Mustard · Easy · 4–6 hours
Radish
Seed to harvest in under a month. The fastest win available, and the best crop to give a child or a first-time gardener.
- Pot size 1 gallons minimum
- Soil depth 6 inches
- Spacing 3 inches
- Days to harvest 28
Radishes are the honest test of a container setup: they germinate in three days, size up in four weeks, and tell you immediately if your soil is too heavy or your watering is uneven. They also work in the narrowest pot you own, which is why they belong in every balcony garden as a quick filler between slower crops.
How to grow it
- Sow directly, ⅓ inch deep, 1 inch apart, then thin to 3 inches. Radishes will not bulb if crowded.
- Keep soil consistently moist. Dry spells followed by soaking cause split, woody roots.
- Do not transplant. Disturbed roots fork and turn woody.
- Sow small batches every 10 days in spring and again in early fall for a steady supply.
- Grow them in the same pot as slower crops — radishes are harvested before the neighbour needs the space.
What goes wrong
- All leaf, no root: too much nitrogen or too much shade. Move the pot into more sun and stop feeding.
- Woody, pithy centers: harvested late or grown through a dry spell.
- Flea beetles: tiny shot-holes in leaves. Row cover is the only reliable fix.
Harvesting
Check at day 25 by brushing soil away from the shoulder. Ready when the root is about an inch across.
- Pull when the shoulder is visible and about an inch wide — do not wait for a big root.
- Twist while pulling to avoid breaking the taproot.
- Cut the leaves off immediately; leaving them on drains moisture from the root.
Varieties that work in pots
Cherry Belle · French Breakfast · Daikon (needs a deeper pot) · Rover
Seed is cheap; the pot and the mix are where the money goes. Links to search results on Amazon are affiliate links — see our disclosure.
Radish timing by zone
Windows for a typical garden in each zone. Start indoors = seed tray; Set out = transplant or direct sow into the final container.
| Zone | Start indoors | Set out | Direct sow | Fall sow | Harvest from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | — | — | May 9 – May 30 | Aug 4 – Aug 25 | Jun 6 – Jun 27 |
| 4 | — | — | Apr 24 – May 15 | Aug 14 – Sep 4 | May 22 – Jun 12 |
| 5 | — | — | Apr 9 – Apr 30 | Aug 24 – Sep 14 | May 7 – May 28 |
| 6 | — | — | Mar 25 – Apr 15 | Sep 3 – Sep 24 | Apr 22 – May 13 |
| 7 | — | — | Mar 11 – Apr 1 | Sep 13 – Oct 4 | Apr 8 – Apr 29 |
| 8 | — | — | Feb 27 – Mar 20 | Sep 20 – Oct 11 | Mar 27 – Apr 17 |
| 9 | — | — | Feb 8 – Mar 1 | Oct 4 – Oct 25 | Mar 8 – Mar 29 |
| 10 | — | — | Jan 25 – Feb 15 | Oct 20 – Nov 10 | Feb 22 – Mar 15 |
| 11 | — | — | Jan 10 – Jan 31 | Nov 8 – Nov 29 | Feb 7 – Feb 28 |
See the full planting calendar to compare all crops for your zone at once.