I planted 5 different radishes this year.....Only 1 had any harvest! It was gorgeous, but small, and then 2 days later, they were bolting. 3 of the other varieties bolted without one radish.

Sorry you didn't get any radishes, but you were not alone!

Nancy

Too much nitrogen gives you nice tops but no roots. Heat will also give you big tops but only thin roots. Since soil in containers warms much faster than in ground that likely contributed to the problems. That or they were planted too late to begin with.

Dave

I learned the hard way that planting the seeds too shallowly gets you red strings too, so now I plant an inch deep. Since I started planting deeper, I get nice radishes for the first time in my life. My rabbits love the tops, I love the roots, so it's a win-win situation for us.

Thanks for your suggestions everyone! I will plant them deeper next year.

You should probably mix that compost with soil. Compost alone may be too rich and it may lack certain nutrients.

I was going to suggest too much nitrogen too. I never knew that too shallow a planting leads to the small, red tips. Learned something new!

I've always planted my radish seeds around a 1/4 inch deep. Never had any issues with them not bulbing because of the depth they were planted. On the occasions when my radishes didn't bulb it was always other reasons. Too crowded, too hot, and/or not enough water.

Rodney

Waaaaaay too much nitrogen. From experience, I think radishes do well in poorer soil. I've grown huge green tops and no radishes many times. This year on a whim we threw a package of seeds into our native topsoil. I mixed a "very little" fertilizer into the soil in the beginning of the season. They grew amazing. Huge radishes, with small top foliage. We had to hurry up and pick them so they didn't get really HUGE. We are still eating them from the produce drawer in the 'fridge.

I agree that depth of planting shouldn't have much effect on root development. Not that deeper planting would hurt.

But excess soil N as a cause is well documented.

But then so have the problems with trying to grow in straight compost - been well documented - and folks still try to do it.

Dave

You may want to try the variety German Giant (but don't let it get beyond golf ball size, regardless of what the package says). Harvested young, it's like a cherry belle radish but much more reliable.

My problem with planting at 1/4 inch was that the seeds came to the top of the soil no matter how lightly I watered. Planting at 1 inch became my insurance.

I'll add some soil to my stocktank gardens next year.