Radish

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Flea beetles

Flea beetles

Chrysomelidae (Alticini)

Shot-holes in seedling leaves, and a beetle that jumps when you lean in.

, Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Cutworms

Cutworms

Noctuidae

A seedling lying beside its own stump in the morning, cut clean through at soil level.

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Attract Ground beetles

Ground beetles

Carabidae

Night-active ground hunters, taking slugs, cutworms and leatherjackets at soil level.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

, Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

to keep them in check — plant Common VetchExcellent, Hairy VetchExcellent and SainfoinGreat nearby.

🌼 Beneficial companion — draws Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

that help control Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

,

on neighbouring plants.

Growing from seed

Direct-sow Radish outdoors about 4 weeks before your last frost, keeping seeds in cooler soil (around 10–18 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 5 days. Grow in full sun, spaced about 5 cm apart. Expect to harvest in roughly 28 days.

Radish seed rarely stays viable beyond 4 years — track what's still worth sowing.

• 

  It's Not Too Late to Plant: Fast Crops You Can Still Sow Right Now

  Missed the spring sowing window? You haven't missed the season. Here are the fast crops you can still grow — and how to stretch the weeks you have left.

  Read the guide

Companion Planting

• 
  Chaytor's Lavender
  

  Chaytor's LavenderExcellent pair

  • ❧Chaytor's Lavender attracts Parasitic wasps and Hoverflies, which prey on the Flea beetles and Aphids and more that attack Radish
  • ❧Radish draws Bees that improve pollination for both
• 
  Common Vetch
  

  Common VetchExcellent pair

  • ❧Common Vetch attracts Ground beetles and Parasitic wasps and more, which prey on the Flea beetles and Aphids and more that attack Radish
  • ❧Common Vetch fixes nitrogen in the soil that Radish feeds on
  • ❧Radish acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Common Vetch
• 
  Hairy Vetch
  

  Hairy VetchExcellent pair

  • ❧Hairy Vetch attracts Ground beetles and Parasitic wasps and more, which prey on the Flea beetles and Aphids and more that attack Radish
  • ❧Hairy Vetch fixes nitrogen in the soil that Radish feeds on
  • ❧Radish acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Hairy Vetch

How to grow Radish

1. Sow-4 weeks from frost
2. Germinates5 days
3. Space5 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~28 days

Water: Medium · Height: 25 cm · Soil: Loose, well-draining — pulls easily from loose soil