Growing daikon radishes

So, here I am growing daikon radishes for the first time, and a couple of questions have come up.

I planted a row about 8 feet long and a little too close together because I didn't know how well they would sprout. After they were up for a three weeks I thought I would pull one to see what it looked like. It was as skinny as can be and it's taste was VERY strong. It was like all the flavor of a two inch diameter radish was packed into that little thread of a radish root.

Six weeks have gone by now, and many of the radishes are blooming... another surprise to me.

So here are my questions for you daikon radish experts:

1. When can the radishes be thinned as something to EAT (with the normal mild flavor of a daikon)?

2. Is it normal for them to be blooming so soon after planting?

3. When is normal harvest time? I see they are called winter radishes by some. Is fall and later the right time to pick or will they be delicious in the summer too?

Hi Jon -

Your radishes are bolting. The long days are telling them to flower and not bother storing carbs in their roots.

This batch of daikon may best be left for seed. It's best sown in autumn and left to winter over in the ground. They're frost hardy down to -5C in my direct experience and probably more if mulched deeply...we don't get that cold here but in Tucson they had no trouble and cold weather makes them sweeter. When spring arrives the top growth will take off and quality will start going down as they shift to reproductive mode.

Thinning should be done asap after established sprouting to get radishes that are sizable to eat in the long run. You can eat the tiny things, greens and all though...maybe like a garnish on a salad or toss into a stir fry towards the end.

With long hot dry days they will go to flower/seed and not make yummy radishes, more like stalks I think they like spring/fall better. Maybe with some shading and extra watering they could do better?? I don't know, I'm usually helping grow different types of radish but I do have a small of of Daikon in now too!! The French Breakfast radishes I seeded at the same time are bolting worse than the Daikon, though.