In zone 5, 30 miles southeast of Chicago. Will be grown in a large pot. I tried this seed last year, once in the spring in the ground and once in the fall. Not good results as I think it might have been too warm. Went to flower before forming decent roots. Can they be winter-sown?

I haven't grown those myself, but Johnnys Seeds has a generic suggestion that might or might not work for your area:

MiyashigeRadish
"For July and early August sowing."
Latin Name: Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus
Days to Maturity or Bloom: 50
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-7...

If you plant at the wrong time, sometimes Daikons will bolt to seed. The Daikon radish seed pods, eaten young and raw, are great and much less hot than the roots!

Plus, you can scatter radish seeds onto clay, scratch them in a little, and get some volunteers over the next few years. Sown this way, "they just know when to germinate" to produce roots.

Seeds of Change says:


Radish, Daikon, Miyashige Raphanus sativus

"Sow in late summer for fall harvest, as it will bolt to seed if planted in the spring."

http://www.seedsofchange.com/q...

Ohhhh - so no early spring sowing for me even though I thought these could be a spring/fall crop. Bummer. But that does explain the bolting last spring. It just goes from cold to warm too fast in the spring. Thanks for your advice!

No problem. A late spring planting was how I got my crop of radish seed pods.

Then someone told me: "Those are FALL radishes!"

Should I plan on sowing 50-60 days before first frost? That would be mid to late August when it's still pretty warm.

That should be about right for your area. I sow winter radishes around labor day in z8. Some of the winter radishes will tolerate spring sowing. Watermelon, April Cross, New White spring for example.
Minowase Summer Cross #3 Best fall planted.


Tae Baek winter only


Watermelon, does well spring or fall

They will grow under frosty conditions, but quit and get mushy when the ground freezes.

Thanks, farmerdill - I haven't actually "shopped" for daikon seed - basically ordering whatever seed companies have. I need to do a little more work on this I see.

Cindy--I'll check with the veggie growers for our MG group--i know they planted this variety last year. I don't think they planted especially early, but it was one of the last crops they harvested, and they were huge. Probably should have/could have been harvested earlier.

mom- Thanks in advance for checking with your MG group. I sowed seeds last year on 4/13 but ended up with lots of flowers and long, stringy roots. I did collect a few seed pods but left most of the roots in the ground to help break up clay subsoil for the next hopeful root crop.