Recently, daikon has become increasingly popular in Russia - a healthy and tasty root crop, so common in the Land of the Rising Sun. It has excellent taste, rich in fiber, pectin, minerals (calcium, potassium) and vitamins (C, B1, B2, E, PP).
Daikon is used for medicinal purposes in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and colds, and is also used as a prophylaxis of diabetes. This juicy root vegetable is consumed fresh, salted, stewed or boiled. Its taste is softer than that of radish, island-sweet.
The main varieties of root crops are daikon. Cultivation and care
Classification of varieties is based on the shape of the daikon and its position in the ground. Sweet radish can be of various shapes: conical, spindle-shaped, cylindrical. In central Russia, such varieties as Elephant Fang, Minovase, Sasha, Dubinushka, Miyashige, Tokinashi and others are most common. If you want to grow a valuable and healthy vegetable on your plot, opt for a root crop called daikon. Growing and caring for this crop does not require too much effort, and as a reward for your efforts you will receive a tasty, fragrant and well-stored fruit.
Sweet radish - daikon. Planting and seedling care
Daikon prefers fertile loose light sandy soil. It is advisable to highlight a sunny area for the plant, since in the shade its growth is seriously slowed down. Before sowing seeds, the soil is prepared: they are dug deep enough, and if necessary, fertilized with humus and compost. On such soil, the daikon will feel good. When to plant it? The vast majority of varieties of these Japanese root crops are planted from mid-June to the end of July. But there are plants planted later - in the first half of August. For planting, beds are formed (narrow and high) and, using a plane cutter, holes are made (about 10 cm deep). Then they pave the way for the future daikon root - with a pin or pitchfork they “pierce” the substrate in the hole. It is advisable to add Nitrofoska fertilizer to the soil prepared for sowing seeds. Some gardeners use
potassium salt, superphosphates and ammonium nitrate. Root seeds are placed in holes up to 20 cm apart, and 65 cm recede between rows. After this, planting material is watered from the watering can and the soil is buried (approximately 2 cm), rammed a little. Thus, landing a daikon is not particularly difficult. All that is required of the gardener is to choose the right place, prepare and fertilize the soil, acquire seeds and sow them. And shoots of Japanese radish will appear within 7 days. It is actively growing and is rapidly gaining leafy mass.
Daikon: cultivation and care (watering and pest protection)
This sweet radish loves moisture, so especially in dry weather it must be watered abundantly. After this, carefully loosen and weed the bed. Also daikon must be protected from pests. Most often, root crops are affected by bugs,
cabbage fly and
cruciferous flea. In order to get rid of pests, you can use wood ash (dusting plants). Daikon does not tolerate even small frosts (from -2 ° C to -3 ° C), it freezes and loses its taste. Therefore, during the onset of cold weather, it is necessary to protect root crops by covering them with non-woven material and a film.
Daikon: growing and care. Harvesting and storage
This root crop is a very early plant ripening in 50-70 days. For harvesting, choose a rainy day, at the end of October or the first decade of November. The daikon is carefully dug up with a pitchfork or a shovel, cleaned from the soil and cut the tops. Spine do not touch. Root crops of sweet radish are stored for a long time (for 3 months), always in a cellar or basement in wet sand. It is also convenient to keep daikon in plastic bags in the refrigerator.