Cyclopedia of American Horticulture 



RADISH {h'aphaints so/irns). Tlatt' XXXI. TIm' 

 Kiidish is oni? of the must })opul;ir of ^^anleu ve^-etaltifs. 

 It is of quick growth, and tlie product i^ seeun.Ml at the 

 time of the year wht-u fresli vc,t,''('tahl(_'s are in deniauii. 

 In order that Radislirs may he <>f ttie best (jualirv, tlipy 

 should have niaih' a rapid '.i,n-<.\vt.li. The s..il sli.Hihl he 

 rich, li^-ht and hiosc. — (.ne that <trains readily and dnes 

 nut bake witli hra\ y raiiis. Radi^ll(■s tit lor the talde 

 may he had in three tu six weeks fnnri the sowing, de- 

 pending on the variety and the " (|uickiii^ss " of the s(dl. 

 They are often grown as a catidi-crup with other vr^^e- 

 tahles. They may lie sown in the rows with early heefs, 

 peas or other crojis. aiid they are usually mature enough 

 for US'' before they seriously interfere with the main 

 crop. Sometimes seeds of Radishes are sown in the 

 rows of slow-germinating things, like carrots and par- 

 snips, in order that the seedlings may mark the row and 

 thereby facilitate tilhiire. Many of the Radishes may 

 be allowed to remain long enough to produce an edilde 

 tuber. Aside from the rout-magiiot, the Radish is rela- 

 tively free from inserts arel diseases. Wlien the root- 

 maggot appears in any ]>lai'e, it is usually best to discon- 

 tinue the growing of l^adjslies in that art-a for two or 

 three years, until the- iiis(-i-ts have beeii starved out. 

 The maggots may be kilh'd by an injeidion of bisulfide 

 of carlmn into the earth about the [dants; hut this is 

 usually more expense than the product its worth. Early 

 Radishes may he grown in hotbeds or coldframes with 

 the greatest ease, and in these places they are usually 

 less subject to the attacks of the cabbage maggot, since 

 the crop is iu;ituri-d in atlvance of the nuiggot season. 



Radishes ;n-(- readily forced in the winter months. It 

 is necessai'y that tlie house he light. The soil should he 

 a sandy loam, free from silt and clay. It is best to grow 

 Radishes in solid beds ratlier than on benches. They 

 thrive best in a low tenipcrature. The temperature 

 during the day should not exceed 05° to 7o° in the shade, 

 and at night it may drop to in'^ to 50°. If the tempera- 

 ture is too high, and jiarticuiarly if the plants are given 

 bottom heat, the plants tend to run to top rather than 

 to root. The seeil is usually sown in rows frtnn d-S inches 

 apart, and tliey ai-e thinned in the row until they stand 

 2 or 3 inches apart. In order that the crop shall be uni- 

 form and mature simultaneously, it is advisable either 

 to sift the seed or to transplant, the young Radishes. 

 Galloway has found liv exjieriment that Kailisli seeds 



nuns In i (titini cxi)eiim( nt hi sciui'd from two 

 l)ounds of cunimeK nl seed I*)^2 ouum s of Inge set d 

 in- 1 ounees mu ill s( < d the nmxmdtr hi nig luts of 

 grai el sticks mdoth^i impuiitn s Tin <hi<t% dm of 

 this SOI ting [i( s m iht ^n it* i iniitoimiU t th f n p 



-"^ 





2060. Long- Gcarlet Radish 'X ^). 



two-twenty-tifths of an inch in diameter are too small 

 to give a satisfai-tory and uniform crop. Ifr- tbcrefore 

 advises that seeds be vnn through sii^vcs witli a rni'sh 

 of that diameter in ord'T to separate the small sperd- 



20til. A dainly bunch of Radishes ( < /ij). 



Almost every ])la.nt can Ihen bo ridied upon to reach 

 ]naturity. It is tin- practice in some houses to trans- 

 jilant the young Radishes. The seed maj- be sown in 

 flats ur in beds at one end of the house, ami when tin- 

 Radishes have made two or three leaves, they are trans- 

 planted into permanent quarters. In this u|ieration, all 

 the small and weak plants are discarded and the crop is 

 therefore more uniform. It is sui"ii)oS(.-d liy so]iie grow- 

 ers, also, that the breaking of the tap-root in the process 

 of transplanting tends to make the tuber shorter and 

 thicker and to induce an earlier maturity. By means of 

 transplanting, the use of the house may be econonnzed. 

 Whilst one crop is growing, another may be started in a 

 seed-bed or in flats. As soon as the lirst crop is re- 

 moved, the ground may be thoroughly raked, fertilized, 

 and the new plants put in. In some cases the 

 new crop is transplanted between the rows 

 of the old crop a few days before the latter is 

 removed; but, unless the soil is rich and in 

 good condition, it is better to wait until the 

 crop is removed in order that the land may 

 be thoroughly fitted for the new plants. Rad- 

 ishes are often forced in connection with let- 

 tuce, and they thrive well in the same tem- 

 perature. The varieties most used for forc- 

 ing, as also for the early spring crop in the 

 garden, are the globular or half-long kinds. 

 ^Vith these varieties, a depth of soil of 4 

 inches is sufficient for good results. 



The Ra<lish is variable in size, shape, color 

 and consistency of root and in season of ma- 

 turity. Varieties maybe classified as s].)ring, 

 sunniier and winter Radislies; or as globu- 

 lar, half-long and hmg Radishes; or as red, 

 white, gray and hlark"Radishes. Figs. 2(JG0- 

 2062 show some of tlie forms. 



The origin and luitivity of tlie Radish are 

 questions of dispute. For geographical rea- 

 i sui'iiosed that tliC Radish is wild in temper- 

 ]u-obably in the oriental part, although truly 

 s Radislies are not yet known. Not infre- 

 lio Radish runs wild aliout gardens, and in 



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