ok farmer/ gardener dudes and dudettes...

[Mark A]

I have a couple hundred pounds of daikon radish seeds to broadcast in 2 fields. Saturday evening there is a pretty good chance of rain but the next few days the chance of rain drops to 10% for a few days then up to 20% before another good chance the following weekend (so far)

Do I go for it? Daikon radish is supposed to be pretty temperature hardy but I want to give it warmer temps for a long as possible to maximize growing. I know if the seed gets wet and then dry it can die and I would really rather not have to buy more seed. I do not have any practical way to irrigate either field.

The area is Santa Fe if you wanted to look at weather forecasts... (that's pronounced Santa FEEEE, not Santa Fay. You say Santa Fay and they give you one of those: "you ain't from 'round here is ya boy" looks...

 

Thanks for any and all advice, Mark

Edited September 9, 2016 by Mark A

[hipower]

Can't help you on the radish issue, but you are completely right on the Santa Fe pronunciation. lol

I worked a parts route that took me to a few mechanical and backyard body shops that were there. It's sort of hard to find if you're not looking for it. And equally hard to get out of if you don't know all the roads.

I stopped several times to ask for directions to the home/shop of a guy that worked on old Volkswagons. After the first time or two, I learned Fee instead of Fay.

And yes, I pretty much got the reception you mention, Mark.

[drewski]

I'm no farmer, or expert, but i do some novice SPRING gardening.  Never planted a fall garden, either.  Weather channel has some 40% days about 10 days out or so.  If it was the spring, i'd plant late next week.   Then again..... 

[monkeylizard]

August, September and October are usually our driest months. I don't know the right way to do a fall crop here, but if you're planning on any kind of regular rainfall right now through the next 6 weeks or so, you may be out of luck.

http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/nashville/tennessee/united-states/ustn0357

[peejman]

I've no idea what the growth cycle is for radishes (nor do I know why anyone would plant them  ).  You just have to find out how long they take to mature and back up from your harvest date to determine when to plant.   Fall gardens will require lots of watering since its usually pretty dry.

[Mark A]

The land I bought was hayed heavily for decades with only chemical fertilizer used to support growth. The soil is in pretty bad shape from a nutrient deficiency standpoint. The radishes are a good nutrient accumulator. The roots can grow up to 3 feet deep and the main part of the fruit grows to about 12" deep and about 1" in diameter. It is great for dealing with compacted soils.

When it winter kills you leave it in the ground to rot. It attracts worms and beneficial soil microbes. Next spring I will plant something that grows a ton of biomass. I will probably do this for 2 growing cycles and then the ground should good for whatever I want to do moving forward.

 

Just need a patch of 3-4 days with at least some rain.

Mark