Watermelon Red Meat Radishes
Raphanus Sativus

Kitazawa Seed Co.
200-220 seeds per packet

days to maturity: 60-70 days
plant spacing: 4-8 per square foot
sunlight requirements: 10-14 hours
look out for: thinning is critical, and full sun
harvest notes: harvest at any age and size up to maturity date
annual

This unique round variety has white skin with green shoulders. When sliced open, the sweet and juicy flesh is a pink red color. Good for planting anytime throughout fall, winter and spring. This radish is very popular with chefs because its a delicious way to add a splash of fuscia to a plate, and can be really pricey at the grocery store which we think is super annoying because its so easy to grow! Large meat radishes store very well in the fridge with their greens removed so you can grow a patch of these and keep them in the crisper for up to 2-3 months and they wont go bad.

Radishes are super easy to grow in a raised bed and we are always encouraging beginners to try them out. The main key to planting radishes in your garden is to start them from seed, properly thin them once germinated, and give them enough sun to keep them growing fast until harvest. Radishes can be eaten at any part of its life, from a 10 day old sprout (thats micro greens!) to a mature radish date (its not recommended to leave them in the ground past their maturity day because they will get woody). While thinning them is critical you can take advantage of the space by leaving too many radishes in, then harvesting half of them young, making room for the remaining plants to mature properly. Radish flavor is greatly effected by temperature and the amount of time it took to grow them. Radishes grown in the hottest time of the year or grown too slowly end up very spicy, whereas radishes grown in cooler weather and at the appropriate speed of growth end up the most palatable. We always recommend that home gardeners make note of the date that they planted radish seeds and their “days to maturity” and keep good track of their progress. If they don’t look like radishes by the maturity date don’t keep waiting, harvest what you’ve grown, eat it (remember, all parts of the radish plant are edible at all growth stages) figure out what you did wrong (improper thinning, not enough sunlight, etc.) and try again.

Direct seed radishes straight into your garden and thin to 2-3" apart about 10 days after germination.