Can mustard and radish bolt from low temperature?
 

I'm a bit mystified. Does this makes sense, or could be from the big difference in low night temp and higher day time temp of Ohio? Does direct sunlight play a bigger factor than ambient temp?

I used to grow mustard and radish in Florida, all the way past May, even with some days it reaches over 90*F the plants won't bolt. Here in Ohio, the night temps are 60*F and 80*F during the days and even with shades they bolted very early. I also planted some at my sister house which have extra shade behind trees and they bolted too.

In any case, I sowed some more mustard in the hottest part of the garden to see what'll happen.

My radishes bolt in the spring, and I snack on their seedpods.

I’ve grown them both in my garden for years, and have never seen them bolt from low temps - only high.

Probably has to do with daylight and darkness hours.
The farther north you go the more daylight hours.

Onions will bolt due to cold temperatures. They are biennials and bloom in their second year so if they have some warm weather and then some cold weather before it gets warm again, they think that the cold weather was a short winter and they are in their second year and they will flower (bolt).

I don't know if this would also affect mustard or radishes but I usually grow radishes in early spring when it is still fairly cold and they don't bolt for me until it gets hot.

My spinach and bok choy which were both planted in the early spring are just starting to bolt now. I did have one variety of bok choy that bolted early before it even got large enough to eat. Don't know why.

Dry soil in my experience will make them bolt. But TBH I find radishes really temperamental - either they bolt or they don't form radishes for me, more often than not. I wondered if it was the seed source or variety? There is probably some genetic variation there as well as the environmental factors.

I've seen a radish failure at my friend's farm once too. And she's a pro, so I think in that case it was the seed.

Bower, I can never get radishes to form from those small red, round ones but I have had fabulous success with French Breakfast radishes. They always make radishes and they taste great. Try them next time.

[QUOTE=brownrexx;737500]Bower, I can never get radishes to form from those small red, round ones but I have had fabulous success with French Breakfast radishes. They always make radishes and they taste great. Try them next time.[/QUOTE]

Me too! I can never get the round ones to make but since I switched to the longer types like French Breakfast and look-alike Opolanka, I've made radishes. Daikon too.

You're right brownrexx and GoDawgs, they were the round red ones! Never again, thanks for the advice. :D

What was mentioned above about the onions is what is going on. There are certain vegies I can NOT grow in the spring here in Wisconsin. Our temps are just too much of a roller coaster. A few warm to hot days but way too many cool to cold days mixed in. Most things will tolerate hot temps IF it's steady hot. But they don't like all the up and down.

Carol

I prefer a bolted radish; you don't get roots but you do get pods, and the mass of pods outweighs the mass of roots. (The pods taste like radishes)


That said, I am really annoyed with bok choy the past few years. Bolts when tiny. I'm planting it in the same shady place where it used to be successful. I think we've had great weather this spring; not sure what weather these buggers want to see...

[QUOTE=Nan_PA_6b;737626]I prefer a bolted radish; you don't get roots but you do get pods, and the mass of pods outweighs the mass of roots. (The pods taste like radishes)


That said, I am really annoyed with bok choy the past few years. Bolts when tiny. I'm planting it in the same shady place where it used to be successful. I think we've had great weather this spring; not sure what weather these buggers want to see...[/QUOTE]


Looking for bolted radishes, here, too (Rattail and Madras). I'll have to check and see if I recorded when I planted them, but they are already bolting.:D

Thanks for the tip about the pods. Harvested about a pound of radish pods today and sauteed some. They're delicious, not spicy at all. These were from daikon radish plants.

Those pods look lovely! :D Another reminder of why to plant radishes... I like the pods even better.