Raphanus sativus var. niger
Black Winter Radish
Common names: Black Radish, Winter Radish
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 20 cm, rows 30 cm
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Sowing
- Jun–Aug
- Harvest
- Sep–Nov
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below −5 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: San Juan del Sur · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Black Winter Radish, botanically Raphanus sativus var. niger, is an old root vegetable for autumn and winter. Its rough, almost black skin encloses firm, white flesh that tastes noticeably sharper than radishes and summer radish. Depending on the variety, the roots are round and about the size of a fist, or 15 to 20 cm long. Above ground the plant forms a strong rosette of rough, pinnate leaves. Unlike radishes, it is sown in summer, harvested from September to November, and then stored in a cellar for several months. In the kitchen it is peeled and finely grated or cut into thin slices for bread, salads, and as a spicy side dish. Sprinkling it with salt and letting it rest briefly makes it milder. A proven variety is 'Runder Schwarzer Winter'.
Care instructions
Sow Black Winter Radish directly into the bed from late June to mid August, 1 to 2 cm deep in rows 30 cm apart, and thin later to 20 cm spacing. Sowing earlier causes it to bolt, because long days trigger flowering. It works well as a succession crop after early potatoes, peas, or lettuce. Choose a sunny spot with loose, deep soil free of stones, otherwise the roots grow crooked. Water evenly, since alternating between dry and wet causes the roots to split or become spongy. A crop protection net placed directly after sowing keeps off cabbage root flies and flea beetles. Harvest the roots from September to November, before nights become colder than minus 5 °C. Twist off the foliage, leave some soil on the roots, and store them in damp sand in a cool, frost-free place, which provides a supply until spring.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingJun–Aug
HarvestSep–Nov
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 5 °C, ideally 18 °C
- Days to sprout
- 4 to 8 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 1.5 cm
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, well-drained, loamy, sandy
The black winter radish likes loose, deep, humus-rich soil that holds moisture evenly. Sandy loam is ideal; heavy, stony or compacted soils produce crooked, forked roots. Fresh manure and fresh compost also make them fork, so the soil should be well supplied from the previous crop, but not freshly fertilised. A pH in the neutral range keeps clubroot down.
The winter radish belongs to the brassicas and shares clubroot, cabbage root fly and flea beetles with cabbage, radishes, mustard and rocket. Choose a bed where no brassica has stood in the last four years, including green manure of white mustard or oilseed radish.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Jul
As a follow-on crop, the black winter radish usually needs little fresh fertiliser; what is left from the previous crop is enough. If the bed was lean beforehand, work only a little mature compost in shallowly when sowing in high summer. Too much nitrogen and fresh manure make the roots fork and turn watery, and their storage life also suffers. If the foliage is pale, a single dose of diluted nettle feed helps.
Overwintering
The black winter radish is grown as an annual crop and harvested before winter. The foliage tolerates light frost and the roots withstand brief frost down to about minus 5 °C, but in a hard frost without snow cover you should harvest them. Store them at 1 to 5 °C and high humidity, best in slightly damp sand in a box in the cellar, and they keep for several months. Check stored roots regularly and sort out any that are rotting.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
You propagate the black winter radish from seed and sow it directly where it is to grow, because transplanting easily produces branched, crooked roots. Sow from the end of June to mid-August, 1 to 2 cm deep; in warmth the seeds germinate after a few days. If you want to save seed, overwinter a few strong, undamaged roots frost-free, plant them out again in spring and let them flower. The plants then grow over 1 m tall and cross with other radishes that flower at the same time.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
legume family (Fabaceae)
particularly well establishedLeguminous plants collect nitrogen in the soil, from which Brassicaceae benefit as heavy feeders.
For example PeaBush beanPole beanBroad beanSnow peaWrinkled pea and 36 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
carrot family (Apiaceae)
You can pair celery and dill with all Brassicaceae because they repel the cabbage whitefly with their scent, a proven companion.
For example CarrotCeleriacDillParsleyFlorence fennelCoriander and 21 more species in the catalogue
Source: Bio-Gärtnerei Mixed-culture Practice
mint family (Lamiaceae)
You will notice that the intense scent of basil, thyme, and others confuses the cabbage whitefly and keeps it away from the cabbage family.
For example LavenderThymeBasilRosemarySageHyssop and 43 more species in the catalogue
Source: bio-gardening intercropping practice
nasturtium family (Tropaeolaceae)
Nasturtium serves as a trap plant for you. Aphids and cabbage whiteflies prefer it over the brassicaceae next to it.
For example NasturtiumMashua
Source: Trap plant practice in organic horticulture
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Black Winter Radish yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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