Daikon Raphanus seed longipinnatus Long White

LATIN NAME: Raphanus sativus

COMMON NAME: Daikon Radish

The daikon is the long, white root of the winter kitchen, and the small, white or purple flowers open in the loose heads above the lobed leaves. The upright, annual or biennial plant carries the lobed, grey-green leaves in the open rosettes and the spikes of the small, white or pale-purple, four-petalled flowers through the late spring, to be followed by the long, slender, white or pale-green roots of the table, one of the fine, bold sights of the winter bed. The roots have a very long record as the fine, crisp winter vegetable of the warm tables, and the plant is a fine, generous presence of the kitchen garden. It is a plant of the open, sunny, deep, moist, rich ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The daikon is a historic subject of the plant science, and the long white roots keep showing up in the work on the root vegetables. The way the long, slender roots form in the deep, loose soil has been examined closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the root vegetables, the brassica crops and the members of the cabbage family. The lobed leaves and the rosette habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the daikon is a regular subject of the work on the long white roots of the cool world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The daikon is a fine, bold plant of the winter bed and the kitchen garden. The long, slender, white or pale-green roots have a very long record as the fine, crisp winter vegetable of the warm tables, the fresh roots grated into the pickles, the salads and the soups of the warm kitchens, with the fine, sharp bite, while the spikes of the small, white or pale-purple flowers open through the late spring, drawing the bees. The plant is one of the fine choices for the winter bed, the kitchen garden and the study collection, and it has been written about in the culinary and the agricultural papers for the long white roots and the very long history. It is a fine, bold plant of the open, sunny, deep, moist, rich garden.

Keep the seed bed moist and the young plants well spaced, and the long roots will fill out.

To grow the daikon from seed, sow the small, round seeds a couple of centimetres down in a tray of fine, gritty soil, keep the tray in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings are up within a week or two and grow on fast. With the sun and the deep, moist, rich ground, the long white roots will fill through the season.

(Chinese radish) A large radish with white carrot-shaped roots 30-40cm/6-8 long. Texture is crisp and tender and flavour is pungent. Sow in fall for spring harvest or in spring for early summer harvest.