When and how to plant Daikon in open ground

Sowing seeds

Planting daikon seeds can be done directly in open ground, or in containers (pots, containers) for seedlings. In the climate of the middle zone, the first method is more often used, since the daikon is a precocious culture, and with a summer planting it has time to ripen before the onset of cold weather, moreover, it is easier to sow the daikon immediately into open ground. With any method, the sowing technology is no different.

In order for the sprouts to appear as soon as possible, the seed should be prepared. There are several simple ways to do this:

• the first is easy stratification - the seeds are placed in well-heated water (50 ° C) for half an hour, then quickly cooled in ice water, and then placed in the refrigerator in the lower (vegetable) compartment for a day;
• the second - the seeds are poured with warm (about 40 ° C) water for a day, after which they are slightly dried;
• and the last method - the seeds are placed in a well-moistened cloth or gauze, and put in a warm place for a day.

Soaking the grains is only an opportunity to accelerate their germination from the soil, and not a necessary procedure. Many vegetable growers sow daikon with dry seeds in open ground or pots, but in this case, the soil must be watered abundantly, and then constant moisture must be maintained until sprouts appear.

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Growing seedlings

It is recommended to grow daikon radish with rounded or oval root crops through seedlings - varieties with long rhizomes do not tolerate transplanting and picking well, therefore sowing directly into open ground is preferable for them.

Planting dates depend on many factors: crop varieties, climatic conditions, expected harvest time, but on average, sowing is done about a month before transplanting to the garden - at this age, plants usually have 3-4 permanent leaves.

To obtain seedlings, the easiest way is to plant seeds in a special peat mixture (peat tablets), together with which they are then transplanted into the ground, but you can also plant them in ordinary boxes or pots. In this case, you need to remember that the root of the daikon is long, and so that the sprout is not cramped, the depth of the dishes should be at least 10 cm.

If ordinary soil is used for planting, then it should be mixed with peat and humus in equal proportions. Next, the prepared soil mixture should be watered well, and then the daikon should be planted to a depth of 1.5-2 cm.

To create the most favorable conditions for germination, the container is covered with glass or film and placed in a warm place. After 5-7 days, when the first shoots begin to appear, the shelter is removed, and the pot is moved to a lighted place. After the daikon has risen, caring for it consists only in periodic watering and loosening the soil.When the first pair of true leaves appears, the seedlings are thinned out, leaving the strongest plants.

Approximately two weeks before the intended transplant, the seedlings are hardened - they are taken out daily for several hours, gradually increasing the residence time until the plants can be outdoors for a whole day. During this period, it is important to ensure that the daylight hours for seedlings are not too long, otherwise the ground part of the plants will stretch out, and the roots will become weak.

Landing dates

The main and, probably, the only problem that vegetable growers face when growing daikon is the shooting of plants even before the root crop ripens. This happens because the landing dates have not been met. Daikon, like radish or radish, grows best in cool conditions (18-20 ° C) with a day of light lasting no more than 12 hours. With more daylight and higher air temperatures, the growth of the root crop stops, and the plant begins to release arrows and bloom.

To avoid shooing, it is necessary to plant the crop at the correct time: early spring, or in the middle of summer, when the length of the day is declining.

For mid-season and late varieties, the first half of July is considered the ideal time for planting; in the southern regions, this period may shift to the end of July or the beginning of August.

The duration of full vegetation of daikon is on average 60-100 days, but some early varieties mature even after 40-45 days, so they can be planted in spring - as soon as the snow melts.

There is no need to be afraid that the seeds will freeze. Daikon, like radish, perfectly tolerates small frosts, and is able to germinate at a soil temperature of + 3-5 ° C, therefore, planted in early spring, it will have enough time to ripen before the onset of the summer heat. At a later date (late April - early May), it is not worth sowing a crop, unless the goal is to obtain seeds. It is best to plant a daikon on seeds at the end of May, then by August it will be possible to collect planting material, but, again, it all depends on the variety.

The choice of planting dates in accordance with varietal characteristics is an important condition for a high and high-quality harvest. Carefully read the recommendations for sowing dates on the seed package, and be sure to adhere to them. In spring, only early varieties with a growing season of 1.5-2 months can be sown. Autumn varieties with a long ripening period should not be planted in the spring - they can immediately go to flowering, while skipping the phase of root crop formation.

Priming

Daikon is not picky about the soil. Some of its varieties are able to grow even in heavy clay soil, however, a loose sandy loam or loamy soil with neutral acidity is ideal for culture - in acidic soil, roots do not form, and plants begin to hurt.

It is advisable to prepare a garden bed for growing daikon in advance: for spring sowing in autumn, and for summer sowing in spring. If you have time, you can sow siderates - the daikon feels great in areas rich in humus. And so, first, the site is dug to a depth of 20-25 cm. If the soil is not fertile enough, during the digging, mineral (potassium sulfate 20 g, superphosphate 40 g) and organic (compost, humus 0.5 buckets / m²) fertilizers are added to it.

It is necessary to add lime to the acidic soil, but you should not apply it at the same time as fertilizers - it is better to do this two weeks before digging. Immediately before sowing the culture, it is recommended to add ash (1 glass / m²) - its presence in the soil significantly improves the taste of root crops. Daikon grows well after potatoes, dill, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers. It is not advisable to plant the crop after any cruciferous plants.

How to plant in open ground

Planting daikon, both by seed and seedling, is most often carried out according to the scheme of 30x60 cm, where 30 cm is the distance between the plants, and 60 cm is the distance between the rows, however, here it all depends on the variety. For varieties with round root crops, as well as with a voluminous aboveground part (tops), such a scheme is most acceptable, but for narrow and long root crops of small diameter, a more compacted planting is acceptable, for example, 20x40 cm.

Seedlings or seeds are planted in pre-moistened soil, in which holes are made (for seedlings), or long furrows for seeds, however, they can also be planted in shallow holes. In the furrows, seeds are placed in nests of 2-3 pieces at a distance of 20-30 cm, depending on varietal characteristics. Then the holes are covered with earth, compacted a little, and then mulched with a thin layer of peat.

Under favorable conditions, the first shoots appear 5-7 days after sowing. They easily tolerate spring night frosts, but in order to surely preserve the crops, it is recommended to cover the bed with a film at first at night, and to remove it during the day, when it gets warmer. When 2-3 true leaves appear, the plants are thinned out - the weak ones are removed, and the strongest one is left. Further care of the radish consists in watering, loosening row spacings and periodic hilling, since the roots of most daikon varieties protrude above the soil surface.

Landing before winter

Sowing a daikon in the winter is convenient in that it is possible to use the plots already vacated after harvesting for it. In addition, this method is often used in the southern regions, where spring is quickly replaced by summer, and it is not always possible to get a harvest of early root crops. Sowing in late autumn allows you to solve this problem, since seeds sown before winter sprout very quickly and early. In addition, podzimny sowing allows you to get not only an early, but also a better harvest, since the largest and healthiest specimens survive in severe frosts.

The technology of podzimnogo sowing in open ground is no different from summer and spring. However, it is important to meet the deadlines and not rush to disembark. Since daikon seeds germinate very quickly and at fairly low temperatures, there is a high probability of germination in autumn, in which case you can forget about the harvest. Therefore, it is better to sow the daikon in the wells dug in advance after the first frost, and add them to the frozen ground.

After planting, the bed is covered with a small (4-5 cm) layer of peat, leaves, or humus - this helps to maintain the looseness of the soil and prevent the grains from freezing. Until spring, no maintenance is required for the garden bed. When the snow melts, the mulch should be carefully removed and the surface shallowly loosened. Further care measures are standard: watering, weeding, hilling. Thus, with a minimum investment of time and money, you can get a fairly high yield of tasty and very healthy root crops.

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