Celeste Radish Hybrid Care for Tasty Big Fruits

Radish is one of the earliest vegetables. The first greenhouse-grown root crops appear on the shelves of our country in April. Many consider radishes to be a symbol of the end of winter and vitamin deficiency. Almost every gardener grows a vegetable. This is an unpretentious culture with accelerated ripening.

Among the most popular radish varieties and hybrids is Celeste f1. The culture is highly resistant to adverse environmental factors, large fruits and a long absence of arrows.

In the article we will consider the characteristics and description of the hybrid, the advantages and methods of cultivation.

Description of the hybrid

Celeste F1 is a first generation hybrid bred by Dutch breeders. The originator is the well-known Dutch manufacturer Enza Zaden in the agricultural sector.

Celeste is not included in the Russian state register. Nevertheless, the hybrid is popular with gardeners around the world, including in our country.

Its main feature is the ability to adapt to any conditions. He is not afraid of either cold snaps or heat. Suitable for growing outdoors in all regions of our country, for example, in Moscow.

Gardeners love this type of radish for its large and juicy fruits. They have a balanced taste with a light, barely noticeable pungency.

Celeste is immune to cultural diseases. This property allows you to grow an environmentally friendly and safe product.

Celeste's advantages and disadvantages

The popularity of Celeste is due to the extensive list of advantages with almost no disadvantages. Thanks to this, it will be easy even for a novice gardener to cope with the cultivation of radishes.

Celeste's advantages:

• early maturity;
• immunity to diseases inherent in radishes;
• high keeping quality of fruits;
• great taste and juiciness of root crops;
• resistance to temperature extremes;
• unpretentious care;
• high germination of planting material;
• amicability of ripening of root crops;
• lack of peduncles and arrows;
• the possibility of growing in open and protected ground.

Celeste's only drawback is hybridity: every time you have to use purchased seed.

Note! The disadvantage inherent in all radishes is the ability to accumulate harmful substances from the soil in root crops. For this reason, it is not recommended to use chemicals for the prevention of diseases and pests.

Main characteristics

Celeste radish options will appeal to novice and experienced gardeners. It is thanks to them that this hybrid is grown not only on small land plots "for themselves", but also on farms for sale.

Characteristics and description of the hybrid:

Agricultural rules

Celeste radish is grown outdoors or in a greenhouse. The culture is not afraid of cold snaps and is grown from mid-March - early April to late October.

For radishes, choose well-lit or shaded areas of the garden on one side. It is desirable that they be protected from the wind.

Choose an area that did not grow cruciferous crops in the previous year: cabbage, watercress, horseradish, etc. Otherwise, the likelihood of plant infection increases.

Advice! Experienced gardeners recommend planting radishes in a new location every year.

The crop beds are prepared in the fall. They are dug to a depth of 20-30 cm and cleaned of all plant residues. Collected weeds and crops do not have to be thrown away. Some gardeners grind them, water them with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate, and then bury them in the ground.

For every 1 sq. m of soil, 6 kg of humus or manure are applied. Fertilizers are thoroughly mixed with soil.

Radish loves loose, slightly acidic soils. If the acidity index is increased, then this is corrected by introducing ash or dry lime. To make the soil looser, it is mixed with sand.

In the spring, the beds are dug up again. They are cleared of weeds and leveled with a rake. Be sure to apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

Some gardeners prefer to grow radishes in tall beds. In this case, the soil in the selected area of ​​the garden is raised by 10-20 cm.

Seed preparation and sowing

Radishes are grown in a seedless way. Its seeds are sown directly into open ground.

Note! Since this is not a variety but a hybrid, the seeds of self-grown plants are not suitable for sowing.

The first time planting material is sown in open ground in late March or early April. Seeds will germinate at + 5 ° C, but this will take a long time. At a temperature of +15 ° C, seedlings appear much faster.

To accelerate seed germination and increase the resistance of seedlings to adverse environmental factors, the planting material is prepared. This process includes several stages:

1. The seeds are soaked in a glass of water in which 1 tsp is dissolved. salt. After half an hour, the emerging specimens are thrown away, and those that have sunk to the bottom are used for sowing.
2. The planting material is soaked for 2 hours in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. Instead, they sometimes use hydrogen peroxide (15 minutes) or Fitosporin (4-5 hours).
3. Seeds are wrapped in gauze pieces... They are put into a deep container and watered with a growth stimulator ("Epin", "Zircon"). The container is removed for 2 days in a warm place.
4. Swollen seeds placed in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

After preparation, start sowing seeds. Before this, the beds are watered in advance.

In the soil, grooves are made with a depth of 2 cm.The distance between them is maintained at 15 cm.

Seeds are sown in the grooves at a distance of 4 cm from each other. They are sprinkled on top with soil, which is slightly compacted. This will prevent washing out of the planting material.

The beds are watered with warm water and covered with foil. It is removed when the seeds germinate.

Advice! Many gardeners sow radish seeds in the ground several times per season. This allows you to harvest up to 6 times over the summer and fall.

Plant care

To get a good harvest of radishes, you need to properly care for them. Here are the basic rules every gardener should know about:

1. The soil is moistened as the top layer dries. Use warm water, which irrigates the beds by rain. If there is not enough liquid, then the fruits will be dry and bitter.With an excess of moisture, the roots will hurt and rot. The soil is moistened in the morning or at sunset when the sun is inactive.
2. After each watering, the soil is loosened to a depth of 4-5 cm. This will help to normalize the root air exchange and prevent the formation of an earth crust that prevents moisture evaporation.
3. In the process of growing, the beds are loosened. This is done while the plants are young. Grown up root crops will not allow weeds to develop.
4. Experienced gardeners recommend mulching the beds with humus or straw. This will reduce the need for top dressing.
5. When the first shoots appear, check the distance between them. If it is less than 4 cm, then the vegetation is thinned out.
6. Radish is not afraid of frost and is able to withstand cold snaps up to -4 degrees. If it gets colder outside, the plants will die.
7. If the soil is nutritious enough, then additional fertilizing is not necessary. Fertilizers are applied to poor soil 1 time. Natural formulations are used. Silage is considered the best option. For its preparation, a quarter of a bucket of chopped weeds and 1 kg of chicken manure are poured, the rest of the volume is poured with cold water. The mixture is infused for 4 days. Then water the plants using 1 sq. m 5 l.

Important! Gardeners do not recommend feeding the radishes with manure. This is fraught with the formation of voids in the fruit.

The nuances of growing in a greenhouse

Gardeners grow radishes not only in the open field, but also in the greenhouse. Summer agricultural technology is no different, except that the room needs to be regularly ventilated.

In winter, in a heated greenhouse, it is important to observe the temperature regime. The temperature in the greenhouse should vary between 20-25 ° C.

Radish is a plant of short daylight hours. In winter, it is enough to turn on the fluorescent lamps for 10-12 hours.

Plants are watered less frequently in the greenhouse than in the open field. Indoors, moisture evaporates more slowly. Enough 1 watering per week.

It is interesting! Radish grows well in pots at home. Due to the insufficient amount of space, it will not be possible to get a rich harvest.

Harvesting and storage

The ripening time of Celeste radish depends on the temperature outside. If at the beginning of spring the harvest is harvested only 1.5 months after sowing the seeds, then at the beginning of summer the root crops are ready for use after 25-30 days.

When harvesting, radishes are completely pulled out of the ground. Cut off the tops, which promotes rotting of root crops.

Whole root crops are selected for storage without damage. They are wiped off the ground with a dry cloth. Store the crop in a dry, dark and cool place.

It is interesting! They eat not only radishes, but also young tops. It is considered a healthy ingredient in salads.

Prevention of diseases and pests

Celeste radish is resistant to cruciferous diseases. However, the rules of prevention should not be neglected:

1. It is important to observe crop rotation. Radishes are not planted in the garden after other cruciferous plants for several years in a row. Do not place beds with this crop near cabbage.
2. Disinfection. Planting material, beds before sowing, greenhouse walls and garden tools are treated with disinfecting solutions.
3. Compliance with watering rules. Both waterlogging of the soil and drought contribute to the development of pathogens.

It is important to protect plants from pests. This is done as follows:

1. Sprinkle radish leaves with ash once a week... This will protect the plants from small insects and slugs.
2. Many radish pests feed on dry leaves. Therefore, the greens need to be constantly moisturized.
3. If the pests have already spoiled the bushes, then they are sprayed with soapy water.... To prepare it, dissolve 1 piece of laundry soap in a bucket of water.
4. Traps are set for slugs. For this, rotted wood and wet cloth are placed between the rows. The pest traps are then collected and discarded.

Read also:

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Reviews of gardeners

Reviews of gardeners about Celeste radish are mostly positive. Gardeners note the high yield of the hybrid and its unpretentiousness.

Alisa, Moscow: “I have been growing Selesta radishes for several years now. Very productive hybrid. The seeds have almost one hundred percent germination. I don't even touch them, they all come up. I fertilize radish with silage, bread tincture and chicken droppings. In total, I add 1 top dressing per season. I use not only root vegetables, but also young greens. It is suitable for salads and green cabbage soup. "

Alexander, Sochi: “I grow Celeste all year round. In spring, autumn and summer outdoors. In the winter in the greenhouse. I use two beds. I sow radish on them in turn with an interval of 20 days. After each harvest, I water the beds with hot copper sulfate. I bring in urea, superphosphate and potassium. I feed silage with chicken droppings. The harvest is excellent. Root vegetables are delicious and juicy. There are practically no pacifiers. I will plant more. "

It is interesting! Radish is so unpretentious that it is grown even on space stations.

Conclusion

Celeste radish is one of the most unpretentious and productive varieties. It quickly adapts to any climatic conditions. It also differs in high immunity to plant diseases.

The main advantages of the hybrid are high productivity and early maturity. Its sweet, juicy and slightly pungent fruits are harvested within a month after sowing the seeds. Celeste is well worth the attention of novice and experienced gardeners.