Once temperatures average below 75°F consistently, it feels like time to put our summer gardens to bed, but don't let the feeling turn into a missed opportunity. There is still time for quick-growing harvests of vegetables that thrive in cool temperatures. One of our favorite cool season vegetables is the radish and here are 5 reasons you should grow them, too.
- Radishes take less than a month to grow from seed, making them one of the easiest and fastest vegetables to grow.
- There are different types of radish and their flavors range from spicy to mild. All radish types have an unmistakable crisp texture and make a tasty addition to salad and slaw recipes.
- They survive hard frosts, down to 28°F, and their ideal growing temperature is 50-75°F.
- Radishes don't require much room to grow. If you live in an apartment, condo or have limited space to garden, then radishes are a must-try in a container. The container should be at least 6 inches deep and have drainage holes in the bottom.
- Fresh-from-the-garden vegetables always taste best. In addition, radishes keep well in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
Pro-Tip: Plant new seeds every few days over a 2 week time frame. This will provide a steady supply of radishes, rather than all the radishes being ready to eat at once.
Now that you know what's great about growing your own radishes, buy a seed packet and follow its directions for planting depth and spacing. To ensure a successful harvest, place the radishes in a location that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily and keep the soil slightly moist.
We'd love to see how your radish crop turns out. Share a picture with us on our Facebook page, My Garden Life.
