2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
The middle of summer is approaching and, it would seem, everything that is possible has already been sown and planted, it remains only to harvest. But how depressing the beds that were deserted after early crops look … It turns out that they can also be used with benefit - to sow daikon! The second half of July and early August are the most suitable time for such an event. If you plant this Japanese radish too early, in May-June, then it goes into the arrow. But when sown in the second half of summer, the vegetable will delight you with a powerful juicy root crop
Features of Japanese radish
What should you know about daikon? This root vegetable belongs to the cabbage family. This means that after cabbage it is better not to sow it, as after other cruciferous plants. The best precursors are onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, and potatoes.
The soil under the daikon should be cultivated deeply - by about 60 cm. This root crop can be very surprising in size, in particular, in its length. For example, such varieties as White Fang, Elephant Fang, Quedlinburg, under favorable conditions, can be up to 1 m long. And the weight of such unusual giants reaches 5 kg or more. So it is recommended to carefully read the description of the variety when choosing a seed, especially if the daikon is new to you and you have no experience in caring for it yet.
Daikon has a rather delicate juicy taste, there is no bitterness, like a radish. It is used in recipes for vitamin salads. This is a low-calorie product, but it is very rich in vitamin C. Another valuable quality is that daikon, unlike other root crops, accumulates a scanty amount of nitrates and heavy metals. Harmful substances accumulate mainly in the green top, which just needs to be cut off.
Presowing soil preparation
Before sowing, the soil is filled with compost or plant humus - at the rate of 1 kg of fertilizer per 1 square meter. the area of the beds. It is better not to use manure, this negatively affects the taste of the vegetable. Instead, green manure tops can be repaired. But here, too, you need to be careful about the choice of useful plants. For example, green manure such as mustard also belongs to cruciferous crops.
Sowing daikon and caring for the beds
It is convenient to sow seeds in two rows, keeping the distance between the holes of about 25 cm. The row spacing is left about 60 cm. Seedlings will appear on the soil surface in a week. With a thickened planting in phase 2 of real daikon leaves, the daikon is thinned out.
Planting care consists in weeding, loosening, watering. Moderation should be observed in moistening the soil. Daikon will be damaged by both drought and excess moisture - in the latter case, this threatens the emergence of foci of mucous bacteriosis. As for loosening, at the initial stage of development, they are carried out deeply, and then the soil is loosened only superficially.
Regarding top dressing, then on a well-seasoned area with fertile land before sowing, you can do without them. But when the composition of the earth is far from ideal, you can use as top dressing:
• nitrophosphate - 25-30 g per 10 liters of water;
• wood ash - 1 glass per 1 sq. M. area.
It is recommended to start feeding after thinning, and it should be finished 3 weeks before harvesting.
Of the pests, the cruciferous flea is terrible for the daikon. In the fight against it, the gardener's assistant will be a decoction of onion peel and large celandine. For its preparation, take a handful of such a collection per 1 liter of water. Dusting with ash with tobacco dust also helps.
Harvesting and storing daikon
Daikon ripens within a month or two. It depends on the variety chosen. You need to harvest in dry weather. It keeps well in the cellar. Can be refrigerated. The optimum storage temperature is within + 3 … + 5 ° С.
On several copies, when trimming the tops, the apical bud is left for storage. These root vegetables need to be planted in the spring so you can harvest the seeds from them. To do this, after cutting, the stems must be dried and then threshed. Such seed will have its advantages over purchased ones - they will already be adapted to the climatic conditions of your region.
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