a Radish problem

i have tried many times over the years to grow radishes. i always end up with great foliage and almost nothing as far as the root goes. I NEED HELP with radishes. can anyone please tell me what might be causing this.
1) i use loose, well drained soil
2) i thin them out to give room for roots to grow large.
3) they get full sun and adequate water.
what am i doing wrong?


the round one near my thumb is the largest of them all. ( photo / image / picture from razyrsharpe's Garden )

 

radishes should be easy, shouldn't they?

 

mine turned out the same way this year don't know why

 

I grow radishes, but I start them way earlier than this crop was started. Mine have been pulled from the garden for over a month...maybe even 6 weeks. I am thinking you need to start them in the garden as soon as you can work the soil. They really are better as a cool weather crop. as soon as it gets hot they get hot and start to bolt. If there are flowers starting then the roots won't develop into a bulb.

 

thanks carolyn, but no flowers started. package said 25-30 days to harvest, and we planted at end of May/beginning of June. i think i was in specified parameters on time. i will try planting in cooler weather to see if it makes a difference.

 

I agree. Radish are planted out in my zone 5a garden in late April. When it gets too warm they bolt and there are no radishes.

 

thanks all for the info

 

Try starting them sooner. I had a crop ready by May 7th this year and they were perfect.... for 1 day. then it got HOT and they tasted like I was eating peppercorns. the more I chewed the hotter the radish got, then came the wireworms which destroyed the rest of the crop. So I pulled them all and started a new crop of carrots there...duh, what was I thinking? another root crop...stupid!, but maybe the wireworms will be out of there before the carrots are ready. live and learn and think ahead the next time, I hope I will anyway. I had a few tap roots, but not many in that crop. I think we had them in the ground in early April, if that helps you any.

 

Might check nitrogen (and other nutrient) levels too. Nitrogen makes lots of foliage growth so might be taking away from root growth.

 

I put radishes out as early as the cold allowed and got a scant handful. They bolted quickly. Other years, I have grown nice radishes, but everyone I talk to in my area had no good radishes this season.