Content
For most gardeners, radishes are exclusively an early spring crop, grown only in April-May. When trying to grow radishes in the summer, traditional varieties disappear or root crops do not appear at all. But in recent decades, radish hybrids have appeared that can be grown throughout the warm season and even in winter on a windowsill or in a heated greenhouse. One of the most popular and unpretentious varieties of radish of this kind is the Sora F1 hybrid.
Description
Radish Sora was obtained by specialists from Nunhems B.V. from the Netherlands at the very end of the 20th century. Already in 2001, it was approved for use in Russia and included in the State Register throughout our country. Due to its attractive characteristics, Sora radish is actively used not only by home gardeners and summer residents, but also by small farmers.
The rosette of leaves is relatively compact, while the leaves grow exclusively straight. The leaves have a wide ovate shape, the color is gray-green. They have medium pubescence.
The roots of the Sora radish have a round shape, the flesh is juicy and not translucent. Color – bright scarlet.
Radishes are not particularly large in size; on average, the weight of one root vegetable is 15-20 grams, but can reach up to 25-30 grams.
Root vegetables have a good, slightly spicy taste, and are very good in a variety of vegetable salads and for decorating main courses.
The Sora radish hybrid is an early ripening variety; 23-25 days pass from the appearance of the first shoots to the ripening of full-fledged fruits. After 20–25 days, you can selectively harvest, but if you want to get larger root crops, radishes can be left to ripen for up to 30–40 days. The peculiarity of this hybrid is that even old and overgrown root vegetables will remain tender and juicy. There are almost never voids in them, for which this hybrid is valued by many gardeners who have tried it. Radish Sora also stores well, especially in cool rooms, and it can be easily transported over relatively long distances.
Radish Sora is loved by many for its amazing unpretentiousness and resistance to various unfavorable factors: it tolerates significant drops in temperature, even frost, and extreme heat with equal resistance. It can also tolerate some shading, although this will inevitably affect the yield. After all, radishes are a very light-loving crop.
It is also resistant to many diseases, in particular to downy mildew and mucous bacteriosis.
Advantages and disadvantages
Radish Sora has many advantages over traditional varieties.
Advantages | Flaws |
High yield | Practically none, except perhaps the largest sizes of root vegetables |
Good resistance to shooting |
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Not very sensitive to daylight hours |
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The fruits are always juicy and without voids |
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High resistance to adverse conditions and diseases |
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Preparing seeds for sowing
If you purchased Sora radish seeds in professional packaging, they do not require any additional processing, since they are already fully prepared for planting. For other seeds, it is advisable to distribute them by size so that germination is as smooth as possible. It would also be a good idea to keep the radish seeds in hot water for half an hour at a temperature of about +50°C. This is the easiest way to disinfect against many diseases.
Features of cultivation
The main advantage of the Sora radish hybrid is its resistance to the formation of flower arrows even in hot weather and long daylight conditions. It is for this reason that these radishes can be grown like a conveyor belt from spring to autumn without stopping.
In the open ground
To sow radish seeds in open ground, it is necessary that the average daily temperatures be positive. In different regions this happens at different times. For the middle zone, the most optimal time is usually in early April. To protect against possible frosts, and subsequently from the cruciferous flea beetle, radish crops are covered with a thin non-woven material, such as spunbond or lutrasil.
In warm weather and optimal humidity conditions, radish seeds can germinate in just 5-6 days.
On hot days during summer sowing, the most important thing is to ensure uniform and constant soil moisture, otherwise you may not see radish shoots at all.
It is necessary to plant Sora radish to a depth of about 1 cm, but not more than 2 cm, otherwise it may either not sprout at all, or the shape of the root crops will be greatly distorted.
It is not recommended to fertilize the soil before sowing radishes; it is better to do this before planting the previous crop. By the way, Radishes can be grown after almost any vegetable except members of the cabbage family.
When planting radishes, the following schemes are most often used:
- Tape - consists of two rows, between which there is 5-6 cm. In the row between plants there should be from 4 to 5 cm. Between the ribbons leave from 10 to 15 cm for more convenient weeding.
- Solid – radish seeds are planted in continuous rows according to a 5x5 cm pattern. In this case, it is convenient to prepare a special device for marking in advance.
When sowing in continuous sowing, it is important to place exactly one seed in each cell. The Sora radish has almost 100% germination, and subsequently you can do without thinning the seedlings, and this will greatly save expensive seed material.
Watering is the main procedure for caring for radishes. Soil moisture must be maintained at the same level to avoid cracking of root crops.
In the greenhouse
The Sora radish hybrid can also be successfully grown in greenhouses, as it tolerates some shade. Thus, the harvest time can be extended by another month in early spring and late autumn.You can even try to grow Sora radish on a windowsill in winter, but there is little practical sense in this, rather to get children interested in gardening.
In greenhouses, special attention must be paid to creating a special temperature and humidity regime. At the time of germination and the first two to three weeks of seedling development, the temperature can be minimal (+5°+10°C) and watering is moderate. Then it is advisable to increase both the temperature and watering until harvest.
Problems during cultivation
Problems of growing Sora radish | What could have caused the problem? |
Low yield | Growing in the shade |
| Thickened planting |
The root crop is small in size or almost does not develop | Excess or lack of watering |
| Seeds are buried too deep in the ground |
| Lands with fresh manure applied or, conversely, completely depleted |
Fruit cracking | Sudden fluctuations in soil moisture |
Lack of shoots | Over-drying of the soil during the sowing period |
Diseases and pests
Pest/Disease | Signs of radish damage | Methods of prevention/treatment |
Cruciferous flea beetles | Holes appear on the leaves - especially dangerous in the first two weeks after germination
| When sowing, cover the beds with radishes with non-woven material and keep it there until root crops begin to form. |
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| From the moment of sowing, sprinkle the beds and subsequently the seedlings with a mixture of wood ash and tobacco dust |
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| Use for spraying infusions of garden herbs: celandine, tobacco, tomato, dandelion |
Kila | Swellings form on the roots, the plant withers and dies | Do not plant radishes after growing vegetables from the cabbage family. |
Reviews
Conclusion
Even those gardeners who, for various reasons, could not make friends with radishes, after meeting the Sora hybrid, realized that growing radishes is not so difficult. After all, the main thing is to choose the right variety for yourself.
