©Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Family
Brassicaceae
Botanical Name
Rhaphanus sativus 'Cherry Belle'
Plant Common Name
Cherry Belle Radish, Radish
General Description
Some classic vegetables, like the 1949 AAS winning radish 'Cherry Belle', never lose their popularity. To this day, most seed vendors carry seed for the perfectly round, bright red, deliciously crunchy radishes. Roots are ready to harvest only 26 days after planting.
The beauty of radishes is they are easy to grow and fast. Like many crops in the cabbage family, these natives of Europe and Asia grow best in mild, cool weather, so they are best grown in spring and fall where summers are hot.
This annual root vegetable is best known in its round, red-skinned form, but radishes may also be elongated and pink, white or very dark in color. They have a crisp, juicy texture and a mild and sweet or hot and spicy flavor. Hot flavor can be cultivar dependent but also becomes more intense when the plants are subjected to higher temperatures. Radishes can be harvested as early as three weeks after germination, depending on the cultivar. Days to harvest vary from 25 to 50 days.
The plants are bushy rosettes of coarsely lobed leaves with a strong arugula-like smell. After a few weeks, the bulbous roots mature. It is not advisable to wait too long to harvest radishes. If you pick them past their peak of ripeness they can become hollow, woody or develop a stronger, less palatable taste. It is rare to see radish flowers because plants are harvested before they bloom. Once the plants bolt, or send up flower stems, they can no longer be eaten. The blooms are small, white, four-petaled and borne in loose clusters. Long siliques filled with black seeds follow pollination by bees and other insects.
This is strictly a seed-grown crop. When temperatures are cool during the day and above freezing at night, sow rows of seeds directly in the ground. Cover them very lightly with soil and keep evenly moist but not wet. When they germinate, thin seedlings as directed on the seed package, four to six inches is the most common spacing width. Radishes grow best in full sun and fertile, friable soil with good drainage.
