Problems in Growing radish in container

[Gevalia]

Hello everyone!

call me Gevalia and i live in the Philippines, not in the beautiful countryside where there are miles of gardening spaces but in the very busy city. I recently started my container garden project, and decided to grow some vegetables that will thrive in containers. as i do it for hobby, i concentrate on growing different varieties, say, some should bear fruits and some should bear root crops.


I selected aubergines ( eggplant), bitter melons, radish and lettuce. I have no problems ( so far ) with my bitter melons and eggplants but, i gave up lettuce and now I'm so worried about my radishes. they were the most promising amongst my plants because they sprouted so fast ( in 24 hours) and developed fast. but i started to have some issues on their 2nd week.


they develop so slow and their leaves are turning yellow. most of them died. i thought it was because i transplanted them and i probably disturbed their roots, so i planted my 2nd batch, hoping that they will be better. so far, the cotyldeons are green but they are folded.


Am i doing something wrong? the variety I'm growing is Minho, an Asian variety. I placed them in the shade but allow them to get some direct sunlight during morning when the heat isnt so strong.

btw, sorry about the picture sizes i dont know how to make them smaller

[PottyPot]

Hello What is the soil like that you're using?

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Gevalia!! Welcome to our forum!! Which island and town do you live in, in the Philippines?

[Gevalia]

Originally Posted by PottyPot

Hello What is the soil like that you're using?

i use the pot mix that i bought from the garden store.....but i reckon that isnt so natural so i mixed it with soil garden and humus...i made sure that the soil is good for drainage ( it has vermiculites and some other stuff they use in the garden) and the roots could expand well in it. why? if it's about the Ph im not sure but i didnt use anything peculiar

[Gevalia]

Originally Posted by Lesley Jay

Hi Gevalia!! Welcome to our forum!! Which island and town do you live in, in the Philippines?

i live in the main and biggest island called Luzon, in the capital of the country called Manila

[Lesley Jay]

The Philippines is a lovely country. My daughter in law is from Davao del Sur on Mindanao.

[Gevalia]

Originally Posted by Lesley Jay

The Philippines is a lovely country. My daughter in law is from Davao del Sur on Mindanao.

thank you, that is so sweet

my father is from Mindanao, in the province of Davao too. been there and the fruits and vegetables they grown there are very different from what we have in Luzon. for example they have this very very smelly but very very delicious fruit called durian that we can never grow in luzon( and a lot more), but we also have some things in luzon that they dont have. funny that luzon and mindanao seem soo different from each other when the whole philippines is not bigger than the state of Texas ( we have 7,107 islands thats why)

[Lesley Jay]

Oh yes, I know about Durian fruit - it really must have a dreadful smell as it's banned from so many places!

[Gevalia]

Originally Posted by Lesley Jay

Oh yes, I know about Durian fruit - it really must have a dreadful smell as it's banned from so many places!

taste it and you will forget the smell. anyway, back to my concern, im still worried about my radish and always envy photos i see on websites

[Lesley Jay]

Gevalia, give the second batch of radish chance to grow, but don't transplant them. The problem might just be caused by the heat and humidity in Manilla city.

[Gevalia]

Originally Posted by Lesley Jay

Gevalia, give the second batch of radish chance to grow, but don't transplant them. The problem might just be caused by the heat and humidity in Manilla city.

thank you for the advise, that's what i will do this time. im just concern, do they need direct sunlight or just in shade?

[Lesley Jay]

Gevalia, when the weather is hot and the sun very strong then radish prefer to grow in some shade. I think I would try growing them during the rainy season when the temperature isn't quite as high.

[Gevalia]

Originally Posted by Lesley Jay

Gevalia, when the weather is hot and the sun very strong then radish prefer to grow in some shade. I think I would try growing them during the rainy season when the temperature isn't quite as high.

they are in the shade now......but i think i wil take your advise to save them for rainy days when i cant grow aubergines and bitter melons

[Gevalia]

i have some new updates regarding my radishes....all of the 1st and 2nd batches died, maybe because i placed them in a shady location or because the seeds i selected werent meant for a warmer climate, so i bought another packet of seeds, this time the white icicle. i planted them in a pot and then i planted more of the same variety i had before, but this time i placed both of them in a sunny position.


they are growing well now, but still in critical period. i will post pics later.,

[Gevalia]

White Icicle...



Mingho.


this time, both varieties are planted in their permanent containers, with lots of sunshine, and some interventions to control heat ( mulch, and their containers are covered with white paper...) they get direct sunlight in moderation.

[Gevalia]

its been a while since i started this thread and im here to proudly announce the outcome of my experiment!





i actually harvested my radishes at exactly 40 days after i planted them, so these updates are actually late.

the above pictures show the progresses that the white icicle radish had.....on May 5 the bulb was starting to swollen....and weeks after i decided to pull it out because it its losing its leaves to a certain larvae.


note that at the beginning of the race between the 2 varieties of radish the white icicle was on the lead ( it was the 1st that formed the bulb and was more lush in leaves)..its not wilting in the hot of the sun, unlike the minho radish.




the above photos show the development of the mingho radish..i left 2 radishes in the pot because i was thinking that one of them would probably die but or might not form a bulb but surprisingly both of them developed bulbs.....


Im already contented that both varieties formed bulbs, and though the bulbs were small compare to the usual sizes of local radishes, i still consider this experiment to be a success!


and guess which variety won the race?


it was the mingho radish!!!! look at the harvested radishes, the one that didnt develop full bulb was the white icicle.....i dont know why it turned out that way, its like the bulb only developed outside the soil but not in the soil....the bigger ones are the mingho radishes.

the tastes, well all of them tasted hot, but not woody, rather they were crisp....put some vinegar and salt to them and the hotness was relived...i enjoyed them though.

[Gevalia]

thanks to everyone who supported me with this experiment, to the sun, the wind, the potting mix, the fertilizers, the waters, and to all the forumers here...


i enjoyed growing radish and im now trying another variety called Nagcarlan radish, which is supposed to fit the tropical climate.

[Lesley Jay]

Brilliant Gevalia!! Good luck with the Nagcarlan radish!!

[Gevalia]

Originally Posted by Lesley Jay

Brilliant Gevalia!! Good luck with the Nagcarlan radish!!

thank you Lesley Jay! actually im not that too worrried about the radish now..if nagcarlan radish (did it sound like an alien?) doesnt grow well i can always have the samme radish i had before, mingho and white icicle...


my concern now is the zucchini! :0 ( in another forum hahahah)


its like having several babies with different needs really!