[PSYS]

Hey everyone!

I got my wife a few books on container gardening for Christmas last year. We're in an apartment so we thought it would be a good idea to give this a shot. We pre-mixed our own dirt with a recipe we found in one of the books and our mutant vegtables are growing!

We used little plastic containers from Jell-O snacks and planted right from seeds that I acquired online from a seed catalog.

We started Sparkler Radishes, Cosmic Heirloom Carrots, German Red Strawberry Tomatoes and Boothby Blonde Cucumbers.

My question is about the radishes because evidently, they're the fastest growing. The seeds germinated in less than 48 hours and I'm not joking.

Here's a photo of the initial germination:

And approx. 36 hours later, it looked like this:

And two days after that, they were like this:

And the photo I just took literally a few seconds ago has the radishes looking like this:

We have larger self-watering pots that we got on sale from a local farm store but I'm fearful that despite them outgrowing their little starter containers, they still aren't ready for a larger pot.

How soon and/or when should they be replanted? I'm a little disappointed as none of the books that I obtained have given any concise information on any sort of timeline. My wife and I are new to this and have no idea what to expect.

Our carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes are also growing but nearly as quickly as the radishes which appear to be some kind of mutant variety. : The back of the seed packet says to expect germination within 7-14 days... and I swear, these things sprouted in less than 48 hours.

Is there anyone here on the forum experienced with container gardening that could offer us some insight? Is the root system of the radishes advanced enough where they could be sustained in a significantly larger pot?

 

[SLACKJAW44]

Radishes are fast growing. I've seen harvests from 20 to 30 days depending on the variety. I tried starting radishes this year in containers to transplant outside because I'd never done it. Not good luck because of stretching and they were even in a greenhouse. I think direct sown is the only way to go. If I were you, I would resow a bunch in a one gallon pot so you don't have to transplant, and try to give them plenty of sunlight to avoid stretching because the root will not form right.

 

[PSYS]

OK. Thanks for the info... sounds like we simply started them indoors much too early and we really didn't need to. I didn't know they grew THAT fast and since I'm in Wisconsin, it's still much too cold outside to do any planting.

I'm thinking we'll be able to wait a little while and simply plant them outside once it gets warmer if we're going to have a harves that soon, anyway.

 

[MadPrepper]

Root plants don't transplant well.

 

[PSYS]

OK.

How should I proceed? Is it worth trying to transplant the carrots and the radishes then? Or should I just yank them and stop that process altogether?

 

[zbx]

yes, root crops like radishes and carrots should be direct seeded. its probably a waste of time to continue with transplanting imo, but you could just thin whats in those little pots to 1-3 radish seedlings each and see what happens.

 

[MadPrepper]

OK.

How should I proceed? Is it worth trying to transplant the carrots and the radishes then? Or should I just yank them and stop that process altogether?

If it were me, I would only start plants early that really need a jump.

In CO (zone 5) it was tomatoes and peppers because of the short growing season. Seldom did any good anyway.

Down here (zone 9b) It's tomatoes because of the early heat.

Try transplanting them. You'll know pretty quick whether they take or not....then plant seeds.

 

[PSYS]

OK. I was gung ho when I started this project with my wife and under the impression that since we live in Wisconsin, everything needs a head start. Evidently, that isn't the case. I won't be too worried about the radishes since I've witnessed first hand how fast they're capable of growing... and I'll do the same for the carrots and simply start them all outside once the weather warms.

I'll try the transplanting and see what happens and if it fails... I'll prep myself for that and simply start the seeds outside.

 

[MadPrepper]

Yea, they condition us to think only "they" can grow the seeds.

I was laughing with a perfect stranger at blowes a few days ago at what starts they had on the shelf.....Peas, beans, herbs...etc. And the prices were ridiculous. Didn't keep ppl from buying, though.

 

[scienceteacher]

If you want to grow radish indoors the under bed storage boxes make a good pot. You do need a grow light because if there isn't 14 hrs of light a day it wont form the bulb on the root. These containers are also good for spinach salad.

This is what I used for a setup. The containers fit the shelves snugly and I hung the light from the shelf above it.

 

[Neko-Chan]

If you let them grow, the greens are just as edible as at the bulbs.

 

[Kansas Terri]

If you let them grow, the greens are just as edible as at the bulbs.

I like the radish leaves in my salad more than I like the radish root! Both are perfectly edible!

 

[FoodNut]

I checked my notes, and I planted Sparker radishes last year. I direct seeded 3/28 and harvested 5/3, which is not that fast for a radish; some are ready in as little as 3 weeks. I wrote down that they had a typical radish bite but not much actual flavor. If you favor the generic grocery store radish taste, "Rudolph" is a good variety, and very early (3 weeks from direct seed).

Those radish seedlings are very leggy and not getting enough light. I'd eat them now as sprouts and start again direct seeding outdoors as soon as the local garden calendar allows, then sow every week or so to ensure a continuous harvest. Your local ag extension office should have a (free) publication on what to plant when.

The back of seed packets almost always say "7-14 days" no matter what it is.

Of the vegetables you mentioned, only tomatoes don't mind transplanting; cukes can tolerate it. I'd go ahead and try to transplant the carrots and cukes this year anyway; you've already got them going. If you want you can eat the carrot seedlings, too, but those are mostly just bitter tasting.

P.S. My experience with Cosmic Purple is that they are virtually tasteless, but they looks really, really cool. Same with the other purple one, Dragon. Kids like them and they look great on the plate, but if you like the taste of carrots you might be disappointed.

 

[PSYS]

FoodNut:

Thanks so much for the comprehensive information! Really appreciate your reply.

1.) Contacted my local Wisconsin Agricultural Extension office for some planting guidance. Hoping someone there might be able to steer us in the right direction.

2.) Radish greens as they are right now will be tossed into a garden salad this weekend and eaten. OM NOM NOM!!!

3. We'll try our hand with the carrots and cucumbers to see if the transplanting works. If it does, cool. If not, fine. We have plenty of seeds leftover and will start them regardless outside once the weather warms up.