How to grow Daikon

Raphanus sativus · mooli, Japanese radish

A large East Asian radish grown for its long white root with a mild flavour. It grows best in cool weather; heat and too early a sowing make it bolt instead of forming a root.

Quick facts

Type	Vegetable
Family	Brassicaceae
Light	Full sun
Soil pH	6.5–7
Frost	tolerates light frost
Soil for sowing	from 5 °C
Germination	7 days
Sowing to harvest	60 days
Where it grows	Greenhouse, Open ground, At home

When to plant

It tolerates light frost: sow straight into the bed about three weeks before your last spring frost.

In an unheated greenhouse everything moves about three weeks earlier.

The first harvest comes about 60 days after the shoots appear.

Frost dates · When to plant

Care

Greenhouse

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 2 days	13…24 °C	—
Growth	every 7 days	4…21 °C	nitrogen, 21 days into the stage
Harvest	every 7 days	4…21 °C	—

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 2 days	13…24 °C	—
Growth	every 7 days	4…21 °C	nitrogen, 21 days into the stage
Harvest	every 7 days	4…21 °C	—

At home

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 2 days	13…24 °C	—
Growth	every 3 days	4…21 °C	nitrogen, 21 days into the stage
Harvest	every 3 days	4…21 °C	—

Growing notes

Light

Needs an open, sunny site.

Soil

Deep, loose, well-drained soil rich in organic matter, pH 6.5–7. Long roots need deep soil; work compost into heavy soil.

Care

Sow 2 cm deep and thin to 10–20 cm apart. Keep the soil evenly moist, about 25 mm of water a week in dry weather, as uneven watering splits the roots. Feed nitrogen about three weeks after the seedlings come up. Cover with fleece or insect netting against cabbage root fly. Harvest 7–10 weeks after sowing; roots can reach 30 cm or more.

Pests and diseases of Daikon

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.