Radish Seed Plants

Radishes are ready to eat in 20 to 30 days.

Radish seeds are small, round black seeds that grow quickly into either spring or winter radish plants. Most spring radish plants are ready to eat in 20 to 30 days and winter radish in 55 to 60 days. Winter radishes are also known as the Daikon radish. Both types are used as companion plants for beets, carrots, spinach and parsnips. Radish plant's strong, spicy smell helps repel harmful garden insect pests.

Heirloom Radishes

White Icicle Radish was known in the 19th century as White Naples, White Italian and White Transparent. It has a long, tapered white root, crisp texture and it thrives in all types of soil. Heirloom radish seeds can be saved at harvest's end to plant the following year. French Breakfast radish is also an heirloom plant, introduced to the seed market before 1865. Its rosy scarlet color and elongated olive shape distinguish it among radish varieties. It comes to harvest 20 to 30 days after the seeds sprout.

Radish Plant Growth

Spring radishes are a hardy annual that easily endures cold weather and frost. Its dark green leaves develop in small rosettes with a bulb-shaped root which is edible. The bulbs are crisp and spicy tasting, becoming bitter with age. Each type of radish cultivar has a color range of white to pink to red. The Plum Purple cultivar has small, bright purple bulbs. Daikon and Icicle radishes have white skin and white piths.

History

Wild forms of radish are found in the western region of Asia and in Europe. Turnip and mustard plants are botanically related to radish and their domestication began in these areas. Records from early Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations describe radish as a part of their cuisine. Gold replicas of radish plants were offered to Greek gods, indicating its value to that culture. In the western continents, radishes were cultivated by early Colonial settlers in the 17th century.

Nutritional Value

Radish seed plants are low in calories and high in flavor; 1/2 cup (12 radishes) contains only 12 calories but a measurable amount of vitamin C, potassium, folate and fiber. Both Daikon winter radishes and all varieties of spring radishes contain these nutrient amounts. Daikon is recommended as a digestive aid when consuming fried food. Traditional Chinese medicine uses radish as a food that helps clear up excess mucus conditions.

References

• Seeds of Change: White Icicle Radish
• University of Illinois Extension: Radish History & Origin

Resources

• Texas A & M University Extension; Asians Eat Giant Radishes;