radishes and turnips

kingeryhoffman 6/18/2010, 1:13 pm

Hi--I'm David, and I live in Ames, Iowa. We planted square-foot gardens for the fiirst time this year. The greens on our radishes and turnips are lush, but the edible parts are almost nonexistent. Anything we can do? Any help would be much appreciated.

Megan 6/18/2010, 7:13 pm

Hello, David! Glad to meet you. This is a wonderful forum.

About your radishes and turnips, when did you plant? Some of my radishes didn't make a radish either, and I am curious to know why also.

ander217 6/18/2010, 7:37 pm

Some of mine went to tops, too. When I researched it, there are a lot of different things that can cause it - too much nitrogen, too little phospate, too crowded, ph too low, too little water. But I think the reason some of mine went to tops is because the temperatures warmed up suddenly, and they stopped growing roots and instead started bolting to seed. It was only the later-developing radishes that had the problem. My first pickings were just fine.

miinva 6/18/2010, 7:43 pm

I'm using them for companion planting purposes, so I'm not worried about getting radishes, but I'm glad to hear that the heat is probably why I'm not getting radishes.

Megan 6/18/2010, 8:21 pm

I planted mine late and I guess that is why, then. Some of the tops are almost 3 feet tall! I harvested a few early and they were great. I have a few others still in the ground that look like turnips... and just today I think I've discovered I have flea beetles (do they look like really tiny scrawny lady bugs with black bodies and white spots??) and they are chewing the heck out of those radishes and leaving everything else alone, so I am happy, for the moment....

rjeffreyneff 6/19/2010, 2:53 pm

I ran into the same problem earlier this year with two seperate seedings.

I also suspect that there is a problem with too high nitrogen.

I made a different type of mix with much less Compost and added Coconut coir.

The plants are about an inch tall.

I will update the forum once the plants get to the harvesting stage.

Jeff

brentm77 6/21/2010, 7:04 pm

Someone up hear gave the following tip for dealing with flea beetles. I followed it, and mine are all gone now.

Mix neem oil in water (as directed on bottle of neem oil), add a couple of drops of Ivory liquid soap. Spray on plants generously. Follow process three days in a row and follow up once a week with another spraying.

The neem oil is great because it is organic and safe. It comes from a tree in India and is used in cosmetics, natural medicine, and even eaten by some people (though I would try that). It made me feel a little better about using it on my garden. It worked very well.

Shoda 6/21/2010, 7:18 pm

Just another guess, but the radish foliage might also be due to light. The ones I planted that get enough light are developing fine. The ones I planted that are now under the shade of the zucchini are all tops -- like they are trying to find enough light in order to put down roots.

What has your weather been like?

silverbug 6/22/2010, 9:09 am

I had to rip all my radishes out. They were just a tiny root, no bulb, all tops, going to seed, woody. MESSED UP, to say the least. I'm fearful that the carrots will do the same. I don't think it's nitrogen. I was under on the nitrogen, as my tomato plants were DEEP purple and very stiff. After I gave everyone a bit of Garden Tone, things normalized and are doing even better. Could be light, and other nutrient deficiencies though. My garden is not getting a TON of full sun. I get maybe 6-7 hours, and it's mottled at certain points in the day.

Megan 6/22/2010, 5:56 pm

Even if your radishes don't produce a radish, the greens still make a great trap crop.

Shoda 6/22/2010, 6:12 pm

What is a trap crop?

Megan 6/22/2010, 6:19 pm

Grow something the bugs like better than your other crops. Twisted Evil

boffer 6/22/2010, 6:23 pm

Shoda wrote:What is a trap crop?

trap=sacrificial

I grow sacrificial cabbage to spare my broccoli and brussel sprouts.

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