The beginner’s guide
- Start with good seeds | Timeline: Week 0 to Week 1
Daikon seeds are fairly easy to handle because of their size. Fill a CocoCup with seed starting mix about 3/4 way full, and drench it with a deep watering. Make a hole the same size as the daikon seed ( I like to use my pinky finger for this), and place one daikon seed per hole. Lightly sprinkle some seed starting mix to cover the seeds, and gently press down to ensure good seed-to-soil contact. This greatly improves germination. Place it in a sunny spot, and water daily to ensure that seed starting mix remains moist.
Each seed will only give you one root, so you will have to thin the seedlings (choose the strongest, and trim the rest) after they have sprouted. Expect seeds to germinate within 3–6 days.
2. Find a sunny spot| Week 2–4
Once the first shoots start peeking out, it is time to move the Daikon seedlings to a sunny spot. Within the first week, you will see them shooting up tall. Do ensure that your seeds are not germinating in the ‘shade’ of the planter edge, or they can get ‘leggy’, like the picture above. ‘Leggy-ness’ happens when the plant is not receiving enough light, so it ‘stretches’ to get more light. This is common for apartment gardens, and a simple trick you could use is to rotate the CocoCup daily so both sides get light evenly. This also enables you to prevent the plant from growing so tall in one direction it flops over.
It is also at this point that you would want to trim off all but the strongest seedling. Cut them off at the soil line, rather than yank them out of the CocoCup, so you do not disturb the precious roots.
3. Transplant Time! | Timeline: Week 4–6
After the 4th week, it is time to move your seedlings to their permanent home. Daikon loves a deep pot — they are a root vegetable so allow plenty of room for their roots to grow. Pick a pot that is at least 24 cm deep. They also grow a nice bunch of leafy tops, so leave about 5 cm between plants. To transplant, simply fill your planter with some great potting mix — Farmcity’s Veggie Mix is perfect for growing edibles in containers. Dig a hole the size of cocopot and pop yourseedlings, CocoCups and all into it. If you have leggy seedlings, you can make the hole a little deeper so the lower third of the stem is buried. The CocoCups will slowly biodegrade and nourish your plants as they do! Another great thing about growing in 100% biodegradable CocoCups? You don’t have to wait till they get their ‘first true leaves’ before you transplant them nor do you have to worry about ‘disturbing’ their roots during transplant!
Water them deeply after transplant. Daikon love daily watering for the first two weeks after transplant, but reduce to once every 2 to 3 days after.
4. Fertilize weekly with an Organic Liquid Compost| Timeline: Week 6–10
After transplanting, supercharge your seedlings by adding nutrients in your watering schedule. Farmcity’s Organic Liquid Compost is made out of a complete dose of nutrients, including phosphorus and potassium, so it can grow great tasting roots.
During this time, it is important to also reduce watering to once every 2–3 days. Doing so will enable the plant to send out strong roots.
5. Harvest, Harvest, Harvest | Timeline: Week 10–12
Their leafy tops are edible and can be harvested by picking the biggest leaves while the roots are forming. This is usually around week 7 or so. Leave at least 4 leaves on the plant so they can continue to grow their roots.
Daikon roots are ready for harvest about 60 -70 days after they are first planted. If you have forgotten when you planted them, look out for the roots peeking out from the soil as this is a good indication of when they are ready to be picked.
