Daikon: planting and care, growing in open ground, when to plant

The diet of people who monitor their he alth includes vegetables with beneficial properties. Therefore, many gardeners are interested in complete information about the cultivation of daikon, its planting, planting dates and caring for the root crop that came to us from Japan.

Landing in open ground

Daikon is easy to grow if you know the characteristics of this culture. Most often, many gardeners fail due to errors with the planting date and the choice of a place for growing root crops. Having understood the intricacies of caring for and planting Japanese radish, you can grow large specimens weighing from 0.5 to 3 kg.

The characteristics of the root crop (weight, length, diameter, shape) depend on the variety, care and weather conditions. Radish of various varieties can grow in length from 10 to 60 cm, having a diameter of 4-8 cm. The shape directly depends on the variety. In open ground, daikon planting is carried out according to the schemes:

• 30 x 50 cm medium grade;
• 40 x 50 cm large-fruited variety.

Deploy the seeds by 2 cm. Before germination, moisten the soil from a watering can with a fine diffuser.

Choosing a seat

Choosing a place for a garden bed is a crucial moment that determines the quality and quantity of the crop. Planting a daikon in the shade (partial shade) is a gross mistake, which will result in a large amount of tops and small fruits, the shape and size of which will not match the description printed on the seed bag.

Characteristics of a site suitable for growing large Japanese radish:

• complete absence of shadow during the whole daylight hours;
• Year 2 non-Cruciferous crops were grown on this site;
• suitable soil (light loam).

Soil preparation

Autumn is a good time to prepare the soil for spring planting. If the sowing of daikon is planned to be carried out in the summer, then the soil is prepared in the summer after harvesting the predecessor culture. Soil structure is important for daikon, it grows better in loose soil.

Given the possible length of the root crop (60 cm), the soil must be dug deep. If you follow the advice of experienced vegetable growers, the ridge should be prepared using the following technology:

• remove a layer of soil to the depth of a bayonet shovel and set aside;
• dig up the area prepared in this way, adding humus to it;
• return the previously removed land to its original place;
• add humus at the rate of 3-4 kg/m²;
• apply mineral fertilizers (superphosphate, potassium sulfate).

You need to check the pH level of the soil. Daikon, as a representative of the Cruciferous family, prefers neutral or slightly alkaline lands. Lime is added to acidic soil once every 5 years. In the current season, the ash helps to normalize the pH level, the application rate is 2 st / m². Wood ash not only deoxidizes the soil, it serves as a supplier of micro and macro elements useful for daikon.

Selecting planting material

When choosing seeds for planting, you should always read the description of the variety, how to plant it, when and analyze whether it is suitable for growing in this climate.In the middle lane, early and mid-ripening varieties of daikon ripen. When planting late varieties of radish, small root crops grow. By applying different planting methods, you can successfully grow daikon in different regions.

The mechanical composition of the soil affects the quality of the grown crop. It is also necessary to evaluate the thickness of the fertile layer. Root crops of any shape grow well on loose soils. For clay soil and any heavy soil with a thin fertile layer, round or oval daikon varieties are suitable.

Growing seedlings from seeds

For spring planting, radish seedlings are obtained from seeds at home. To sow daikon seeds, use:

• peat pots up to 0.5 l;
• peat tablets;
• plastic containers at least 10 cm deep.

The soil (neutral, slightly alkaline) can be used both from the garden and purchased for vegetable seedlings. The seeding depth is 2 cm. Several seeds are sown in pots at the same time, after the appearance of the first shoots, the weak ones are removed. In phase 4 of true leaves, seedlings are planted in the ground.

Date of planting

If the planting dates are not observed, the daikon shoots and does not form a full-fledged root crop. For normal development, this plant needs a light day of no more than 12 hours and a temperature within 20 ° C. In the heat and with a long daylight hours, the root crop stops developing, the plant shoots an arrow, blooms.

To get a good harvest, you need to understand exactly when to plant a daikon with seeds, when with seedlings, and when to refrain from planting.

Using different planting methods (seeds, seedlings), vegetable growers plant daikon varieties with different ripening periods in different periods (spring, summer, autumn).For the middle lane and the Siberian regions, the right time for planting comes in July (from 1 to 15) or in the last days of June, in the south these are the first days of August.

You can plant a daikon before winter and at the very beginning of spring. Daikon seeds do not freeze, they germinate if the soil warms up to 3 ° C. In the spring, you need to sow very early, as soon as the snow melts, and only early-ripening varieties. At the end of April, you should not waste time sowing daikon, the roots will not have time to form before the onset of hot weather.

When to plant before winter

Gardeners have mastered the technology of sowing seeds before winter to get an early harvest of daikon in the spring in a seedless way. Landing should be carried out after stable low temperatures have been established. Seeds should not germinate in autumn.

The garden is being prepared while the weather is warm. Humus or earth for pouring into the furrows is poured into any container and stored in a room with a positive temperature. Landing furrows are planned on the dug up and formed ridge.

Seed consumption during autumn sowing double, sow thicker. Furrows are covered with prepared soil mixture. The entire surface of the beds is mulched with a thick layer of peat or humus. In winter, they throw snow on it if there is not enough of it.

Mulch is removed with the onset of warm days, after the land is completely free of snow. To speed up the germination of seeds, the bed is covered with a transparent film. As soon as shoots appear, they raise it on arcs.

Care

Daikon is an unpretentious plant, but you need to know certain features of care. List of main events:

• watering;
• weeding;
• loosening;
• feeding;
• control and prevention of diseases.

Irrigation Schedule

Daikon is a moisture-loving plant. It is necessary to strictly follow the watering schedule in order to grow large root crops with tender pulp. It is not worth pouring the radish, it is enough to maintain a constant soil moisture. The standard watering schedule for cool weather is once every 5 days. In the heat, you need to water more often.

To save water and retain moisture in the soil, gardeners mulch daikon beds with any available materials (dry grass, chopped bark, straw). Under a layer of mulch, the earth retains moisture longer and does not crust over. In the absence of mulch, the aisle should be loosened after each watering.

Weeding

During the planting season, the radish is weeded 2-3 times. Weeding needs deep. In addition to removing weeds, loosen the soil. With a good supply of oxygen to the root crop, it grows to large sizes.Shoots are thinned out several times, removing weak shoots and leaving the required distance of 30-40 cm between shoots. The interval depends on the variety, large-fruited species need a large area for development.

Feeding and fertilizer

On fertile soil, well fertilized with organic matter and mineral fertilizers, large fruits can be grown without additional feeding. If the soil is poor, then ash is used for top dressing, adding a small amount of mineral fertilizers to it. The first time ash is applied to the soil when 3 leaves are formed in the radish. With slow formation of root crops, the procedure is repeated after 3 weeks.

Diseases and pests

If the rules of agricultural technology are violated, the culture is affected by diseases. Constant waterlogging of the soil provokes a viral disease - bacteriosis. It is of two types: vascular, mucous.

Presowing seed treatment - prevention of all cruciferous diseases. Experienced farmers advise using the Planriz biopreparation. It can be used to disinfect seeds and subsequent treatments of plants from diseases.

Harvest and storage of crops

Harvesting a good harvest of large root crops is a pleasure. Fruits grown on light soils can be pulled out by the tops. Harvesting root crops growing in dense, heavy soil will require a fork to dig into the ground.

Cleaning is done when dry weather sets in. Root crops with mechanical damage, eaten by pests, with signs of rot are rejected, and high-quality fruits are sent for storage, after drying and cutting off the tops.

Daikon radish varieties

Description of the daikon, several of its popular varieties, varieties for the middle lane will help you make the right choice. It’s not worth pulling with him, because the time for planting Japanese radish is coming.

When choosing a variety, take into account the ripening time, how long can it be stored? For winter consumption, you need to select varieties that are stored for up to six months. Early-maturing varieties of daikon are suitable for fresh consumption in the summer-autumn season.

Sasha is an interesting, early maturing variety of daikon. The growing season is short - from 35 to 45 days. It is a round-shaped root crop with a white skin and pulp. The mass of the fruit does not exceed 400 g. Depending on the growing conditions, the weight can vary from 200 to 400 g. The diameter of the radish is about 10 cm, during growth, most of the fruit is above the soil surface.

For lovers of cylindrical fruits, the Elephant's Fang variety can be recommended. This daikon is mid-season. It takes just over 80 days to form a root crop weighing 500-600 g. The vegetable is 18-25 cm long and has a diameter of about 8 cm. This variety is good because it tolerates drought and guarantees a stable harvest.

Growing daikon is not a tedious task. Do-it-yourself root crops will add variety to the diet and benefit he alth.

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