When to harvest the radish?

Radish is one of the most popular root crops in Russia, it can be found in almost every site. The radish is unpretentious, but there are many nuances that should be studied, for example, when harvesting. It is very important to distinguish between early and late varieties, pay attention to the climatic conditions of the season and the region. If you do not take into account these features, you will not be able to save the harvest.

Before deciding when to remove the radish from the garden for storage, you must first figure out which variety is planted on your site. There are a lot of varieties of radish, they are all divided into categories according to the ripeness time.

• Early maturing, or summer. They do not store for a long time, the maximum that such a radish is capable of is to lie in the refrigerator for about a month. The roots are juicy, with a pleasant soft texture, with a slight spicy note.
• Mid-season and late. They are harvested already in the fall and successfully stored in the winter. They are harder, denser than summer ones.

Harvesting depends not only on the variety, but also on the ripeness of the root crop, and this is the main reason. It is necessary to be guided by the sowing and ripening dates indicated for each variety. It is very important to dig up the fruits in time, as they deteriorate when overripe. If you miss the moment, empty zones begin to form inside, the pulp loses its juiciness, high-quality consistency.

Summer varieties allow you to harvest quickly, but it will not be stored for long. Early ripe fruits are sown in the middle of the spring season, the latest date is early May. After a month and a half or a little longer, the roots begin to sing. During this period, you can collect for a sample. Ripeness can be determined by its appearance - at least the radish should grow in diameter to the size stated in the description of the variety. Most often it is 3 cm.

As for the color, it depends on the variety: the radish can be green, white or red. Harvesting is carried out in several approaches, taking into account ripening or need. Summer harvesting is preferably carried out not in the rainy period, then it is enough to pull the fruits out of the ground.

Mid-season varieties do not need a long day of light to fully ripen. The crop of this type is harvested around August-September, the exact dates depend on the time of sowing. Occasionally, the collection period is postponed to early October. If you need a crop by fall, but you are not going to store it, you can simply sow the summer varieties later. Before the start of the full collection, you need to carry out a test collection, and dig up a couple of fruits. This will help to avoid mistakes, and not to dig up radishes that are not yet ripe.

It is not recommended to skip the ripening period, it is important to keep this moment under control. The harvest is best done on days when there is no rain and it is warm enough.

If the climate is at least relatively warm, varieties of this category ripen by mid or late autumn.... When harvesting such a crop, weather conditions come to the fore, since frosts are quite likely at this time. In no case should you wait for them.If the fruit is frozen, most of its usefulness evaporates, and there will be problems with storage. These varieties are sown in the last weeks of June, after about 100 days you can wait for a ripe crop.

It is important not to rush to harvest, as unripe radish is also poorly stored. The crop will soon begin to sag, so it is necessary to remove damaged, unripe, overripe root crops. Harvesting too early increases the risk of less nutrients and nutrients in the radish.

The date of planting the radish is chosen not only taking into account suitable weather conditions, but also taking into account the desired date of collection. This vegetable grows in different regions of the country, in all climatic conditions.

• Southern regions. Here, early frosts are extremely rare, so it is quite realistic to plan excavation in November. This is the most comfortable region in terms of weather, here the dates can be shifted until the very onset of winter.
• Middle lane. This usually includes Moscow, the Moscow region and all areas that are nearby. The optimal time for harvesting is the end of September, October, you can try to leave it until the beginning of November. During this period, the weather is still quite stable in this climatic zone. At the same time, do not forget about the terms that are indicated in the description of the variety.
• Ural... In this region of the country, the climate is less predictable and stable, so it is definitely not worth leaving the harvest until November. It is optimal to finish with this by October, the maximum is the first days of the month. Unfortunately, during this period, constant rains begin, and digging can be complicated even from this point of view. It is necessary to closely monitor the forecast, and sow mainly early and mid-season varieties.
• Siberian region and Altai... The climate in these areas is rather cold, so it is important not to miss the collection date. Of course, you should be guided by the weather, but most often the optimal digging time is the beginning of October. Until that time, not all varieties can reach the desired level of ripeness, so the risk of harvesting a loose and tasteless crop is high. It is best to plant varieties specifically designed for the region and with a short growing season.

Experts say that you need to think about harvesting already at the time of planting. There are recommendations that allow you to get high-quality fruits that will be well stored:

• you can not pick fruits in a too warm period, as well as after frost, during rains - all this negatively affects the structure and benefits of the radish;
• after digging, do not remove the root crop from the garden immediately, let it dry properly;
• a week and a half before digging it is necessary carry out good watering;
• the crop is removed manually, before this, the green foliage is properly crumpled so that drying occurs faster;
• radish in the beds is located in one layer, otherwise it will dry longer;
• before harvesting to storage, you need to remove the tops, the elongated root;
• separate out all the fruits that are in doubt, - damaged, lethargic, wormy, rotten, immature and overripe;
• it is best to leave those root crops that have the average size, they are better stored, as they were removed on time;
• evaluate the skin of the fruit if there are dents, cracks, scratches, eat such fruits immediately, do not put them in a storage place for the winter;
• removing fruits from the garden after drying, remove lumps of soil from them, otherwise the shelf life will be sharply reduced;
• if the collection is carried out in rainy weather, and the event cannot be postponed, take a shovel, pitchfork, dig in the plant, and pull it out, holding the foliage, the main thing is not to damage the fetus;
• if, after harvesting, the weather is predicted to be rainy, remove the fruits from the beds and spread out in one layer under the canopy.