Harvesting Radishes

As the month of May draws to a close, so does the window of spring weather ripe for growing radishes. Here in Denver, temperatures over the Memorial Day Weekend consistently soared well into the 80's. Sure, the tomatoes are absolutely loving the warm spike, but the radishes won't hold out much longer. Luckily, they won't have to! Having sprouted roughly twenty four days ago, it's time to begin harvesting radishes. That's right, it's radish harvest time!

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When to Harvest Radishes - 

Most radish varieties are very quick to grow and will be ready for harvesting in less than a month! The French Breakfast radishes I've chosen to grow are labeled as ready for harvest in as little as 23 days. Remember, the number of days labeled on radish seed packets refers to the amount of days from seed germination, not planting. Of course, this number can also be effected by weather, planting density, amount of available sunlight, soil and so forth!

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How to Harvest Radishes - 

 Instead of relying on a set number of days, I choose to trust my hands!
  1. For a perfectly crisp radish, I harvest in the early morning. 
  2. Gently remove the soil around the base of each radish. 
  3. If the radish top is about the size of a nickel/quarter, it's ready for the picking!
  4. To harvest, pull the radish out by the base of the leaves. The small root should just pop right out the ground!
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Not all of the radishes will be ready for harvest at once! That even holds true for radishes planted at the same time. For my initial crop, I was able to harvest a modest eight radishes. Yes, they are a little on the small side, but we just couldn't wait any longer for a tasty radish sandwich! I plan to leave the others in the planter for a few more days to finish up. Overall, the radish crop will reach a number of 56 grown and harvested! Not bad at all for an apartment patio garden!