My Radish Problem - No Bulbs!

Here’s the problem. My radishes have not bulbed up after putting on great tops in my cold frame #1. As you can see in the slightly blurry picture, they look very healthy with the exception that where a nice radish should be, there is only a red root.

Some blogs have suggested that the problem might be do to the nature of the soil I’m using. In my cold frame I have used a potting mix, not actual garden soil. Also this mix is pre-fertilized and perhaps it is due to the excess nitrogen that I’m just getting leaves and no root crop.

So, in the fashion of a true researcher, I am planning the following experiment. I am going to set aside one square foot of space (actually an area measuring 6 inches by 24 inches and will divide it up into four sections, each containing a different mix of soil. I will then sow equal mounts of radish seed and will keep a record of the development of each. Perhaps I will then be able to solve the mystery of poor radish development.

My soil mix strategy will be as follows; Area one will have plain soil taken from the garden. This is basically 100% unimproved clavey loam (CL) that is very common in this area. Area two will be 75% CL and 25% Scotts Premium potting mix (PM). Area three will be a 50-50 blend of CL and PM. Finally, area four will be all potting mix.

I plan to document this experiment from the date of visible germination to finish by taking photographs from a fixed position. This will allow me to quantify the rate of bulbing (if any) against a scale of time. I plan to report these results in a future blog and will do a video of the results on YouTube. Wish me luck.