Radishes are one of the easiest and fastest-growing vegetables to grow in your garden, but they can come with a fair share of problems. These issues include fungal and bacterial diseases, pests, and nutrient deficiencies. Taking preemptive measures against problems when growing radishes can save you a lot of time and money, while also giving you the best possible harvest. By knowing the signs of different radish diseases, you can act fast to save your radish crop.
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8 Top Problems When Growing Radishes
Radishes are a delicious root vegetable that are a great choice for beginning gardeners. However, there are some common ailments that may attack your radishes. The following are the biggest problems gardeners face when growing radishes, as well as how to solve them.
Club Root
Club root is a fungal disease that causes radish roots to become enlarged, almost resembling a club. Other signs of club root in radishes include poor growth from a lack of being able to absorb nutrients, wilting, and damaged, yellow leaves.
- Club root is a fungal disease that forms over-sized clubbed roots in radishes.
- Discard club root-affected radishes.
- Crop rotation and good drainage can help prevent future club root in your radishes.
Unfortunately, club root can be quite damaging for radishes. It’s best to remove any affected crops from your garden. Provide proper drainage and rotate your crops regularly to prevent club root from attacking your radishes in the future.
Cabbage Maggots
Cabbage maggots can be a serious problem when growing radishes. They look similar to a fly, lay eggs in the soil around the base of your radish crops, and feed on radish roots. Signs of cabbage maggots when growing radishes include small, wilting plants, grooves on the root surfaces, tunnels in the roots, and a slimy texture on the roots.
- Cabbage maggots eat the roots of radishes.
- Eggs are laid around the base of radish crops.
- Remove infected crops and use carpet padding to prevent future infections.
Generations of cabbage maggots can hatch in a single growing season, so it’s difficult to manage pest-infected plants. Discard any radish plants affected by cabbage maggots, and continue to properly rotate your crops.
Additionally, to prevent new cabbage maggots from eating roots after they hatch, lay this wood ash around your crops, or cut a hole in the center of a small piece of carpet padding. From there, cut a slit from the center hole to the end of the padding. Slide the small piece of carpet padding around the base of your radish plants. Cabbage maggots may still lay eggs in the area, but the carpet padding will prevent newly hatched maggots from reaching roots, ultimately leading to their demise.
Flea Beetles
Flea beetles make their presence known by leaving tiny holes in radish leaves. They are active in the early growing season, and can become problems if the growing season is poor with cold, consistently wet, weather. They may even kill your radish crops entirely in these conditions. Use these floating row covers to prevent flea beetles from getting to your radish crops.
If your radish crops are already infected with flea beetles, and they haven’t harmed the roots yet, try the following:
- Coat a small piece of wood, roughly the size of your forearm, with this engine grease.
- Hover the piece of wood above your radish plants, with the grease-side facing down.
- Because flea beetles jump in the air when you get near them, they will jump up and stick to the grease on the piece of food.
- Safely dispose of the piece of wood.
If the above does not work, remove radish crops from your garden if flea beetles have caused damage beyond repair.
Nutrient Deficiencies
Nitrogen and phosphorus deficiencies can cause radishes to develop small and irregular roots. A nitrogen deficiency will show in radishes with yellow-colored leaves, while a phosphorus deficiency can be identified by purple-colored leaves. Use this fish emulsion fertilizer to increase the levels of nutrients in the soil. Rock phosphate can also be used for additional phosphorus.
- Nitrogen and phosphorus deficiencies can cause growth issues in radishes.
- Use a high-quality fertilizer to combat nutrient deficiencies.
- Plant radishes at the right time of year, in the right place in your garden.
It’s also best to plant radishes at the right time of year, in an area that gets enough sun. Do not plant your radishes during the hottest part of summer. This increases the risk of overly dry soil and poor crop growth. You may even notice white patches on the inner flesh of your radishes if they get too much heat.
Scab
Scab is a bacterial disease that causes radishes to form dark, rough, scabby patches on the skin. Radishes are prone to scab when planted in magnesium-deficient soil that is too dry and not acidic enough. Radishes thrive in soil with a pH level between 5.5 and 6.5, so avoid planting crops in any area that recently received lime treatment. Use this soil pH tester to get an accurate reading before planting your radishes.
- Scab forms black, scabby patches on radishes.
- High pH and low magnesium levels in the soil can cause radishes to form scab.
- Provide necessary nutrients to prevent scab in radishes.
Additional measures you can take to avoid scab in radishes include providing enough water, especially during dry spells, and spraying the foliage with this water-soluble plant food to increase magnesium for your radishes.
Black Root
Black root is not as common in radishes as it is in other members of the cabbage family, but it can still wreak havoc on your crops. Black root starts as just yellowing in leaves, before turning radish roots and vegetables black.
- Black root is not that common in radishes.
- The surrounding soil can be affected with black root, causing your radishes to eventually catch the disease.
- Provide proper soil conditions for your radishes to prevent black root.
Black root is a bacterial disease that can affect the soil in a variety of ways. Because of this, it’s best to remove any affected radishes from your garden. Provide your radishes with well-draining, fertile, loamy soil to prevent issues like black root from popping up in the future.
Downy Mildew
More prevalent in cool, wet weather, downy mildew is a fungal disease that can be life-threatening for radishes. It starts as yellow spots on the upper portion of leaves before eventually turning brown. You will also notice cotton-like spots underneath the leaves, usually white or light gray in color. If left too long, downy mildew may even form a white coating over radish vegetables.
- White, tan, and gray cotton spots form underneath leaves.
- Downy mildew gets inside the radish plant to kill it.
- Prevention is key when dealing with downy mildew.
Always start with disease-free radish seeds when planting, and provide good air circulation and water, to prevent downy mildew. You can try a fungicide or this potassium bicarbonate to try and eliminate downy mildew, but there’s a good chance you’ll be unsuccessful. Your best bet is to throw away the ruined plant.
Cold Injury
While radishes are quite frost tolerant, you will still want to protect the roots from temperatures below 32°F (0°C). Freezing temperatures can cause radish roots to become soft and shriveled. This will limit the growth of your radishes for harvesting the following spring and summer. The same floating row cover used to protect against flea beetles can be used to protect against cold weather.
Will Radishes Grow in Poor Soil?
Radishes will not grow in poor soil conditions. In order for radishes to thrive, plant them in rich, loamy soil with a pH level between 5.5 and 6.5. Sow radish seeds as soon as the soil is soft enough to be worked. This is usually between March and June, depending on your location and the type of radish you are planting.
- Radishes will struggle to grow in poor soil.
- Nutrient-rich soil with a pH of 5.5–6.5 is ideal for radishes.
- To prevent dry soil, provide extra water for your radishes when temperatures rise above 75°F (29°C).
Temperatures above 75°F (29°C) can cause the soil to become too dry for radishes, so be sure to provide enough water. Extreme heat will cause radish roots to dry out, so avoid planting radish seeds in the summer when the soil conditions are poor.
Why are Your Radishes Rotting?
Radishes can be affected by rotting and other problems including:
- Club root
- Cabbage maggots
- Flea beetles
- Nutrient deficiencies
- Scab
- Black root
- Downy mildew
- Cold injury
Proper care and prevention against disease are crucial when it comes to growing delicious, healthy radish vegetables.
