Using the Hoss Garden Seeder to Plant Watermelon Radishes

Watermelon Radishes vs. Traditional Radishes

During the spring and fall, a fun and easy crop to grow in the garden are watermelon radishes. They get the name watermelon radish due to their creamy-white exterior with a bright purple to a pinkish interior that resembles more of a watermelon figure. Although they look similar to traditional radishes from the exterior there are a couple of differences when comparing traditional radishes to watermelon radishes in the vegetable garden. The first difference is unlike traditional radish varieties, the watermelon radishes contain more of a firm and milder flavor profile that is great to eat raw or sauteed up in a pan when cooking. Another major difference is the size between the two different varieties. A traditional radish variety has a tendance to split once they get bigger and are left in the garden for too long. While the watermelon radish variety can be grown up to the size of a tennis ball and will not split like a normal traditional radish.  Some similarities between the watermelon radish and traditional radish varieties are they grow best in cooler weather with well-drained soils so they should be planted when temperatures are cooler. Once done harvesting, the radish tops should be removed and they will last for up to two weeks in the fridge.

Hoss Garden Seeder: Planting Watermelon Radishes

On this week's episode, Travis talks about planting watermelon radishes with our Garden Seeder. The garden seeder is the perfect tool to accomplish this task because it comes with six adjustable seed plates that are modified for various different seed sizes. For example, the #1 seed plate can fit seeds like cauliflower, broccoli, or turnips. The #2 seed plate fits small coated seeds like onions and the #3 seed plate fits pelleted carrots, lettuce, and beets. The #4 seed plate does best with small sweet corn seeds. While the #5 seed place does better with small pea and bean seeds. Lastly, the #6 seed plate can fit large sweet and field corn seeds. Not only do the seed plates make planting easier but it also allows for accurate planting without overplanting in the vegetable garden. Due to the size of the seed, watermelon radishes work in the #1 or #2 seed plate with a little drilling to make the seed fit perfectly. The #1 seed plate has eight holes so that gives you a little over two-inch spacing. However, we need to plant watermelon radishes a little further apart so Travis will go in and thin every other one of the small radishes then let the rest get a decent size. Then, all Travis has to do is walk behind the Hoss garden seeder and plant the watermelon radishes between 6 to 8 inches apart in the row. In the past, he has planted the watermelon radishes on double rows with drip tape buried in the middle and that works really well because the plants are receiving water directly to the plant roots. Due to the garden area layout, he decided to only plant four rows on the edge of the garden so he could just hand water these plants instead. However, these radishes perform best when planted in double rows or a "bed" with several rows planted closely together in the vegetable garden. Watermelon radishes are direct-seeded because they seem to perform better in the garden than transplanting. If you haven't tried growing watermelon radishes in the Hoss garden seeder before, you should definitely give it a try it will be a fun and easy crop to grow throughout the spring and fall growing season.