Plants Growing In My Potted Garden.: Growing scarlet globe radishes/red radish from seed in pots/containers.

Scarlet globe radishes are not only pretty to look at but they also taste amazing and are just as easy to grow from seed.They are perfect for growing in small spaced gardens,balconies,patios,and pots/containers.These lovely little bright scarlet colored beauties are a classic variety of round red radish,its a taproot that bulges and grows beneath the soil and its this root that is eaten it has a crisp, tender,and sharp tasting white flesh from within.A popular choice of vegetable to grow among home gardeners around the world.

Here's a step by step pictorial guide on how to grow your very own Scarlet Globe Radishes from seeds.

Begin by choosing the type of pot/container that you intend to grow your radishes in,since varieties like scarlet globe have shallow tap roots they don't need pots/containers that are too deep.You can use plastic,cement.terracotta pots or even grow bags.I choose a long wide cement planter that looked like a trough that was 1/2 feet deep and about 2 feet wide.Make sure the pot/container has drainage holes at the bottom.

Line the base of the pot/container with any one of the following dry leaves/straw/pieces of broken bricks or terracotta pots,make sure you don't close the drainage holes when lining the inside of the pot.I used dry leaves as the base and covered the inside of my pot base with it .

Next you fill in your potting soil mix,i had taken equal proportions of garden soil and compost.Make sure that you use rich potting soil because once you sow your radish seeds and they grow, adding fertilizers later on does not help,so you want to give the seedlings a healthy, humus rich growing base from the very start itself.One important point to remember when growing any type of edible tap roots like ( radishes, beetroots,carrots,kohlrabi etc) is that you want the soil to be free of stones or debris this way you get perfect shaped root if there are lots of debris or stones in the soil then the roots get deformed,you can sieve the soil and compost before using.

You can choose between hybrid and heirloom varieties of Scarlet Globe Radish seeds, i choose a hybrid variety called Radish Imp Scarlet Red Globe from an Indian seed company called Omaxe,costed me 65rs/- and there were about 100 plus seeds within the pack.The seeds come in a double seal pack.

Using your fingers draw small lines in the soil and care fully sow a radish seed in the groove,space the seeds 2 inches apart from each other and sow about 1/2 an inch deep and cover with a very thin layer of soil . Do not sow the seeds to deep or else they will not germinate properly.If you are a lazy gardener then you can go ahead and just scatter the seeds but then you will need to thin the seedlings later on once they germinate,for proper growth and formation,to thin out the unwanted saplings simply snip them with a pair of sharp gardening scissors.

Depending on the climate and temperature the seeds may take between 3 to 10 days to sprout.Keep the soil moist at all times but not water logged to prevent damping off and root rot in the radish sprouts.

Scarlet Globe Radishes are a cool season crop but they do need sunlight to grow,so place the pot/container that receives full or partial sunlight.

Retain soil moisture and make sure it does not dry out as this may cause the radishes to split.You can add some mulch like dried hay/straw or leaves.Radishes are ready to harvest when they have grown lush green tops with almost 6 to 7 leaves.You can pull one out to check the size,make sure you don't leave them to long or else they will turn fibrous and hard from within.So far i have not encountered any pests on my radishes,and it feels good for a change to grow something that is not attacked by pests or disease.