The Rover radish

I’ve tried a few different radishes over the years, but none better than the Rover radish. This one is an F1 or hybrid radish, which means it’s the progeny of a cross between 2 inbred radish strains. You’ll grow radishes in cool weather, and the best radishes are grown in the fall when the weather is cooling and the days are getting shorter. For example, this year I planted the seed on September 6. Radishes grow quickly, and I harvested the first full size radishes about a month later. What’s nice about the radish is you harvest over a number of weeks, as the smaller ones grow in size. I’m still harvesting radishes in November.

You don’t need to sow the seed in rows. Till a rectangle, say 2 feet by 4 feet, and make the soil as fine as possible so the seeds get good contact with the earth. Remove the big pebbles. Fertilize the soil with some organic mix.

Then sow the seeds right on the surface, and take a rake and gently work the seeds in. Water well, and keep the soil moist over the next 3 days or so, this is essential for good germination. You may have to thin out some of the radishes, but also keep in mind that these don’t mind growing close together. Fertilize frequently with some fertilizer tea, which is a handful of organic fertiizer mixed with water in a watering can that’s left to steep overnight. This is also important, it’s pretty much guaranteed that your soil is not that fertile, here in the Nyack Community Garden (we’ve done a number of soil tests that confirm this).

Brian O.