Fothergill's Radish Viola Seeds

Details:

• Botanical Name: Raphanus sativus 'Viola', a premium, highly uniform colour-selected globe cultivar within the Radish family.
• Plant Class: Hardy Annual, establishing with lightning speed to go from seed to salad bowl in just 3 to 4 short weeks.
• Striking Deep Amethyst Colour: Bears a prolific abundance of beautifully formed, round globe roots. The skin features an intense, deep purple colouration that creates an eye-catching contrast against traditional garden greens and whites.
• Large & Exceptionally Crisp Roots: Unlike some early varieties, Viola is bred to grow slightly larger while retaining a remarkably solid, crisp, and juicy white interior flesh. It boasts a delightfully refreshing, clean flavor with a mild, sweet peppery crunch.
• Strong Leafy Tops: Produces robust, sturdy green top foliage. These strong leafy stems are highly practical, making it incredibly quick, clean, and easy to grasp and pull the mature radishes cleanly from the soil at harvest time.
• Fast-Cropping Space Filler: Because of its rapid growth and compact, shallow root system, it serves as an excellent "intercrop" variety, sown in the temporary empty spaces between slower-growing vegetables like brassicas, sweetcorn, or winter root crops.
• Gourmet Salad Staple: The ultimate choice for elevating home cooking; the purple skin looks magnificent when sliced thin as a vibrant garnish, tossed into summer slaws, or served whole on a fresh crudité platter.

Care Instructions:

• Sowing Position: For a non-stop, continuous supply of crisp purple radishes all season long, sow small successional batches every 2 weeks from March through to September. Sow seeds thinly directly into finely raked, weed-free, and well-drained soil 1cm (0.5in) deep, in rows spaced 15cm (6in) apart. Position in full sun or partial shade.
• Thinning Out: Once the young seedlings emerge, thin them out gradually to space individual plants roughly 2.5–5cm (1–2in) apart. Proper spacing is essential to allow the large globe roots ample room to swell cleanly into perfect spheres without crowding one another.
• Moisture & Speed Control: The absolute secret to growing premium, mild radishes is rapid, unchecked growth. Keep the soil or container compost consistently moist but never waterlogged. Regular, even watering keeps the flesh sweet and crisp; allowing the soil to dry out completely stresses the root system, causing the radishes to turn woody, hollow, and unpleasantly hot.
• Harvesting Tip: Use the strong leafy tops to pull the roots promptly as soon as they reach roughly 2.5–3cm in diameter. Radishes left in the ground too long past their peak maturity will rapidly lose their signature juiciness and become pithy. Pull them fresh as needed, wash thoroughly, and serve.