Radish

Botanical Names: Raphanus sativus

The Radish is an edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae domesticated in Asia before Roman times.

Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten raw as a crunchy salad vegetable with a savoury flavour. There are numerous varieties, varying in size, taste, colour, and length of time to mature. Radishes owe their sharp flavour to the various chemical compounds produced by the plants.

They are sometimes grown as companion plants and suffer from few pests and diseases. They germinate quickly and grow rapidly, common smaller varieties being ready for consumption within a month, while larger daikon varieties take several months.

Another use of Radish is as a cover or catch crop in winter, or as a forage crop. Some radishes are grown for their seeds; others, such as daikon, may be grown for oil production.

Varieties

Radishes can be categorized according to the seasons when they are grown.  There are four main types of radishes, depending on when they are planted: summer, fall, winter, and spring radishes.

They can also be subdivided by shape and colour.

Some of the radishes are April Cross, Bunny Tail, Cherry Belle, Champion, Red King, Sicily Giant, Snow Belle, White Icicle, French Breakfast, Plum Purple, Easter Egg, Gala, Roodbol Black, and Spanish Round.

There are various shapes, lengths, colours, and sizes, such as red, pink, white, grey-black, or yellow radishes, with round or elongated roots.