I am no expert, but it's my understanding that radishes like cool temperatures and adequate moisture. They do better in plenty of sun and good soil as well, though are somewhat adaptable to hard soil. They can take light frost.

Just my personal feeling, but I feel there is only a limited "window of opportunity" to grow cool season crops in Manitoba. You know what they say, it almost seems to change from winter to summer overnight, or at least within a couple of months. That's not to say it can't be done, lots of gardeners plant lettuce, radishes, cabbage. Even market gardeners and commercial growers.

What I mean is ideal growing weather for those plants probably starts the first week in May but by the middle of June, depending on the individual year, things may start getting too warm and dry for them. Of course last year you probably could have grown them all summer with the cool wet weather.

Too warm or dry means lettuce may start to bolt and radishes may start to bloom without producing a good root first.

Interesting to hear from more experienced growers, however. If plants like radishes are kept too moist, say to soggy due to excessive rains, could that cause problems and improper root development as well?

Glen

I have that problem less now that I am seeing to it that the soil in my radish rows get loosened up 1 or 2 days after every rain. When they are still tiny I do it with a hand trowel. Later a hoe works okay. Also, once they look like they are inclined to fill out, I hill the dirt up around the red part, just like I do with my beets. Each time I feel the need to loosen the soil again, I re-hill to accommodate the increasing size of the radish and what the rain has displaced. I have had a much higher percentage of filled out radishes since I started my loosening and hilling policy. Carmellia

I tried for years to grow radishes without success. I finally gave up.

I also gave up after some years!
They just grew leafs for me, noting really on the bottom!
....but as a kid, I was successful growing them in Switzerland

Try wintersowing them. I wintersowed peas and spinach last March. I had great crops - in pots on my deck tho, not in the ground. I might try some radishes next year. I have a couple of those long windowbox-like plastic planters. I had two of them jam-packed with spinach last spring. (Planted a whole pkg of seeds in each one!)

Yo, people. My radishes in my garden aren't producing radishes. My Early Scarlett Globe radishes are to be harvested in 30 days. It has been 34. I pulled one and there was nothing there. I pulled another and still nothing. I am afraid that if i pull again my plants will die. Why are my radishes not producing their fruits? Does anyone have advice for me. P.S. i am in south carolina

I knew a neighbor who could not grow them either . She used lawn fertilizer on her garden it stimulated to much leaf growth . Save the ones that come out good and let them go to seed save the seeds for next years crop . They will be perfectly adapted to your garden.

My experience is to make very sure they are thinned very early before the first true leaves or they only produce leaves.

It is probably easiest to just place the seed about 2 inches apart in the rows for home gardening.

Also different varieties seem to be more or less tolerant of closer spacing. Generally the larger the root the wider they need to be spaced. But always very early thinning!!!

Absolutely! Thinning is vital. They have to have room or they will go straight to tops. My early crops are always quite nice; ones planted later, towards the end of June, tend to go to tops & I have a lot more problem with root maggots.
Connie

Oh Man,
I was wondering about my radish crop...tons of leaf, but, I didn't thin yet...when is it too, toooo late to thin? my radish's have nickle size leafs now...my first garden in about 10 years, doing great otherwise...thanks for any advice..
grojoegro

I was disappointed with my radish crop a few years back, then someone told me to eat the leaves. I said "Yuck! They are too fuzzy to eat." But my friend told me to cook them. Wow, what a surprise! They are delicious (boiled or steamed) So I still plant radish but if they don't form a root, it's not a waste of space and time.

Furthermore, you can eat the seedpods. I eat them straight off the plant or in salads. I actually don't like radishes much, but I like the seedpods. It's the same flavor, only milder. And one little radish produces oodles of them, so it's nice that way. Of course, you do have to wait much longer for the crop, and they do take up much more room once they've bolted. Nonetheless, they're yummy. And when you're sick of eating them you can let some ripen to grow your radishes from the next year!