Growing table radish with cocopeat in a grow-bed

09.06.18 03:46 AM - Comment(s) - By Admin

The table changing table radish

Table radish growing in an eco-friendly grow bed inside CityGreen's Urban Gardening Research Center.


I am sure the title itself must have felt intriguing. Let me explain. We sowed seeds of Table radish in portrays and transplanted them to the grow bed in approximately two weeks. Ideally, they would have continued to grow in the grow bed itself, but, on a couple of occasions, because of the rains, we faced extreme waterlogging in the grow bed and were forced to re-transplant the table radish from the grow bed into the pot. Once the rain subsided, it was time for the table radish to move to the table once again.  And this is how we managed our first time with the table changing table radish.

How did we start?

We got an ergonomically designed wooden table grow-bed made and filled it with the growing media mix of cocopeat and gravel. This gave us an added advantage of height and hence an ergonomic design easy on our back. 

For a home user, a bucket, a tub, or any container can work as a grow bed for plants that grow below the soil. You can go with the growing media of your choice. We went for a mix of cocopeat and gravel in a ratio of 80:20. The primary reasons for using cocopeat and gravel as a medium instead of soil were:-

    • No need to deal with soil-borne pests
    • No need to pluck out weeds that keep growing ever and ever again in the soil
    • Cocopeat retains moisture for a long duration so need less frequent watering
    • Since cocopeat may get over drenched, adding gravel ensures good spaces and aeration in the root zone

Once the grow-bed is ready, plant the table radish saplings at a spacing of 5-6 inches apart. 

Nutrition and Dosage

Since we are growing in cocopeat, which does not have any nutritional content, it is essential to provide external nutrients. We went for our in-house CityGreen's NPK, which works exceptionally well for root vegetables.


Ensure that sufficient nutrition is provided to these plants. Once a day, plain water, and an NPK solution twice a week will help. Initially, the dosage for the same should not be very high. We started with 1 ml each of N, K, and P per liter. Once the plant begins growing, maybe after a couple of weeks, the dosage can be increased to substantially help the plant grow better.


Do ensure to keep a watch to check if the plant is getting sufficient sunlight. Keep a check to spot any pests in the plants. Since our grow bed was in a net house set up, it was not that difficult to keep pests away. But neem oil sprays are a must-have, to tackle pest problems.

"The greatest thrill of growing something like a table radish in cocopeat is the joy of moving the cocopeat aside and viewing the radish. You can touch it too, and that's a very thrilling feeling."

In our research center for the next few weeks, due to the onslaught of rains, the cocopeat bed was wet, and we needed to squeeze the water out of the cocopeat. Thus we had to re-transplant the radish into plant pots and then re-transplant it again into the grow bed. But we ensured that the root system of the radish was intact and not tampered with too much. Thus the journey of our growing table radishes continues, and we are hoping to harvest it in a few weeks.
We were blessed with a multicolor radish crop, and that makes the entire experience of the journey rewarding. We advise you to start and assure you that the road ahead is enriching and gratifying.



Happy Growing! 

Admin

Categories -
Greens and Veggies
Share -
Tags -