Photo: Rasbak / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Radish

Raphanus sativus

فجل

The fastest crop in the cool season: sow in place from October to December, pull crisp roots in as little as three to seven weeks, and finish before warm weather turns them hot and woody.

Mature size0.15–0.3 m tall, 0.1–0.2 m spreadGrowthFastSunSun/part shadeWaterModerate

Heat: 1 of 5

Salt: 2 of 5

Drought: 1 of 5

Shade: 3 of 5

Ease of care: 5 of 5

Use in a design Get it looked after

Also known as

The other names Radish is sold and searched under.

English names: Red radish
Botanical names: Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus
Arabicالعربية: فجل
Hindiहिन्दी: मूली Mooli
Urduاردو: مولی Mooli
Malayalamമലയാളം: മുള്ളങ്കി Mullanki
Tamilதமிழ்: முள்ளங்கி Mullangi
Tagalog: Labanos
Bengaliবাংলা: মূলা Mula
Persianفارسی: ترب Torob

Season

Through the Dubai year

How Radish behaves through Dubai's seasons, month by month.

JJan

FFeb

MMar

AApr

MMay

JJun

JJul

AAug

SSep

OOct

NNov

DDec

Avg high °C

24°

26°

29°

34°

38°

40°

42°

40°

36°

31°

27°

Sow seed in place

Oct – Dec

Aphids, whitefly and caterpillars

Pull while crisp

Hot, tough and bitter

Sow seed in place: Oct–Dec
Ministry calendar: nursery October–November and field November–December; BBC Good Food Middle East: October–November. UF/IFAS: sow no deeper than 6 mm, and do not transplant.
Aphids, whitefly and caterpillars: Nov–Feb
UF/IFAS: radishes share pests with the cabbage family, and whiteflies, aphids, mites, caterpillars and nematodes occur occasionally. Check the bed each time you water.
Pull while crisp: Nov–Feb
Ministry calendar: 40–50 days to harvest; UF/IFAS: 20–30 days for common varieties. Do not let them over-ripen.
Hot, tough and bitter: Mar–Apr
UF/IFAS: radishes prefer cool conditions, and roots and greens turn tough and bitter in hot weather. Dubai's mean high is 28.9°C in March and 33.7°C in April.

Radish is the sprinter of the cool season. Seed is sown in place from October to December, a short row every two weeks. Roots are ready in 40 to 50 days on the Ministry's calendar, and often sooner (UF/IFAS gives 20 to 30), so pulling runs from November to February. Aphids, whiteflies and caterpillars need a look each time you water. By March, with the average high near 29°C and rising, roots turn tough and bitter, and the bed is handed to the next crop.

Meet the plant

Meet the Radish

Meet the radish, the crop that gives quick answers. Seed pressed into a damp bed in November breaks the surface in days, and within weeks a red-shouldered root has swollen at the soil line, crisp and peppery and ready to pull.

Its character is fast, light and slightly impatient. It wants cool weather, steady water and an early harvest, and punishes delay with a woody, bitter root. A short row sown every couple of weeks is the way to grow it.

What it brings is a quick win and a bright crunch for a salad. Even a first-time grower is rewarded in a month, and the bed is free again for the next crop.

Radish is the quickest vegetable in a Dubai garden and the usual first crop for beginners. The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment's calendar lists nursery sowing in October to November, field planting from November to December, and harvest in 40 to 50 days. BBC Good Food Middle East's UAE guide also gives October to November. UF/IFAS, writing for Florida, says common varieties are ready 20 to 30 days after sowing, so a Dubai sowing in a cool week can be ready within a month. Radish is on the shortlist of home-garden crops the Ministry named when it launched the Plant the Emirates programme in October 2024.

Sow the seed where it will grow, no deeper than a quarter of an inch (6 mm). UF/IFAS says not to transplant radishes, since it disturbs the growing root. Radishes prefer cool conditions and tolerate cold well, but heat works against them: UF/IFAS says the peppery flavour is strongest in warmer temperatures, and that roots and greens turn tough and bitter as they mature, especially in hot weather, so do not let them over-ripen. In Dubai, the average high is 24 to 27°C from December to February and 29°C in March, so sow a short row every two weeks from October to December and pull the last roots by March.

UF/IFAS says radishes grow best in loose, evenly watered, near-neutral soil, and shares cabbage-family pests: whiteflies, aphids, mites, caterpillars and nematodes occur occasionally, so check the bed each time you water. FAO rates radish as moderately sensitive to salt, with a threshold of 1.2 dS/m, so use mains water and a low-salinity soil mix rather than the garden's salty sand. Both the root and the leaves are edible (Wikipedia). Radishes suit a raised bed or a trough, and are a good vegetable for children to grow.

Design

Where to use it

Raised-bed root cropTrough or window-box cropQuick catch cropChildren's garden crop

Use radishes in the gaps of a new bed, in a trough by the kitchen door, or between rows of slower crops that will take the space later. Give them morning sun and a little afternoon shade as the weather warms, with a drip line on a timer. Pull them as soon as they are ready, so the space is free for the next sowing.

Carrot

The same Ministry sowing window, October to November, and the same loose bed. Radish is out of the ground long before the carrots need the space.

Lettuce

A cool-season crop sown in the same weeks, so the two share a bed, a drip line and the harvest calendar.

Care guide

How to grow it in Dubai

Watering: Summer: Not grown in summer; the Ministry's window ends in December.
Winter: Water evenly from a drip line finishing before 8 am (DEWA). UF/IFAS says radishes grow best in evenly watered soil.
Establishment: Keep the seed bed evenly moist until the seedlings are up, using mains water.
Soil: Loose, near-neutral soil (UF/IFAS): sweet soil blended with compost in a raised bed or trough, free-draining. Do not use the garden's salty sand on its own.
Feeding: Work compost into the bed before sowing. A fast crop of this kind needs little more.
Pruning: None. Thin the seedlings as instructed on the seed packet (UF/IFAS) and pull the roots as soon as they reach size.
Planting: Sow seed in place 6 mm deep from October to December, every two weeks, and thin to the packet spacing. Do not transplant (UF/IFAS).
Pests: AphidsWhiteflyCaterpillarsMitesNematodes

The care steps and the full guide, in WhatsApp. You pick who gets them.

Avoid these

Common mistakes

Sowing everything at once. A short row every two weeks spreads the harvest, and a single big sowing goes woody together.
Transplanting seedlings. UF/IFAS says transplanting disturbs the growing root, so sow in place.
Leaving roots in the bed too long. UF/IFAS says over-ripe radishes become tough and bitter.
Sowing in warm weather. UF/IFAS says heat intensifies the bitterness; sow from October and finish by March.
Using salty water. FAO puts radish's yield-loss threshold at 1.2 dS/m.

Extra notes

Good to know

UF/IFAS: the best Florida window is September to March, and most radish varieties survive a freeze, so Dubai's winter is no problem.
Daikon, the long white radish called mooli in India, is the same species but slower: UF/IFAS gives seven weeks in spring or ten in autumn.
Wikipedia: common small radishes are ready within a month, and the whole plant is edible.
MoCCAE named radish among the home-garden crops it recommended for the Plant the Emirates programme in October 2024.

Toxicity: Radishes are a normal food for people. The ASPCA's plant list for dogs has no entry for the garden radish, so we make no claim about pets chewing the plant; keep dogs and cats out of the bed.

Pros

Fastest crop here: 40–50 days on the Ministry calendar, 20–30 days per UF/IFAS
Sowing window runs October to December, so there are several chances
Tolerates cold and needs no protection in Dubai's mild winter (UF/IFAS)
Easy for beginners and children, and quick to harvest (Wikipedia)
Leaves are edible as well as roots (Wikipedia)

Cons

Turns tough and bitter in hot weather, so it ends by March (UF/IFAS)
Salt-sensitive: FAO threshold 1.2 dS/m, so it needs mains water
Cannot be transplanted, because it disturbs the growing root (UF/IFAS)
Shares pests with cabbage: aphids, whiteflies and caterpillars (UF/IFAS)
Over-ripe roots go tough and bitter if left in the bed

FAQ

Common questions

When should I sow radishes in Dubai?

The Ministry's calendar gives nursery sowing in October to November and field planting from November to December; BBC Good Food Middle East says October to November. Sow in place, a short row every two weeks.

How long do radishes take?

The Ministry gives 40 to 50 days. UF/IFAS says common varieties are ready 20 to 30 days after sowing, and daikon takes seven to ten weeks.

Why are my radishes hot, woody or bitter?

Heat or age. UF/IFAS says the peppery flavour is strongest in warm weather and that roots turn tough and bitter as they mature, especially in heat. Pull them early and finish by March.

Can I grow radishes in a pot?

Yes, in a trough or pot of sweet soil and compost with morning sun. Sow in place, since radishes do not transplant, and water evenly with mains water.

Can I eat radish leaves?

Yes. Wikipedia notes that the whole plant is edible and the leaves are sometimes used as a leaf vegetable. UF/IFAS says roots and greens turn tough and bitter in hot weather.

What pests attack radishes?

The same ones as the cabbage family (UF/IFAS): whiteflies, aphids, mites, caterpillars and nematodes occur occasionally. Check the bed each time you water.

Not sure how it suits your garden?

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