echinosum wrote:
songbird Wrote:

how much clay does your soil contain?

even moisture may not be possible enough
for them in sandy loam, you may need to up
the clay percentage...

as for bolting, that's just what plants
do when they've got enough energy and the
day length is right for them.

pick them as early as they reach the size
you want to eat (3-5 cm across is about the
size for the common radishes i've seen).

OK thanks. My topsoil is sandy loam. I'll stop wasting my time.

considering how little area it takes to
grow these, adding 1-2 lbs of clay to 5 sq ft
would be an easy trial. often sold as kitty
litter (check the label).


I will of course quickly pull one out if there is any sign of it being
big enough to eat, but it's already woody at 1cm across. 3cm would be a
very rare monster in my garden.

as radishes are one of the easiest plants to
grow i'm very surprised by this.

you mentioned before adding a lot of organic
materials to the soil, you may be adding a lot
of carbon, but not enough nitrogen...

if you irrigate a lot the soil could be too
salty or it could be depleted of certain trace
minerals, phosphates or potassium.

i think you may be well served by a soil test.


songbird