Harvest Radishes: Tips and Tricks

Features of harvesting radishes

Growing and harvesting crispy radish does not cause much trouble, of course, if you did not aim at an industrial scale of several hectares, but limited yourself to planting a vegetable on an area of ​​​​several square meters. m. But even if your root crop plantation has an impressive size of 1 or more hectares, there will be no additional difficulties in care, and the process will simply take longer. It is possible to facilitate the care of large-scale plantings on several hectares if you purchase special agricultural equipment, for example, a radish harvester.

In order for the beds with your favorite vegetable to give the maximum of root crops, the crop is harvested in several stages, with an interval of several days. As a rule, early varieties ripen faster, therefore, they can be harvested first of all, when plants of other varieties are still actively growing. If root crops of early varieties are left in the soil for at least a few days longer than the prescribed period, they will deteriorate very quickly. Radishes of late varieties require a longer period for full ripening, but they have better transport and preservation properties. Winter-grade radishes can be successfully stored in the soil even through the winter, though they need to be covered with a protective layer of mulch (such as straw).

As a rule, early varieties of radishes bear fruit within 30 days after sowing, winter varieties are ready for harvesting after 60 days. But regardless of the variety and ripening period, it is very important not to miss the moment when you can harvest. If this is not done on time, then the root crops will become flabby and lethargic, and also acquire a bitter taste.

Harvesting root vegetables

When harvesting root crops, great attention should be paid to their size: a mature radish should exceed 2,5 cm in diameter.

There are several rules when and how you can collect your favorite root crop:

• Before pulling the plant out of the ground, rake some soil from the top of the plant to determine the size of the root crop. All plants with a diameter of 2,5 cm or more can be harvested. If the root crop of the selected plant is still small, it must be sprinkled with soil to allow it to ripen.
• Since spring varieties require a shorter time to ripen, they should be checked as often as possible so as not to miss the right moment.
• If you are harvesting your radishes in the fall, plan your activities so that you have time to harvest before the first frosts come.

Radishes are harvested by simply pulling on the tops. If we are talking about industrial cultivation on an area of ​​​​several hectares, then farmers use a radish harvester – a great helper that can not only collect root crops with high quality, but also effectively clean them from tops. Such a harvester is simply indispensable if the task is to harvest radishes from vast areas of tens of hectares, while planting on several square meters. m can be easily processed by hand.

So, if, nevertheless, such a luxury as a combine harvester is not yet available to you, then we collect your favorite vegetable by simply pulling it out of the ground.

If the growing conditions were observed, and the plantings were properly thinned out, then you can easily pull out only the desired plant without harming neighboring root crops.

Immediately after harvesting from each root crop, you need to cut the tops. Sometimes green mass is used for cooking. A modern food processor is able to make a delicious salad out of it in a matter of seconds. But if such dishes are not for you – just throw it away.

Harvested radishes are stored in a refrigerator (or special refrigerators, if harvested from several hectares).

Seed collection

In order to get seeds, some of the plants will have to be left in the ground. It should be remembered that the roots of such plants will not be suitable for human consumption.

After the main plantings of radishes are harvested, the plants designed to give seeds continue to be looked after as usual. After a few days, pods will appear on them, in which seeds are formed: at first, each plant knocks out a stem, on which nondescript flowers appear, and these, in turn, quickly turn into pods.

When the pods begin to dry out and turn yellow, they can be harvested. Sometimes these seed pods are eaten – they are perfect for vegetable vitamin salads. If your goal is seed, then the seeds must be dried. Ready-to-storage radish seeds have a brown color and are stored in a hermetically sealed vessel.

As a rule, in order to get seed material that is enough for several square meters. m, a dozen or two plants are enough. In turn, in order to sow more than 1 ha, several square meters can be left for seeds. m of plants.

The rules for harvesting both the radish crop and its seeds are the same for all scales: when you have to manage a huge plantation of ten hectares, and if your garden occupies only a few square meters. m. Observe simple conditions for care and storage, and, possibly, the crop you harvested from 1 square. m beds will be better than many get with a hectare. Maybe the days when you will need a radish harvester are not far away? After all, the main thing in gardening is not the number of square meters. m of soil, but how to care for them.

Video “How to collect radish seeds”

This video demonstrates how to harvest radishes if you have left them for seed.