Features of planting radishes in July

Radishes are a healthy and nutritious root vegetable; they contain not only vitamins, but also, for example, such an important element as iodine. Therefore, summer residents strive to grow this vegetable both in spring and summer, and sometimes even in early autumn.

In this article we will tell you how to plant radishes in July so that they do not go to waste and give a rich harvest.

Is it possible to plant radishes in July?

Beginning gardeners are concerned about the question of whether it is possible to plant radishes in mid-July.

Optimal length of daylight hours to obtain large and juicy root crops is 9-10 hours.

In June, when daylight hours increase to 14 hours or more, radishes move from development to reproduction. The plant shoots and does not produce a harvest (or the root crops will be small and tasteless). Therefore, radishes are not planted in June and early July.

But when sowing the seeds of this vegetable in the middle and end of July, excellent fruits are obtained. In the middle of summer, summer residents have several beds freed up. By the end of July, it becomes less hot, daylight hours are shortened - these are ideal conditions for growing radishes.

Varieties that are best grown in July

In July you can plant radish varieties that are resistant to bolting even with long daylight hours and high air temperatures. They are successfully grown in the summer, and the fruits are large, juicy and crispy.

The following varieties are distinguished:

• Sora - resistant to high temperatures, ideal for summer planting;
• Ilke - can be planted in July and August (ripens in 4-5 weeks), does not sprout and is well stored;
• Rebel has a pronounced, harsh taste, it can be planted all summer until the end of August;
• Carmen - the variety is not prone to flowering, the bright red fruits remain juicy for a long time;
• Dabel - this variety of radish also does not go into arrows;
• Vera - oval-shaped fruits do not crack or shoot;
• Pharaoh - it can be sown several times a season and gives an excellent harvest;
• French breakfast - suitable for growing from late April to early September;
• Diego - resistant to diseases and flowering, fruits weighing 20-40 g;
• Tarzan is an all-season variety of radish, resistant to high and low temperatures;
• Cherryat F1 - a hybrid for July planting, round-shaped fruits, excellent presentation, good keeping quality.

Features of cultivation during this period

The growth of the plant and the formation of root crops depend on the growing technology.. After all, if the plants form flowering stems, all the work will be in vain.

Preparing the site and soil

It is not recommended to sow radishes after horseradish, cabbage, beets, rutabaga and daikon. But plots of potatoes, tomatoes, peas, cucumbers and old strawberries are well suited for radish harvest.

For July planting It is better to choose a place with partial shade, since daylight hours are still too long for this crop. An area that is illuminated by the sun from morning until lunch or in the afternoon is suitable.

Replanting radishes in July, as a rule, occurs after the first vegetables are harvested, so the ground is already prepared.

Before sowing, all that remains is to fertilize the soil humus or compost (1 bucket per 1 m²) and wood ash (1 cup per 1 m²). The bed is leveled and watered, and sowing begins the next day.

Seed selection and preparation

To achieve a rich harvest, it is important to choose quality seeds. Each summer resident decides on a suitable variety himself, focusing on local climatic conditions and his own taste.

First, the seeds are sorted. The best seed is considered to be 3 mm long. Damaged and defective copies are thrown away.

Before planting, it is recommended to soak the seeds in water or damp cloth for 12-24 hours.

Planting technique and scheme

Summer residents use several sowing schemes. One of them involves the use of a match (also called “five by five”). This means that a distance of 5 cm is measured between the seeds, approximately equal to the length of a match.

If this method is inconvenient, then You can use egg racks: take the lattice and press its cells into the ground. This creates holes at the optimal distance.

There is another simple option. When it is planned to grow a few radishes, gardeners manually place the seeds in the grooves made with a hoe. On a large area it is more convenient to use a manual type mechanical seeder.

The seeds of this vegetable crop are planted to a depth of 1-3 cm (recommendations for a specific variety are indicated in the instructions on the package).

After sealing It is recommended to lightly press the soil above the seeds with your palm and water. This will help to obtain friendly, uniform shoots.

Rules of care

Sowing radishes in open ground in July is not difficult, but It is important to follow some rules for caring for it.

Thinning of seedlings

No later than a week after germination, young plants are thinned out, leaving a distance of 5 cm between them. This will allow you to get larger root crops.

Watering

For the first time, water the beds abundantly after sowing. Even if the seeds were previously soaked in water, it is necessary to water the crops. It is optimal to use water at room temperature.

Water with a watering can in a volume of 3-5 liters per 1 m² so that the soil is saturated with moisture to a depth of 20-30 cm. The soil must be constantly moist, otherwise the harvest of root crops will turn out “woody” and tasteless.

On hot days, young seedlings are watered in the morning and evening. After the root vegetables begin to fill, the frequency of watering is reduced to 2 times a week in cool weather and 3-4 times in hot weather.

The bushes are watered for the last time 5-7 hours before harvesting.: This way the vegetables will be stored better.

Fertilizer

To determine, what to fertilize with radish seedlings, pay attention to their appearance.

The leaves are large and bright, but there are no fruits yet. This indicates an excess of nitrogen compounds entering the vegetable in the garden. A reduction to normal is facilitated by fertilizing with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers diluted according to instructions.

Pale foliage and small roots. The reason is nitrogen deficiency, which can be eliminated by fertilizing with nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

Loosening

Radish is a fast growing plant, therefore, weeding is carried out only 2-3 times during the entire growing period.

After germination, the soil is carefully loosened to a shallow depth (about 3 cm), then deeper (up to 7 cm) to increase air flow to the roots.

It is recommended to loosen the beds after each watering or rain.. Loosening also helps get rid of small weeds.

Disease and pest control

Insects can cause wilting of cruciferous crops (which includes radishes) and reduce yields.

There are above-ground and underground pests that can spoil root crops. If the first signs of damage are noticed, act immediately:

1. A common pest is cruciferous flea beetles (black). They jump on the surface of the leaves and gnaw the tops, leaving holes in them. Ash and tobacco dust are used to combat them. If the population is small, it is enough to lightly sprinkle the plants with ash. For further protection, radish tops are sprinkled with a mixture of ash and lime (1:1 ratio) once every 7 days. This is done in dry weather, and after rains the procedure is repeated. In case of mass infestation by fleas, the drugs “Kaiser”, “Alfacin”, “Zolon”, “Arrivo” are used.
2. If the tops are eaten by caterpillars, they are sprayed with a mustard solution (100 g of dry mustard mixed with 10 liters of hot water, left for two days). Or they collect the caterpillars by hand.
3. Prevention from wireworms is the addition of onion peels to each hole at the time of planting radishes. If the pest is still detected, use the drug “Bazudin”.
4. The most dangerous pests of succulent vegetables are stem nematodes. They feed on the sap of the plant. Chemicals “Vidat”, “Dimethoate”, “Rogor” will help to destroy parasites.
5. Treatment with a soap solution (300 g per bucket of water) will help against aphids.

Radishes can get clubrootif it is watered too much. The fungus gets on vegetables from the ground or from humus. In this case, the bed is treated with lime milk.

If vegetables become infected with mosaic, the fruits slow down in growth, and the tops are covered with a mosaic pattern. The disease is carried by insects, or infection is transmitted through weeds. Sick plants are destroyed.

Vascular bacteriosis affects ripening radishes: the veins of the leaves turn black, and the leaves themselves turn yellow and fall off.The disease occurs due to too much watering (or periods of prolonged rain), as well as pest invasion. The plantings are sprayed with a 0.1% Planriza solution.

Attention! Most diseases appear as a result of violation of crop rotation rules. It is safe to plant radishes in the same place only after 3 years.

Harvesting

Early varieties ripen 25-30 days after planting, and if they are kept in the soil for only a few days, they will lose their taste. Root vegetables of late varieties take longer to pour, but are stored much better.

Radishes are harvested by pulling the tops. Before pulling a vegetable out of the ground, determine its size by removing a little soil from the top of the fruit. The diameter of a mature root crop exceeds 2.5 cm. Specimens that have not grown to this size are given the opportunity to ripen.

Immediately after harvesting, the tops are cut off from each radish. Store root vegetables in the refrigerator.

Other varieties and hybrids of radish:

A productive and easy-to-care variety of Duro radish

Caring for the Celeste radish hybrid to produce large fruits

Problems you may encounter

Despite the apparent simplicity of growing this juicy vegetable, the harvest does not always turn out the way summer residents expected. A It’s even more difficult to get quality root crops in July than in May. It happens that radishes grow crooked and small - this indicates a problem with the soil.

Advice from experienced agronomists

Heavy, clayey soils do not allow the development of large and even root crops. Therefore, the soil in such beds must be lightened. To do this, sand is scattered over the surface of the bed in a layer of 2-3 cm and dug up with the top layer of soil.

When the radish is “wooden” and goes into the arrow, this may be a sign of poor soil.To prevent this from happening, the beds are fertilized with humus or compost before sowing in July.

If the rules of crop rotation and agricultural technology are followed, and instead of harvest the arrows are growing and flowers, then the problem lies in too long daylight hours.

Important! When sowing radishes in July, you should not leave the beds in the sun all day. The plantings are covered with agrofibre 10 hours after sunrise.

Conclusion

Radishes planted in July will give an excellent harvest if you follow the rules of care and crop rotation. It is especially important to provide shade and abundant watering on hot days.

Timely control of diseases and pests will prevent them from destroying the juicy and crisp crop of root crops.