Radishes.....how long until ready...no growth for a wk & pale leaves??!

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi all....sorry to mither the experienced bods on here yet again (!)...planted some cerybelle radishes in a long pot/tray...on 9 the April. Shoots appeared 2 weeks later...leaves are now paler (& less healthy looking-almost a tinge of yellow) & theres been no increase in growth really for a couple of weeks. Pulled one up & absolutely NO sign of any bulb growing...could the frosts this week (down to I think -1 or -2...remembered on one of the nights to cover it!) have stunted the growth??

I though radishes were ready 4-6 weeks after planting??? Pot/tray has drainiage holes in it & compost has john innes in it i think....any ideas? And how do you definatively know when they are ready/ They're only about 2 inches high...

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi all...can see in my e-mail I've had 2 replies but can't view them on here for some reason??! Could you (if you're online) re-post? Maybe my computers not well...just re-booted it too!

csnann

I think the cold weather we had has slowed them down - none of the veggies I'm growing have grown much in the past 2 weeks.

haycorns

How deep is the tray? Have they got enough room to grown downwards?

foxgloves

It's probably the cold nights. Most of our stuff is behind. Seed packets can say 4-6 weeks or whatever, but it always depends to a degree on the growing conditions.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi! Thanks for the replies! The oblong pot is 6 inches deep & seeds sown a good 10cm apart. Just watered in som wilkinson 'miracle grow' plant food (pack says to water weekly)-so wonder if that will help the pale colpured leaves?

bridgitonboat

Its been too cold. They do need a bit of depth and you will see the tops on the surface of the soil. When they start, resow every two/three weeks to get a good long summer crop.

Bridgit.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Bridgtonboat-wow-we posted at exactly the same time! Yup-sowing every 2 wks is a good idea....just bought some white radish seeds (28p at wilkinsons!!!)-& some 'french breakfast type 3' (??!) seeds-because apparently they are a good variety through the hot summer months (as other varieties are not that good in the summer...so I've been advised??)....could anyone confirm this to be true??

misskool

I'd plant them deeper and you don't need to feed radishes! They will bulb up in 4 weeks or so and you can tell when they are ready when they start pushing through the compost (you'll start seeing them)

Are you watering them every day? Plants don't need to be watered every day (especially when it's a bit cold). Stick your finger into the compost and see if it's dry. Or pick up the container. If it's light, water. If it's heavy, leave it.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Thanks Miskool...water every 3 days....must admit compost never looks 'dry' as I've mixed in some of those water crystals...any ideas on the varietys of radishes I've mentioned?

misskool

You shouldn't really have to mix in a water retaining crystal.

I grow standard radishes but yes, they don't like it too hot. Salad leaves and things associated don't actually need things to be too sunny, lettuce prefers a slightly cooler space so it doesn't bolt.