Photos and descriptions of different types of radish

Radish garden or vegetated varieties of radish - video

Radish vegetated or vegetated

• and North America. The genus Raphanus sativus includes several closely related species that have many similarities and significant differences.

  For the most part, these are biennial plants, which in the first year produce a rosette of leaves and root crops of various colors and sizes. And although it is the receipt of root crops that is the goal of growing many species of radish, in some species, for example, in wild radish, they are not there, but the plants have other important advantages.

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  The appearance of flower stalks in the first year of plant life for vegetable varieties is considered a serious drawback, but in the case of serpentine and oil-bearing radish, it speeds up the development cycle of the plant and allows you to get seeds in one season.

  All species of radish have lyre leaves, which can be either whole, like radish, or heavily dissected, pinnate, like daikon and Chinese radish. The resulting roots can be rounded and elongated, reaching a length of 60 cm. The color is just as varied. If black radish, as the name implies, has a dark gray, brown or almost black surface of the root, then daikon is called white radish for good reason. Radish - the most common type of sowing radish has a very range of colors. Today, breeders bred varieties giving roots of red, white, purple and even yellow. A Chinese radish can please gourmets with white flesh with the pulp of white, traditionally green and bright pink.

  When the stem appears, the buds are located in the upper, branched part, and the flowers can be white, yellowish or purple. A round brown fruit ripen in thickened pods.

  Descriptions and photos of different types of radish will help to better understand the cultivated and wild representatives of the genus, as well as pick up a new garden culture for your own plot.

  Black radish( Raphanus sativus var. Niger)

  Black radish, cultivated in Asia and Europe since ancient times, develops over a two-year cycle. In the first summer of the year after sowing, the above-ground part of the plant consists of a lush rosette of leaves, and a rounded or, more rarely, an elongated root crop weighing 200 grams to 2 kg is formed underground.

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  As seen in the photo of a radish, the distinctive feature of this crop is the unusually black surface of the root crop. The second feature can be felt only by trying a slice of white dense pulp of radish.

  No other species has such a sharp, bitter taste, inherent in black radish and due to the abundance of phytoncides and glycosides of mustard oil.

  In the second year, in May, a black radish blooms and within a month brownish seeds of irregular round form ripen in pointed, thickened pods with a loose parchment inner layer. Like all members of the genus, the black radish has an upright stem 40 to 100 cm high and small flowers with four petals.

  Harvested black radish roots are used for food fresh, pickled and dried, and can be stored for several months in refrigerated stores.

  Radishes( Raphanus sativus var. Radicula)

  As radish is also one of the varieties of sowing radish, the name “red radish” is quite applicable to the roots of this crop. Presumably, the first varieties of cultivated radish were obtained in Asia, although wild plants could not be found today. The closest ancestor of this popular plant can be considered the eastern variety of wild radish with purple flowers, which is still found in the coastal regions of Japan and China.

  Not only juicy radish root vegetables, but also young tops, are eaten as food.

  The shape, color and size of radish root crops are very different. As in the photo of a radish, a round, oval and noticeably elongated radish can be red, white and pink, completely white, yellowish, like turnips and bright purple. The roots of this vegetable crop are juicier than black radish, while the taste of the radish is much milder, although it has a pleasant sharpness.

  
  

  Radish is highly valued by gardeners all over the world as an early vegetable crop, sown both in open ground and in greenhouses. Moreover, the earliness of this species is so high that edible, juicy root crops grow in 20-35 days.

  Chinese or Green Radish( Raphanus sativus var. Lobo)

  Chinese or Green Radish, often called pinyin or lobo in the East. Culture gives large, juicy roots of elongated or rounded shape, having a completely green, white-green, pinkish or lilac color. Individual varieties of pink or reddish skin tone is very reminiscent of radishes, although incomparably larger.

  You can distinguish Chinese radish by the green, close to the leaf outlet of the apex of the root.

  Green radish roots contain many nutrients, they are rich in mineral salts, fiber and sugars. At the same time Lobo is good in salads and other dishes, since its taste has almost no spiciness. For culinary purposes, this type of radish is used not only fresh. Root vegetables are pickled, roasted on a grill, chips are made from slices and used for filling pies.

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  Chinese radish varieties, as in the photo, with an unusual red or pink heart, are particularly popular in the countries of America and Europe. This variety is called watermelon or red radish, although the top roots can be green or white.

  When growing green radish, special attention is paid to watering, removing weeds and combating excessive planting density, since the lack of moisture and light leads to the appearance of peduncles. In order to produce large, even root crops, the culture requires nutrient soil, but sowing radish is better in summer when daylight hours are already waning.

  Radish Daikon( Raphanus sativus var. Longipinnatus)

  Japanese radish Daikon, according to botanists, comes from the Chinese variety Lobo and was obtained during the long selection of the most juicy, tender, elongated root crops. Indeed, modern varieties of daikon do not contain mustard oils, and when eaten root vegetables, unlike black and green radish, sharpness is not noticed at all.

  With proper care for daikon, nutritional value and soil looseness, conducted irrigation and dressing, radish roots, as in the photo, grow to a length of 50–60 cm and can weigh from 500 grams to 3–4 kg.

  The development of such a large root crop requires much more time than a radish and even a Chinese radish. The vegetative period of daikon is 60–70 days.

  Oilseed Radish( Raphanus sativus var. Oleifera)

  Among the series of photos and descriptions of different types of radish you can find plants that do not give roots, but are actively used in agriculture. Oilseed radish is one such crop. This is an annual plant from 80 cm to 1.5 meters high, grown as an unpretentious, fast-growing siderat in many regions of the world.

  From the appearance of oil radish sunrises to the flowering period, only 35–45 days pass, therefore during the warm season the plant can be sown up to two or three times. Oilseed radish grows easily in the shade and on virtually any soil. At the same time, plants quickly accumulate green and root mass, promote loosening of the soil and accumulation of nutrients and minerals.

  The crushed green mass of oil radish is a good raw material for compost and natural fertilizer that goes into the soil before winter. Crops of this variety of radish can be combined with legumes, which allows you to naturally enrich the soil with almost two hundred kilograms of nitrogen per hectare.

  The photo of a radish shows how powerful this plant is. Therefore, with the help of this culture, you can deal with such obsessive weeds as wheat grass. Oilseed radish is used to infect the area with nematodes. Plants are able to suppress these dangerous pests.

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  Serpentine Radish( Raphanus sativus var. Caudatus)

  For Russian farmers, this type of radish is truly exotic. Serpentine radish or radish pod gets its name from the long, often fancifully curved pods, which are used in food.

  Annual plants not exceeding half a meter in height do not form a root crop, but after the lilac flowers fall, fleshy single-chamber pods-fruits begin to develop, depending on the variety, from 50 cm to 1 meter in length.

  However, such a giant fruit plant gives only at home - on the island of Java and Ceylon. Paprika radish is also grown in India. In Russia, radish pods, as in the photo, reach 10–15 cm in length. You can eat fresh, boiled and pickled fruits with moderately spicy taste.

  Wild radish( Raphanus sativus var. Raphanistrum)

  Wild or field radish grows almost throughout Europe, and in the temperate latitudes of Asia and also occurs in North Africa. Wild radish is a herbaceous annual plant with a dense stem with a height of 30 to 70 cm and a powerful taproot.

  Growing on empty lands, along roads and outbuildings, culture is a good honey plant, but for this purpose it is practically not used. But wild radish is practically the only species of the genus Raphanus sativus, which is considered a weed plant, which affects winter crops, cereals and vegetables.

  The flowers of this species of radish in European plants are more often whitish or yellowish. But on the eastern wild radish, sometimes called the coastal lilac or almost purple flowers, gathered in rare brushes located on the tops of the shoots.

  Wild radish blooms from early June to September, bringing pods with seeds rich in acrid mustard oil, dangerous to animals eating vegetation, in the fall.

  Understanding Radish Varieties - Video