Category Archives: Vegetables: Growing

The under-explored vegetable: Daikon Radish

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Daikon Radish: There are over a hundred varieties of daikon radishes, but to most people in America this root is a vegetable of mystery.  Daikon radishes are popular in Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China, so in the states it is often found in Asian grocery stores, ethnic specialty stores or growers markets where large Asian-American populations occur.  But, luckily for us, most of Ashland’s grocery stores carry daikon radish year round   

Daikon radish is a member of Brassica family; a cool weather vegetable. This tuber forms a large cylindrical tap root 12-20 inches long and 2-4 inches in diameter. Its root pushes deep in the soil like a giant carrot, but leaves 2 to 6 inches protruding above the ground. Its skin is pale green or all white, similar to a turnip.  The flavor is tangy with a crisp juicy texture, and depending on the variety, it can be a mild to fiery hot, like a horseradish.  Its mildness or hotness also depends on growing conditions and the amount of water it receives during the growing season.

Daikon radish origins trace back to the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts. It found its way to Japan approximately 1,300 years ago where it became popular nationwide in the Edo period (1603-1868). Many varieties of the daikon radishes are near extinction due to the lack of commercial value, but a few specialty farmers, especially in Japan, are growing heirloom varieties for chefs and these prized radishes can fetch a high price.  But the most cultivated daikon radish for the world market is the Aokubi Daikon, which is a milder sweeter variety.  Japan produces 90% of the worlds Daikon radish crop, and they consume most of this crop as well.

In the United States there is growing interest to use daikon radish as a winter cover crop. Some of this crop is used for consumption, but most of it is plowed under to add nitrogen to the soil.  Purdue University reports that daikon radish as a winter cover crop suppresses weeds in fall and winter, helps break up compacted soil, and because its contains a lot of water, it decomposes in a short period of time providing a flush of nitrogen for early spring crops.

Daikon radish can be consumed raw, cooked, or pickled. You can shred it to use in salads for a crisp crunchy texture and a peppery bite. You can add thin slices into miso soup, or braise it in thick chunks for stews. Boiling daikon chunks in water for 30 minutes then adding to a recipe allows the radish to absorb the flavors of the dish. Amazingly, this root holds its shape and texture after an hour of cooking.   The tops are edible too; sauté in oil until wilted then add seasonings.  Daikon Radish seeds are readily available because daikon radish mico-greens are popular.  

To start your sprouts, soak seeds in a bowl of cool water for 6 hours, or overnight, making sure seeds are submersed. This softens the seed coat and promotes germination. Grow as mico-greens, or sow directly into the garden for mature vegetables.  OSU Department of Horticulture states in Oregon daikon radishes require a full growing season to reach maturity and for the best root quality and development irrigate well to maintain uniform, vigorous growth.    USDA Hardiness Zone 2-11

Daikon Radish Salad –   https://www.japancentre.com/en/recipes/1313-daikon-salad

Miso Soup https://www.japancentre.com/en/recipes/1534-daikon-radish-and-abura-age-fried-tofu-miso-soup

Article by: Carlotta Lucas

Recipe for Seed-Starting Mix

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Basic Recipe for Seed-Starting Mix

4 parts compost
1 part perlite
1 part vermiculite
2 parts peat moss
That there is little to no nutrition in the mix, because seeds come with their own, built-in nutrition.  (“A seed is a baby plant in a box, with it’s lunch.”)
Seed starting mix is finer than other  mixes, so it’s important that the compost used is very fine. ~Sherri Morgan, Master Gardener & AGC Board Member

Photo by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Board Member

Growing Tomatoes

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Jackson County (Oregon) Master Gardeners

Growing Tomatoes

  1. Location: Tomatoes do best planted in full sun (at least 6-8 hrs./day of direct sunlight) and not in the same location as plants from the same family such as where tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, potatoes, tobacco; have been planted during the last three years!
  2. Soil preparation: ESSENTIAL for good Adding a generous amount of compost and mixing well into the soil is crucial. DO NOT add additional nitrogen because it encourages leaf growth over root and Flower development; the results will be fewer tomatoes. Add water and let it soak in. Some people like to put a mixture of ¼ cup bone meal, ¼ cup organic tomato-vegetable fertilizer, and 1 tsp. magnesium covered with 2-3″ of soil in the bottom of the hole.
  3. Transplanting and staking:

a. Dig a deep hole, big enough to bury the whole plant except for the top two sets of leaves. Pinch off all but those top two sets of Roots will grow from all the little hairs along the stem, making the plant stronger more stable and the plant can absorb more nutrients.

b. Put the stake in before filling the hole while you can still see the roots. Fill the hole and firm the soil around the roots.  A tomato cage can be used instead of, or with the stake. These supports are more important for both indeterminate and determinate tomatoes.

c. Use a tomato tie to loosely tie the tomato to staking in a figure-8 formation

d. Water well. A good rule-of-thumb is to water when the top 1-inch of soil has dried. This often averages to about l” of water a week in the heat of summer. Watering early in the day is considered a best practice, as the water won’t evaporate too quickly, and any splashs on the plants will dry off as the day warms. It’s better to soak the roots thoroughly once every several days than it is to water lightly every day, as soaking will encourage deeper root growth.

Note: If your plants are looking slightly wilted late in the heat of the day, that’s not necessarily a sign more water is needed. Check the soil first. However, if they are wilted in the morning, if they don’t have signs of a disease, they are in need of water.

e. Mulch to prevent drying and weeds, but keep mulch way from the

5. Planting horizontally:  Soil is warmer at the surface and tomatoes need warm soil, so to take advantage of this, follow the directions above for transplanting except instead of digging a hole, dig a trench about 3″ deep and long enough to hold the tomato plant when laid on its side except for the top two sets of leaves.  Bury the stem and roots in the trench, within 2-3 days, the top part of the plant that is not buried will become vertical.

6.  Blossom-end Rot (BER) : Caused by the plant’s inability to take up enough enough calcium, but rarely due to a lack of calcium in the soil.  If in doubt, do a soil test.

a. Most common causes:

      • Drown and drought watering
      • Damaged roots
      • Planting tomatoes too early. The optimum soil temperature for planting tomatoes is 70° with nighttime air temperature over 50°. Early varieties of tomatoes are less susceptible.
      • Not enough magnesium causing an inability of the plan to take up calcium.
      • BER can’t be cured, only prevented.

Some vocabulary to know:

Determinate: Spreads laterally with little or no staking required. Fruits ripen all at once, therefore good for canning.

Indeterminate: Grows vertically, produces until frost, best if staked or caged, fruit ripens until frost therefore good for fresh eating.

Semi-determinate: Semi-determinate tomatoes, especially beefsteak types, have a growth habit between that of indeterminate and determinate types. They produce vigorous lateral shoots that often terminate in a flowering truss (cluster). As a result, lateral shoots are not usually removed.

Parthenocarpic: Means “virgin fruit” flowers will form fruit without fertilization/pollination, tomato examples include: Oregon Spring, Siletz, Legend (able to set fruit earlier giving ripe seedless tomatoes 10-14 days earlier than other types)

Hardening off: Putting a plant outside for increasing amounts of time and sun exposure each day to get it accustomed to being out of the sheltered greenhouse. Start with a half hour in the shade, gradually working up to all day in full sun.

5 W’s for Fertilizing

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                                                                    Article by Kelly Brainard, Owner Ashland Greenhouse

“There are always so many questions about fertilizing.  I would like to go over some of the basics, especially since early spring can be a key time for taking care of fertilizing needs. Always ask yourself:
The type of plant you are focusing on (perennials, annuals, vegetables, ect).
What type of fertilizer to use based on season and the plant(s) you’re fertilizing.
When do you apply fertilizer?  Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter?
Where is the best place to apply fertilizers?  Topically or to the root zone?
Why is this necessary?  What are the benefits of fertilizing?

Since we could write a book on everything mentioned above let’s keep it brief and relevant to what we should focus on in early spring.  This is a great time of year to focus on perennials.  Most perennials prefer a well-balanced or all-purpose fertilizer (all three numbers on the packaging are identical, i.e. 3-3-3 or 16-16-16).  Perennials fed in early spring develop strong root systems which in turn produces larger, healthier plants.  Apply granular fertilizers to the soil around the root zone.

For annuals that are tough enough to be outside early and continue blooming throughout the summer, like petunias and verbena, apply well balanced or slightly higher nitrogen fertilizers. This gives them an extra boost, encouraging growth.  You can successfully use either a granular or foliar fertilizer.  Foliar fertilizers tend to react faster than granules since they are taken up by the plant through the leaves but need re-application more often.  For annuals I like to use granular fertilizer applications in the spring and start using weekly or biweekly applications of liquid fertilizer in the summer. Remember as a rule of thumb – ALWAYS apply fertilizers in the morning. It is less stressful for the plants.

Vegetables are a completely different beast when it comes to fertilizing.  There are numerous techniques when it comes to fertilizing your vegetables.  If it’s grown for leafy greens then apply fertilizers heavier in nitrogen. If it’s grown for the fruit apply fertilizers heavier in phosphorous.  Nitrogen promotes healthy, green foliage and too much of it can discourage fruit development while phosphorous promotes bud and flower growth which encourages more fruit.

When in doubt about fertilizing don’t hesitate to ask a fellow gardener. Some of the best advice is the advice that we share with each other!”

Source: http://AshlandGreenhouses_April2014Newsletter