We use it in our no till food plots for wildlife. We grow buckwheat then inter seed tillage radish and other brassicas then smash over the buckwheat what the wildlife doesn't eat they rot and makes great nitrogen pockets

We grow in TX zone 7b/8a. I like to plant daikon seed now in the fall in my orchard. For me it often overwinters and a lot of it really comes up in the spring. Mine usually don't get that large unless I also plant some in my vegetable garden and allow them plenty of water. But in my orchard, I interplant daikon with a variety of other seeds (clovers, alfalfa, peas, etc.), they may only get about an inch thick, and grow maybe 6-8 inches long. I love to fry them! I cut them up like home fries or steak fries, or sometimes like hash browns, and pan fry them. Great low carb potato substitute since they lose a lot of that radish heat when you fry them. I like them in soups and stews too. I like the greens sauteed, in soups, or to chop a small bit fresh to add to salads. ...I also plant turnips and mustard greens in the vegetable garden, pretty dense like a cover crop. One row of each, with each row being 3ft x 50ft. These two rows overwintered wonderfully for me, even through the arctic freeze we got in 2021, without any frost cover besides the snow itself. After eating all the fresh turnips we could stand that spring, and giving away many pounds, I still put 40lbs of turnips in the freezer! I love planting edible cover crops!

Thank you. I just ordered seed. It might be a little late but I will know for next year.

I plant turnips for a similar purpose. I need to try some daikons too, though. Turnips do help break up the soil somewhat, but they tend to rise up out of the soil as they get bigger, not keep digging down into it like daikons do. EDIT: according to a brief search, daikon radish is good food for chickens and rabbits, too. I'm always interested in growing a variety of things for them, instead of having to buy bags of feed all the time.

I discovered Daikon about 12 years ago. It's my favourite.

These can be grated and used to make hash brown, just like you'd use potatoes. Remarkably doing it this way there is no radish flavor!

Thank you. Really good info. I use it in all my perennial beds to help clay to drain better. Most of the bulb ends up growing above the ground but any little bit is worth it.

They became a weed for me, in a sub tropical area, and now I know why - they need a few good frosts to stop their growth! Pulling them out of my hard clay, they'd snap ... and then grow back. A few in a spot I forgot about went to seed, so more are coming up, lol. First planted them 2 years ago. I'll give them another shot down in the valley that does get frosts!

You had me at survive food. Ordered a pack of seeds to try out.

Good info, thanks!

Outstanding info as usual. Thank you

Hi Mark. I like your videos. I'm learning so much about organic gardening and companion planting more than ever. It's been a long time since I've planted in a real garden. I'm in southern CA. Originally from NY. growing seasons out here are much longer. My urban terrance gets maybe 2-3 hours of direct sun on 1/3 of it. I finally joined a community garden - full sun. My question is about the Daikon radish as a cover crop. Can any radish be used the same way or only the Daikon? Since it's a Community garden I'd like to at least grow a better soil. Thank you, Mark.

I tried daikons in my local area. They grew, but took more irrigation than I wanted to give. They also couldn't reseed themselves. This summer it got up to 114 degrees in the shade, and only had 9 inches of rain from March thru September(and counting, still no rain!). And those inches came all in 1 rain, so didn't last long. Now, I go with sunflowers, fuzzy bean, native morning glory, and horse herb as cover.

I let them go to seed and now they are all over my garden if there is not enough mulch.

Inspired by you I am beginning to use cover crops this year so this spring I planted driller radish seed, which has come up in my garden beautifully. I have not eaten any yet, as I plan to plant actually Daikon radish seed this fall and eat some of them. What’s the difference between these two types of radishes? …. heard the driller radish seed is not as tasty , thoughts?

Thank you! Have you had any luck producing seeds from these plants? I’m guessing sometime in the spring they would bolt and could gather some seeds?

Thanks for sharing. You said at one point you would come back to thin the seedlings. Is that for harvesting daikon as food? If as cover crop, do you just sow, rake in, water and leave alone without thinning?

According to the germination list you posted in a prior video, I see turnip, radish and winter rye are suitable for our PNW as cover crop this time of the year. Since I have a lot of parsnip seeds from the garden, can parsnips be used as a cover crop? Have you tried that?

My wife likes the long roots on these a little too much. 😊

I have a completely compact, weedy front yard that we want to start transforming. I don't believe it will winter kill here in Seattle, though. I could scalp it short late winter. That should kill it off, yes? My second concern is the odor of the vegetables decomposing in my front yard in my highly walkable neighborhood! Maybe chop and drop in February, and then pile on woodchip? That would kill off any other cover crop quite early though. Any thoughts?

I can see how the root can open up and aerate the soil. As far as being a food, I'm curious as to how they taste. I'm not a fan of the typical red radish. Do these Daikon Radish taste different, same, similar...?

Hello Mark. I’m thinking of growing daikon radish between my tomato plants to break down the clay pan under my good soil. Would this work or would the radish be taking the nutrients away from the tomatoes?

Hi Mark, thank you for the information! I'm looking to fill a raised garden bed with store bought organic soil. Is peat moss or coco coir okay to have in there? I thought you may have said they can hinder bacteria/fungal growth. Thanks!

My radishes just bolt like crazy and can't form a bulb beneath the soil... I've tried in the spring and again not too long ago 😥 Maybe a problem with the soil, some imbalance? Same thing happens with every crop that has to form a bulb, they bolt like mad! 😥

Can you plant daikon radish in combination with other cover crops?

Hey Mark, Is your leaf mould fully processed when you put it down or freshly shredded from the falk?.

So a few frosts are ok but harvest before freezing unless letting decompose? In the spring can plant straight into the decomposition?

Do you have issues with rabbits eating the sprouts?

So just toss seed? I want a cover crop. I don't want to seed one by one & plant.

Thanks Mark. I think you meant 100 sq. ft. not 1000. cheers

Any tasty soup recipe with them you want to share?

Do not give the government any information about your garden!