Ideas for community gardens < roots

The daikon is a large radish eaten raw or cooked.

DAIKON + other radishes

Daikon is a member of the diverse radish group of plants that vary in:

• shape - cylindrical to spherical
• size - from as small as approximately two centimetres diameter
• colour - white, red, black, purple, yellow - depending on variety
• growth period - from weeks to months.

Botanic name

Raphanus sativus (daikon)

Growth form (daikon)

• white root to around 30 centimetres long and 4 centimetres in diameter

Edible part

• tuber - edible raw or cooked

Cultivation

• daikon is a slower growing variety of radish maturing in warm temperate coastal regions of Easteern Australia in late autumn
• the size of the tuber yields plenty of food
• plant smaller fast-growing radish varieties successionally every two weeks

Propagation:

• from seed

Use in garden:

• plant as catch crop between slower growing vegetables to make use of garden space until slower growing plants fully occupy the space

Centre of diversity

• Asia
• recorded in use in Egypt from 2980BP (before present)
• ancient crop in Japan.

PAGE UPDATED... Wednesday, 16 January 2002