Daikon Radish going to seed

[Tallylassie]

This is my first time growing daikon radish to break up my compacted clay soil. Seed heads are forming already. Should I let these go to seed or will it create more problems? How much do the radishes smell if left in the ground?

Thanks!

[GoDawgs]

When did you plant the radishes? They tend to go to seed if the weather turns warm on them and/or they don't get enough water. Guessing by your handle that maybe you are in Florida?

[Tallylassie]

Thanks for replying. The question has resolved itself by an invasion of harlequin bugs on the stalks. The bugs are devastating to broccoli and kale, so I removed the tops and any roots that I could pull. The bugs appeared overnight and were only on the daikon. I don't think I will try them again. Mammoth Russian Sunflowers do a great job of loosening the clay.

[bower]

I put in some daikon and other radishes as a cover crop this fall for the first time, but I heard tales of the smell.
I don't know how much of them will be left.
Here they attracted some animal or animals, squirrel, vole or other which ate not only the tops but then gnawed at the radishes in the ground. If anything survived their gnawings I expect it'll be gobbled up as soon as the ground thaws.

[Tallylassie]

Ha! Squirrels found them so early? My cousin and her husband have a large no till farm in the Midwest. She warned me the Daikon smell like rotting cabbage! I hoped that was just from a large field and after a freeze. I read the ones I cut off can grow back. I didn't keep the tops for green mulch because of the bug infestation. I have kale, Swiss chard, spinach and broccoli, all munchies for harlequin bugs. Last year, cabbage lopers ate everything green! I want to head off any infestation if I can.
I hope they improved your soil. The seeds were inexpensive and germinated very well, but attract the wrong bugs! I can't say enough about how fine and workable the clay was after the sunflowers. The radish didn't compare in loosening the soil. The daikon are supposed to open channels for water after they rot.

[bower]

We have to use row cover here for the cabbage pests - and Bt-k sometimes too. As long as it's butterfly weather, they destroy everything, but they didn't give much trouble to the radish I must say. Maybe due to planting late.
I did harvest some, they did so well, and tried roasting daikon with some pork tenderloin for a dinner with radish-loving relatives, but I am still not a fan. Don't enjoy radish whether cooked or raw.... so there's no snack bonus for me there.
It was a mild fall, no snow through december, so the rodents browsed away at the lavish beds and left me feeling like cover cropping is just setting out a banquet for the most troublesome pests.
A stink of rotten cabbage in the spring... yeah, sounds like a lovely bonus for all the trouble.

I adore sunflower seeds, so I wish I could grow some giants as an alternative.... My clay is super acidic and the wind tends to take down anything tall, but the shorter ones have made a few heads for me in the raised beds. Maybe I will try that again, and see if I can get them growing in the clay.

[GoDawgs]

I plant Daikon just for eating and only three plants at a time, three more about three weeks later. It takes a while to go through a 2-3lb radish but they hold well in the reefer. I only plant them fall and early spring so that they are nice and mild, almost sweet. They're also added to kimchi and make a nice fresh pickle.

As soon as the weather starts getting above 75, the taste starts getting hot too! No thanks. I've never had any rot in the ground but I know what rotten cabbage smells like.

Here's one from this past fall, 2.5 lb.

24.10.30 First Daikon radish, 2.25 lbs.JPG

[Tallylassie]

Beautiful! Interesting succession planting plan that you have. The taste isn't for me. Maybe cooking them in soup could tame some of the flavor! You sound like an adventurous cook.
Do you let any go to seed ? I save all the seeds I can. Germination is usually better from my own seeds and saves money! Seeds are so expensive now.
I saw the seed pods can be cooked. Not sure how they would taste

[Tallylassie]

Hi, Bower, aren't the cabbage pests horrible? I admire the farmers who battle the insects and still keep us from starving!
Battling the wind is a challenge. Most of the giants, about 12 ft. tall, sunflowers would lean in the wind unless the soil was moist and then they would topple over. I cut some stalks back if they were in the walkway. They surprised me by growing again and blooming. Growing them in clumps and not single plants helped with the wind, too.
Have you tried the multi- headed varieties? I think they are almost as effective in breaking up the clay. The birds love the seeds, but there are enough seeds to share!

[bower]

I think I have some seed of Red Sunset in my stash - I think that is multi headed. I should try it.
I grew Standfast, selected by Will Bonsall in Maine originally - they are 4-5 ft tall and at least didn't blow down immediately.

I've gotten in the habit of growing napa cabbage and other brassicas during the winter, to completely avoid the pest scene. In the spring there are always some extra plants bolting, and that means I have flowers to put out for the earliest bumblebees, and get some seeds. One winter I had two types of brassica in the greenhouse, bolting at the same time, so I put them at opposite ends to avoid any accidental cross pollination. When what do you know, a lone cabbage butterfly hatched out in there. No worry about the pest as long as there's only one, but I was amazed to see this butterfly take a sip of nectar from the brassicas at one end, fly 28 feet to the far end to visit that other brassica, then all the way back again, rinse and repeat. talk about taking your pollination duties seriously!
The caterpillars are worse than war, they completely lay waste anything brassica that isn't totally protected.