Black radish: planting and care in the open field, how and when planted

Many gardeners are engaged in growing black radish. This culture is easy to buy in the vegetable department of the store. But the root crop from your own garden is much tastier.

Dishes from radish diversify the country menu. In winter, it is a supplier of vitamins and microelements. Traditional medicine has accumulated enough recipes from the root.

Culture is easy to grow. It succeeds even with an inexperienced gardener. To get a high yield, you should follow the rules of agricultural technology.

Variety description

Breeders offer many varieties of black radish. They differ in maturity. Common signs:

1. The plant represents the cruciferous family. Relatives: cabbage, turnip, radish.
2. In the first year after planting, it forms a root crop. In the second - a peduncle.
3. Round-shaped root crop grows from 200 to 600 g. The skin is black, dense. The pulp is white, juicy. The taste is spicy, sometimes harsh.
4. The plant has green pinnately dissected leaves.
5. Seeds are small, dark, round.
6. By ripening time it is divided into early (40-50 days from germination to harvest), medium (50-65 days) and late (100-120 days) varieties.

The radish is unpretentious. It's easy to take care of her. A distinctive feature of the variety is cold resistance. The plant gives a consistently high yield.

Gardeners prefer growing winter (late) nigella. It has a denser and spicier flesh. Perfectly stored.

Seed preparation

For sowing, you can use purchased seeds or collect from previously grown radishes.

Getting your own material

Summer residents are interested in: how to get the seeds themselves. To do this, plant the root crop of last year's harvest. It should be straight, undamaged, with a he althy growing point.

The plant will release a flower spike. It should be tied up. To prevent the rash of mature seeds, it is recommended to tie the peduncle with gauze. After ripening, the stem should be cut, dried, then threshed.

Separate debris and stem particles from seeds. Store in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. The year of collection should be written: this will help to avoid sowing seeds that have lost their germination.

Pre-sowing work

Before sowing, the gardener should pre-treat the seeds. How to proceed:

1. Seeds from well-known producers are being prepared for planting. You don't have to do anything with them.
2. Own seeds should be tested for germination. Pour 20 pieces into a glass of water. Stir. The full ones will sink to the bottom, the empty ones will remain floating. Count the total, divide by 20 and multiply by 100. This is the percentage of germination. It determines how many seeds are needed for sowing.
3. Disinfect your own seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate. Dark pink solution.
4. To accelerate germination, soak in potassium humate solution for 30 minutes.

Some gardeners for hardening and increasing germination heat the seeds for 2-3 hours in a warm aqueous solution (40 degrees Celsius). Then they are washed in cold water and dried.

Radish planting rules

Nigerushka is an unpretentious culture. It is easy to grow in the garden. But you need to know agricultural technology. The size and quality of the crop depends on the exact implementation of the rules.

When to plant?

Summer residents are interested: they missed the sowing dates, is it possible to plant later. Compliance with the regime is necessary to prevent shooting culture. Radish is a culture of short daylight hours. With an increase in the length of the solar period, it throws out a peduncle.

Sowing time:

• April - early varieties;
• May - precocious;
• early-mid-July - winter.

Some gardeners remember: they removed the garlic - it's time to plant a winter radish.

Where to plant?

Culture loves sunny areas with light fertile soils. They must pass water and air. It is worth considering water runoff: the plant loves moist soil, but does not tolerate waterlogging.

Soil reaction: neutral or slightly alkaline. Acid is neutralized with dolomite flour, lime or ash.

When planting in any open field, it is required to observe crop rotation of vegetable crops. It is forbidden to plant radish after radish and other cruciferous representatives. Excellent predecessors are zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic.

When there is not enough space, it is recommended to plant radish as a compact crop for tomatoes, potatoes, onions.

How to plant?

To get a high yield, you should plant a plant in a square-nested way. The distance between adjacent holes should be 10-12 cm. Early varieties are planted thicker (8 cm), and later varieties less often (15 cm).

It is recommended to deepen by 2-3 cm. Sow 3 seeds in each hole. The soil should be kept moist until germination.

Features of care

Radish is an unpretentious culture. But requires some care.

Thinning

The event provides the gardener with even large root crops.

When 3-4 true planting leaves grow, it is recommended to thin out the first time. The weakest sprout must be removed. After 3 weeks, thin out again. The strongest sprout remains in the hole.

Loosening

The radish does not tolerate the crust formed on the surface of the soil. It is recommended to loosen the bed after rain. The procedure destroys the channels through which moisture evaporates. It should be remembered: loosening is “dry” watering.

Irrigation

The plant requires uniform soil moisture. The alternation of dry periods and irrigation leads to cracking of root crops.

Early varieties require moistening weekly, later - 2 times a month. It is recommended to water in the morning or in the evening (when the heat subsides). Water should not fall on tops. Drip irrigation should be provided.

Feeding

Early varieties need 2 dressings. In winter - 3. It is recommended to carry out the first top dressing with nitrogen after the appearance of cotyledon leaves. For other top dressings, a mineral complex (nitrogen:potassium:phosphorus) should be added. Feeding must be stopped 2 weeks before harvest.

Care of radish in color

Sometimes gardeners get flowers instead of harvest. Plants go to the arrow. There are several reasons:

• non-compliance with the landing dates;
• excessive dryness of the soil;
• thick plantings;
• no weeding;
• hot weather.

Compliance with the rules of care will avoid coloring.

Protection from diseases and pests

The root crop is affected by the cruciferous flea. To combat it, it is recommended to dust the plantings with ash or shag. Planting radishes and onions together gives excellent results.

To fight slugs, the edges of the ridges are sprinkled with lime or crushed eggshells. Some gardeners use insecticides.

The plant suffers from powdery mildew, mosaic. Prevention of diseases will allow compliance with the rules of agricultural technology. Sometimes it is wise to use a copper treatment.

Harvest and storage of crops

Radish should be harvested in a timely manner. Early varieties are dug up as they mature. They are recommended to be stored in the fruit compartment of the refrigerator. Term - 7-10 days.

Winter radish is dug up at the end of October before the first frosts. Forks should be used for harvesting: they injure root crops less.

The radish must be freed from the tops, dried in the shade and stored in the underground or cellar. Sometimes containers with crops are filled with sand. Humidity of 50-70 percent should be maintained in the room: otherwise the roots will dry out.

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