Every year, more and more vegetables and fruits that are not adapted to our natural conditions appear in the country. If you follow certain recommendations for their care, then we have foreign cultures take root. To meet on the shelves of shops unusual either radish, or radishes of large size and white color has been possible for a long time. This exotic vegetable came to our tables from Japan, but it has already taken root well and is successfully grown in domestic household plots. Planting a daikon, the timing of which depends on the region, is carried out according to the rules familiar to many, which should be discussed in more detail.
Vegetable Description
Most gardeners are concerned about the question, what is a daikon? Planting and care, planting dates, diseases and pests of the vegetable will also be considered in the article, but first things first.
This root crop is often called "Japanese radish", because it is a hybrid of radish and radish, but with a very delicate and juicy taste. It is due to the absence of mustard oils in the vegetable. In the homeland of the plant, more than 400 of its species were bred, many of which have a pinkish tint of fruits, but only white ones grow in Russia.
Externally, root crops have spreading wide leaves, the rosette of which reaches 40 cm in diameter. The shape of the foliage is dissected, depending on the variety, there may be an edge. Non-pubescent green mass is often used as food. The root crop itself can be rounded or oval elongated, which also depends on the variety. In some cases, a third of the fetus peeps out of the ground. So, daikon Minovashi, planting and care, planting dates and other features of which are ideal for our climate, gradually protrudes from the ground as it grows.
You can eat large Japanese radishes both fresh and boiled or salted. To obtain a quality crop, it is necessary to choose varieties with a maturity of not more than 90 days.
Vegetable benefits
Radish daikon, planting and care, planting dates and other nuances of growing which also depend on the species, is appreciated by domestic gardeners for a stable yield and unpretentiousness in care. Also, ripened fruits can be perfectly stored for several months without losing their presentation, which is important.
In addition to the commercial qualities that are immediately visible to everyone, the benefit of the root crop is also manifested in the high content of vitamins and trace elements.
So, each vegetable can boast of having:
- volatile;
- glycosides;
- pectin substances;
- minerals;
- fiber;
- Vitamin C
- complex protein structures.
Also, the root crop perfectly cleans the kidneys and liver of toxins and removes stones. With all this, the daikon does not have or contains mustard oil in minimum quantities, which gives bitterness and pungency to the vegetable. This gives the vegetable a huge advantage over other brothers, because even the elderly can eat it without fear.
All this has led to the fact that daikon is the main cultivated vegetable crop in its homeland. So, what is the date of planting daikon in our country?
Disembarkation time
The timing of planting a daikon in open ground is usually reduced to the beginning of July, so that gardeners can get a quality crop of root crops. For planting vegetables on greens, you can shift this period later, at the end of summer. Depending on the variety and place of cultivation, the timing may vary slightly. So, daikon Sasha, planting and care, the planting dates of which are the same for absolutely the entire territory of the country, can be planted in any region at the same time, as it quickly ripens. The shape of this vegetable is round, small, which allows you to get ripe root crops earlier.
If you grow daikon on an industrial scale, it is best to do it on light soils that are well fertilized and neutral, as this will facilitate pulling out root crops after ripening. Especially these rules should be remembered when planting deep varieties.
In general, daikon, planting and care, the planting dates of which are not very different from those for the usual radish or radish, has similar recommendations for agricultural activities. It is possible to grow a vegetable for a personal table on any soil, and to look after it is not at all difficult.
Features of landing for the winter
The planting dates for radish and daikon coincide in many ways, like other planting features. So, making large beds is not recommended, it is better to pay attention to small areas with half-meter row spacing. To plant the daikon, its ripening time and other yield indicators were optimal, it is best to pre-soak the planting material at least for a day, so that the seeds have time to hatch. They should be planted in the ground at such a distance that adult root crops can then fit in the free space. 2-3 seeds are put in each prepared hole, so that when the first leaves appear, choose the strongest sprout from them and leave only it. The rest are simply pulled out. You can throw them out or transplant into another hole.
Interestingly, daikon radish, planting and care, the planting and harvesting dates of which are suitable for most of the country, can be perfectly used as a secondary culture, because at the time of planting, July, some plants are already removed from the beds. So, green onions, dill, parsley or salad can easily become the precursor of Japanese radish. Matured juicy root crops will delight gardeners in salads and other dishes throughout almost the entire winter, making the table more diverse and sophisticated.
Care Features
The timing of planting daikon radish in open ground does not change much throughout the country, as well as the rules for caring for the crop. The main recommendation is the deep weeding of the vegetable, which provides him with respiration and the formation of a dense large fruit. It is necessary to carry out an event at least twice a season, and it is possible more often.
Topping up the radish requires digestible mineral complexes. Since organic matter greatly affects the taste of the root crop and spoils its shape, it is strictly forbidden to use it, even rotted manure is harmful and worsens the shelf life of the vegetable. Watering the daikon should be moderate and regular. Excess moisture leads to rotting of the radish directly in the soil, therefore, with frequent rainfall, it is better to refuse watering altogether.
Optimum temperature
Planting a daikon, the timing of which is already known, is due to the temperature regime that is optimal for obtaining a high-quality root crop. Many sow this radish in spring along with other crops, believing that they will get the crop earlier, but it's not easy. Cold spring air, along with a long daylight hours, leads to the fact that almost the entire landing goes into the arrows. So that the vegetable does not go into the seeds, the dates for planting the daikon in the middle lane, which are determined by the beginning or end of July (depending on the area), must be strictly observed.
When storing an already harvested crop, it is also important to observe the correct temperature regime. Root vegetables are best placed in plastic bags or boxes of sand in a cellar or refrigerator. The temperature for this is suitable from +1 to -5 degrees. With an increase in these indicators, fruit spoilage is observed with white rot.
Harvesting
Depending on the variety, the ripening period of the vegetable also changes, therefore, harvesting can be done at different times. Most often, domestic gardeners choose varieties with a ripening period of 1.5-2 months, but there are specimens growing up to 90 days. Since the timing of planting daikon in the suburbs will not allow you to get a quality crop with a long ripening period, it is better to pay attention to early varieties.
The collection of culture in household plots can be done manually, if the soil allows. For this, root crops are simply pulled out of the tops. If the soil is very dense, it is necessary to slightly dig up the vegetables with a shovel. It is important to do this in dry weather, immediately sorting quality fruits from damaged ones.
Even when planting a daikon on time, you can notice a small number of plants that throw arrows on the seeds. It is completely impossible to avoid this, since such behavior depends entirely on weather conditions and the length of daylight hours. Only its reduction can slow the reproductive function and have a beneficial effect on the development of the fetus.
The best varieties
In order to get a good harvest, it is important not only to follow all the rules for growing a crop, but also to choose the right variety for your conditions. This includes not only the climatic features of the region, but also the composition of the soil on the site. In the homeland of daikon, the choice of varieties is so wide that you can find the best option for any soil features, but in the domestic market it's not so simple. Among the abundance of varieties, it is best to pay attention to those that have already been tested by many gardeners on various types of soils.
So, it is recommended to grow such varieties:
- on light soils - Ninengo, Nerrim;
- on heavy soils - Shogoin, Siroagari;
- on loamy ones - Tokinashi, Miyashige.
Good yield indicators of these varieties are provided by the deep immersion of root crops in the ground. Of course, no one canceled the date of planting a daikon in the Urals in the summer - this is the very middle of summer. Only an integrated approach to crop production can ultimately demonstrate maximum yields.
It is interesting that even with too early sowing, when most of the culture goes into seeds, root crops do not lose their taste. They remain all the same juicy and not subject to lignification, only their size is different. Root crops do not grow to the declared dimensions if arrows are released.
Productivity per square meter
The maximum indicator in our country is a yield of 10 kg per 1 square meter.
It can be demonstrated by such varieties as:
- Daikunis;
- Tsukus Haru;
- Green NekMiyage.
Such popular varieties as Daisy, Bluskay and Haruesi can boast only 7.5 kg, provided that maximum comfort for growth is created. Further, the yield by variety is declining, but the listed varieties, with the stated indicators, are able to produce fruits weighing up to 3.5 kg each. Of course, it is very rare to achieve such indicators in a private compound, mainly root crops weigh no more than 500 grams. This is especially true of late plantings, when the daikon is sown in late July or early August, as is done in Siberia. Under such conditions, the yield does not exceed 5 kg per meter, and each fruit weighs about 300 grams.
Interestingly, in the homeland of the vegetable there is a variety that can produce fruits weighing up to 40 kg each. It is called Sakurajima.
Domestic hybrid
Since the overseas vegetable is still not adapted to our climate and gardeners have to adapt in many respects to its characteristics, domestic breeders decided to start work on adapting the popular root crop to the conditions of the Russian climate. The first and most common hybrid produced by Russian breeders is the Fang variety. It was obtained by crossing the Tashanhong radish and the Chinese sample.
The resulting vegetable has dissected leaves with a round shape of each lobe. In total there are about 20 pieces, which is 20% of the mass of the whole plant. On the surface of the entire green mass there is a slight pubescence, which does not allow the leaves themselves to be used in food. The root crop of the variety has a cylindrical elongated shape up to 22 cm. The diameter of each vegetable is not more than 9 cm, which makes it not very large. The maximum weight of such a fruit is 500 grams, and on average this figure fluctuates within 300 grams. The taste of the Fang is sharp-sweet, and as the roots grow, they rise above the ground, so they are easily removed manually.
A variety is sown to get seeds for next year already in early spring, but for a quality crop of root crops, planting is required no earlier than July.
Growing in Siberia
The planting dates for daikon in Siberia and the Urals do not differ from those described previously. To get a quality crop in such climate conditions, you just need to follow certain rules for caring for the crop. It is very important to loosen the soil regularly so that fresh air entering the root crops helps them to gain weight faster. In addition, this allows you to keep the planting clean.
It is enough to water daikon no more than 1 time per week, but with frequent rainfall this frequency should be reduced. Heavy rains can also cause soil erosion, which must be eliminated by pumping up crops. So that all shoots are strong and strong, you need to thin them out in a timely manner, leaving the strongest sprouts. You can pick and culture at the time of the appearance of the second true leaf, and then plant sprouts at a distance of at least 6 cm between each other.
It is necessary to feed the planting exclusively with mineral mixtures, since organics does more harm to the entire crop.
Seed cultivation
As already mentioned, most of the spring planting itself goes into arrows due to the climate at this time of year, but there is another way to obtain planting material. In order to guarantee the growth of daikon seeds at any time of the year, it is necessary to take root crops that matured precisely after spring planting. Tops are completely removed from them, only cuttings of no more than 10 cm are left, after which the vegetable is placed in the refrigerator for 10 days. When the set period has passed, the plant is planted in open ground under a slight slope. Such a vegetable will certainly start the arrow, and after its full maturity it will be possible to collect high-quality seeds for subsequent planting.
Pests and diseases
Modern chemical preparations that treat many plants from parasites and diseases provoke pests to develop immunity to the substances acting on them or move to other cultures. So, no luck and exotic daikon, which very quickly began to eat local parasites. Since the vegetable belongs to the cruciferous family, the pests attached to it are the same ones that eat radishes, cabbage and other vegetables. Most often you can find slugs on the Japanese radish, sacral flea and garden scoop.
Since it is impossible to eat vegetables damaged by these parasites, it is necessary to fight them even before they appear. To do this, the perimeter of the beds is sprinkled with red pepper or ash. It is better to do this in specially made grooves. You can crush with ash directly the entire landing site immediately after sowing, then after the appearance of the first sprouts and then with a similar frequency.
As it turned out, to get a good daikon crop, you should carefully look after it. If you follow all the recommendations that were described above, then you are guaranteed to be able to enjoy dishes from this vegetable.