Last edited on November 02, 2026. View history
Black Spanish Radish
A variety of radish
How to sow black Spanish radish: Direct seed outdoors
Sun requirement for black Spanish radish: Plant in Full Sun
A large, round radish with black skin and white flesh, from the Harrington collection. Mild, traditionally eaten thinly sliced and raw, and good for lactic pickling. Direct sow, or sow in trays in autumn or early spring and transplant at the first two leaves, 10 to 15 cm apart on the diagonal.
- 0
- plantings
- 0
- harvests
- 0
- seed packets
Black spanish radish facts
Lifespan
Crop cycle
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For black Spanish radish, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 10°C and a shortest growing cycle of 50 days at its best temperature, about 450 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your black Spanish radish will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
Growing black Spanish radishes
- Dig the bed fine 1 week before sowing
- Water regularly at sowing every week
- Thin the seedlings 1 week after sowing
- Sow another batch 2 weeks after sowing every 2 weeks
- Pull the radishes at first harvest
- Pull out plants that have bolted 3 weeks after first harvest
Plant black Spanish radishes with
Video
What people are saying about black Spanish radishes
Nobody has posted about black Spanish radishes yet.
Sign in or sign up to post your tips and experiences growing black Spanish radishes.
Who's planted black Spanish radishes
Nobody has planted this crop yet.
Sign in or sign up to track your black Spanish radish plantings.Black spanish radish harvests
Nobody has harvested this crop yet.
Sign in or sign up to track your black Spanish radish harvests.Find black Spanish radish seeds
There are no seeds available to trade on Growstuff right now.
- Purchase seeds via Ebay
- Sign in or sign up to list your seeds to trade.
Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 50 to 80 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Raphanus sativus Bailey
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Dilleniidae Capparales Cruciferae |
|---|---|
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | annual |
| Habit | erect |
| Optimal soil depth | deep (>>150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium, light |
| Optimal soil fertility | high |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours), long day (>14 hours) |
Learn more about black Spanish radishes
Resources outside Growstuff.
