How to properly grow radishes on a windowsill in winter: step-by-step instructions and useful tips

In winter, vitamin deficiency spares no one, and sometimes you just want the fresh crunch of a radish or cucumber. It would seem that it couldn’t be simpler: you can buy natural vitamins in the store all year round. But the environmental friendliness of vegetables out of season is questionable. Many city residents spare no time, no effort, no space to get healthy products even at home. Small vegetables are easy to grow in an apartment.

In this article we will tell you how to grow radishes on a windowsill in winter, we will help choose a variety and create the right conditions.

Radish varieties suitable for growing at home

Ultra-early or early-ripening varieties are suitable for growing radishes at home, since they do not require special attention and easily adapt to non-standard conditions. These include:

1. Heat. Hybrid with a ripening period of 25-27 days. It is distinguished by its delicate root vegetables with a sweet taste.
2. First born. Ultra-early hybrid with increased yield. Fruit weight – 30-35 g. Sets root crops in any conditions, resistant to bolting.
3. Cherriet. Hybrid of Japanese selection. Doesn't shoot and practically doesn't get sick. Despite the fact that ripening occurs only on the 30th day, the culture does not require special attention and takes root well in any conditions.
4. Camelot. Ripening dates are early, fruiting occurs on days 23-25. Ripe vegetables are round, slightly flattened in shape with excellent taste. Fruiting does not depend on light.The fruits do not lose their appearance and taste even in the shade.
5. Champion. An early ripening variety, demanding light. The fruits are rounded and elongated, weighing up to 20 g. The taste is excellent. Radishes go great with other vegetables. Marketable condition saves long time, resistant to fading.
6. 18 days. Ultra-early ripening variety with high yield. This is a real storehouse of vitamins. Vegetables of elongated shape with juicy, tender, without bitterness pulp.
7. French breakfast. Early ripening large-fruited crop. Ripe vegetables reach a weight of 40-45 g. The taste is without pungency, the flesh is juicy and tender. The shape of the vegetables is elongated, unlike the usual one.

What is needed for growing

First of all, to grow radishes in winter at home on a balcony or windowsill, you need a great desire to get a good harvest. Next, we select a suitable planting container and make high-quality soil from which the seedlings will receive all the nutrients necessary for growth.

Materials and equipment

You can grow radishes at home not only in winter, but all year round. To do this, it is enough to choose the appropriate equipment and properly prepare seeds to sowing.

Suitable containers:

• ordinary wooden box;
• Plastic container;
• paper or plastic cups.

It should be clarified that single planting will eliminate the density of seedlings in the future, which reduces the risk of the spread of fungal infections. In addition, the sprouts receive nutrients fully and evenly.

The method of growing radishes in egg trays deserves special attention. This technology is inexpensive and simple; nothing interferes with the growth of seedlings, which do not need to be thinned in the future.

To obtain nutritious soil, mix garden soil, humus and washed river sand in equal quantities. Radishes love a light and fertile substrate. Sand is added for lightness, and humus saturates the soil with additional nutrition.

Reference. According to the rules of crop rotation, land on which potatoes or cucumbers previously grew is suitable for radishes. The land where crops from the cruciferous family grew (cabbage, radishes, radishes) should not be taken.

You can also purchase soil for sowing at any gardening store. As a rule, such land is already prepared for sowing and does not require additional fertilizing and disinfection.

Optimal conditions

So how to grow radishes on a windowsill in winter? It is necessary to create conditions suitable for growth:

• maintain a comfortable temperature;
• provide lighting;
• prepare light and fertile soil;
• maintain optimal soil moisture;
• prepare a convenient container.

If these conditions for healthy growth are met, a rich harvest is guaranteed.

Preparation

The basic components of success are the creation of an optimal microclimate and proper preparation for sowing. The speed of germination and healthy growth of seedlings depend on pre-sowing preparation.

Seed material

By purchasing seeds in specialized stores, you can be sure that they have been disinfected and treated with additional nutrients for rapid germination.

All that remains is to germinate the grains and sow those that will sprout.

Place a cotton pad or a piece of gauze moistened with warm water in a small container, place the seeds on it and cover the top with the same moistened piece of gauze.

To prevent moisture from evaporating, cover the container and leave for 2-3 days.Until the grains germinate, be sure to check the moisture content of the gauze. If it dries out, moisten it with warm water.

Soil and containers

The soil needs to be light, loose, fertile and non-acidic. You can prepare the substrate yourself from garden soil, river sand and humus mixed in equal quantities. The finished mixture is poured with a hot solution of dark potassium permanganate to destroy pathogenic flora.

Fitosporin solution also performs a disinfecting function. It belongs to the contact fungicides, which are used to prevent and treat plants from fungal diseases. For greater fertility, a full range of minerals is added to the soil, so as not to feed the seedlings in the future.

The capacity can be chosen as a general or individual one. A wooden box is suitable for general containers, and plastic or paper cups, a plastic container or egg cassettes are suitable for individual containers.

Whatever container you choose, make small drainage holes at the bottom to drain excess water. Stagnant moisture increases the risk of developing fungal diseases, especially blackleg.

Planting containers, like the soil, are treated with a dark-colored manganese solution. Disinfected containers are filled with earth and slightly moistened with warm water from a spray bottle.

How to properly plant radishes at home

The procedure for planting at home is practically no different from growing on the site. First, fill the planting containers with soil. We fill two-thirds of the soil so that in the future, as the seedlings grow, we can add more soil. This technique provides additional nutrition to the plants throughout the growing season.

We moisten the soil with warm water and sow the seeds to a depth of 1.5 cm with a distance of 5-6 cm from each other. Sprinkle the top with soil or peat and moisten with warm water from a spray bottle. Cover the containers with film and leave in a dark room at a temperature of at least +16°C.

Reference. At temperatures below +16°C, the seeds will rot in the ground.

How to care for radishes

Radish is an unpretentious crop. Under optimal conditions, it does not require special attention.

Watering and fertilizing

Water as the top soil layer dries out. You should not flood the plantings, as excess moisture will cause root rot and the spread of fungal diseases. Water with warm, settled water from a shallow watering can.

During the formation of fruits, water more often and more abundantly so that the root crops gain mass. A week before the end of the growing season, we stop watering.

Due to the short development period of the plants, we do not feed them. They have enough nutrients added to the soil before planting.

Lighting

Radishes are not demanding of long daylight hours; ten hours of illumination is sufficient for them. Do not forget that when there is an excess of lighting, the crop begins to bolt, that is, to form flowers rather than root crops. Lack of light also negatively affects the plant - the seedlings become elongated.

In winter, radishes on the windowsill require additional lighting. To do this, we install phytolamps.

For full development, the optimal temperature during the day should not exceed +20°C, while at night we reduce it to 10°C. It should be remembered that at the initial stage of growth the temperature is always lower than during further development.

Reference. High temperatures (above +23°C) are detrimental to radishes - they form greens instead of fruits.

Thinning

We carry out thinning if sowing was carried out in a common container. When the plants form two true leaves, we remove weak seedlings so that they do not interfere with the champions. Maintain a distance of at least 5 cm between plants.

Disease and pest control

Excessive and untimely watering can cause fungal infections.. Blackleg is considered one of the dangerous ones. This is the collective name for many diseases that are characterized by darkening of the lower part of the stem (near the ground). Subsequently, the roots rot and the plants die. Blackleg spreads quickly and destroys all plantings.

It is not easy to cure blackleg, but seedlings can be protected by disinfecting the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate. If the seedlings become ill, immediately stop watering and moisten them with a solution of potassium permanganate.

For obvious reasons, indoor plants are least susceptible to attack by insect pests. Nevertheless, radishes grown in an apartment are sprayed once with “Fitosporin” to strengthen the immune system and destroy fungal spores.

Reference. "Fitosporin" is a contact fungicide that performs a preventive and therapeutic function in the fight against infections.

Harvesting and application

For one variety to fully ripen in the garden, 18 days are enough, while another produces a harvest only after three weeks. But at home, the ripening time of root crops is slightly delayed. It is difficult to unequivocally answer the question of how long it takes to grow radishes at home.

The growing season is short, no more than 25-28 days (if we are not talking about late varieties).The final growing season depends on the growing conditions. It is important not to miss complete ripeness, otherwise, when overgrown, the peel will begin to become rough and the root crop will crack.

Of course, you can’t grow radishes in large quantities in an apartment. Therefore, the harvested crop is used in private households for preparing all kinds of dishes.

Tips on the topic

A few tips will help in caring for home radishes:

1. Despite the presence of artificial lighting, the crop needs natural light. That is why plants are placed on a windowsill or balcony.
2. Radishes grow better in cool weather than in hot weather.
3. When growing in egg cassettes, it is necessary to cut a hole at the bottom of each cell and bury the container in a box with soil. Otherwise, the growing seedlings will not have enough space to develop the root system.
4. Water only with warm, settled or filtered water.
5. After watering, loosen the soil, ensuring air permeability of the soil.
6. Thin seedlings if they landed into a common container.
7. Observe temperature and humidity levels.

Fulfillment of these conditions will ensure a healthy, rich harvest.

Read also:

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

Unusual-looking and pleasant-tasting watermelon radish: why it’s good and how to grow it.

Sora radish is an early ripening and very popular among summer residents.

Conclusion

Having considered all the nuances of growing radishes in an apartment, you can safely begin winter sowing. The main thing is not to forget about lighting, temperature conditions, proper watering and thinning of seedlings. Then the plant will definitely delight you with juicy and crispy root vegetables.