article.

Harvest and Storage

After 3 to 4 months you can finally start harvesting. Finding the right time is not that easy. If you wait too long, your radishes can become woody. It is generally better to start harvesting a little too early than a little too late. Just pull one of the radishes out of the ground as soon as you can see a turnip base. If it's still too small for you, let the others continue to grow.

The "Blue Autumn and Winter" variety of radish is a popular vegetable for storage. You can store it in a dark and cool place, for example in your basement, for up to 3 months. We like to fill a box with sand and bury our radishes in it. This will allow you to enjoy them long after you've harvested them all.

Enjoy

Thanks to its mustard oils, this radish has a pleasantly sharp taste and can be enjoyed in many different ways. For example, it works well in a salad, as a topping, as a juice or as a nice garnish on a snack plate. If you eat radishes raw, the spicy aroma really takes centre-stage!

Radishes are also rich in vitamins A, B and C, contain many minerals and have an antioxidant effect. The perfect combination of delicious and healthy!