Radish "Carmen"

* RADISH IN SPRING GREENHOUSE.
It is the first of the root crops that appears on our table in early spring during a period of vitamin deficiency and is the basis of most spring salads. And for the season, you can easily harvest three crops of radishes.
For an early vegetable, radish contains quite a lot of vitamin C - up to 30 mg%, and in an easily accessible form. Radishes also contain a lot of vitamin C, but for some reason gardeners do not remember this.
Radishes are rich in essential oils that have a positive effect on all digestive processes, suppressing various harmful microorganisms. Radish juice is very rich in potassium salts, which is very useful in the treatment of diseases of the kidneys and the cardiovascular system.
Radishes can also be used as an anti-inflammatory when there are no other options. So, for colds, radish juice mixed with onion juice and pepper is useful. A mixture of radish juice with carrot juice restores the tone of the mucous membrane in the body.
European and Asian subgroups of radish varieties are known. Varieties of European origin are very early maturing, but they do not store well and are relatively small. In spring greenhouses, only these varieties should be grown.
Radishes are quite cold hardy. Its seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of +3+4°C, seedlings endure frosts down to minus -2-3°C. However, long-term exposure to low temperatures slows down development and can cause plants to shoot. Therefore, ultra-early sowing is desirable in greenhouses with additional cover of plants with a film.
In the greenhouse, until germination, it is necessary to maintain the temperature at + 16 + 18 degrees. When shoots appear, so that the plants do not stretch, the temperature must be lowered to + 10°C and maintained until the first true leaf appears. Then the temperature should be raised to +15+18°C.
Radishes are demanding on good lighting. With a dense planting, the plants will shade each other and will not give a harvest. But good root crops can be obtained only with a short daylight hours (no more than 10-11 hours), otherwise the plants form flowering stems.
That is why experienced gardeners in the spring tend to sow radishes as early as possible. For the same reason, from the second half of May until the end of July, when the daylight hours reach its maximum, most radish varieties fail. And in order to avoid this, at the height of summer, beds with radishes should be covered with black film from 18 pm to 8 am.
Radishes are also demanding on soil moisture (within 60-70%). With its lack and high air temperature, root crops become coarse and flabby. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to mulch the soil around the plants with peat. And excess water in the soil can lead to stunted growth, yellowing of the leaves and insufficient fruit color.
Radishes are demanding on soil fertility and the presence of nutrients in it in an easily digestible form. Clay soils are unsuitable for its cultivation, but it is not picky about soil acidity. It grows well on soils from neutral to acidic, so liming the soil is carried out only on very acidic soils.