October Radish Harvest in Calgary: Korean Radish (Moo) and Whole Radish (Altari)

On October 6, we harvested our Korean radish and whole radish in our Calgary garden.

We planted the seeds on August 1. By harvest day, the plants had been growing for a little more than two months. Some of the Korean radishes could probably have stayed in the ground for a little longer. We even considered protecting them at night and waiting a few more days.

But gardening in Calgary does not always let us choose the perfect harvest date.

We had a personal matter that would keep us from giving the garden much time and attention for about a month. At the same time, the weather forecast was showing rain, snow, and freezing temperatures.

After considering everything, we decided to harvest a little early.

For us, it was better to bring the radishes inside while they were still in good condition than to leave them in the ground without being able to check them regularly.

Our Goal Is an Eco-Friendly Garden

We try to keep our garden as eco-friendly as possible.

That does not mean we expect to have a garden without insects. We know that insects are part of nature, and some insect damage is normal in a home garden.

However, we do not want to use strong chemical pesticides if we can avoid them.

Over the years, we have learned that root vegetables need special attention in our Calgary garden. The soil here is quite hard, and the edible part of a radish grows underground.

This means that problems in the soil can become a serious problem for the crop.

We have especially noticed this with Korean radish and altari radish.

When we grow these root vegetables without treating the soil, soil pests can cause so much damage that some radishes become unsuitable for eating.

This is not something we learned from a book. It is something we have seen in our own garden after growing root vegetables here for several seasons.

Because of this experience, soil preparation has become an important part of growing radishes for us.

Treating the Soil Without Strong Chemicals

Because we want an eco-friendly garden, we have looked for gentler ways to reduce soil pest problems.

Before planting the radishes this year, we used neem oil and a water-based treatment made from ginkgo seeds.

We bought the neem oil from Amazon.

The ginkgo seeds were also purchased rather than collected. There are no ginkgo trees near our home in Calgary that we can use for this purpose, so we bought the ginkgo seeds from a herb seller in front of T&T.

We boiled the ginkgo seeds in water and used the resulting water as part of our garden treatment.

We are sharing this as our own gardening experience, not as a proven treatment for every type of soil pest. We do not want to say that neem oil or ginkgo seed water will completely protect every garden.

What we can say is that, in our garden, treating the soil this way seems to reduce the damage compared with leaving the soil untreated.

We have noticed this difference over time, especially with root vegetables.

For us, this is enough reason to continue experimenting with methods that fit our goal of keeping the garden as eco-friendly as possible.

Soil Pests Can Damage Radishes Before We See Them

One of the difficult things about growing radishes is that the edible root is underground.

When something is eating the leaves, we can often see the problem.

But soil pests are different.

They can damage the roots while the top of the plant still looks reasonably healthy.

By the time we pull up the radish and see the damage, it can be too late.

This is why our experience with Korean radish and altari radish has made us pay more attention to the soil before planting.

In our hard Calgary soil, we have found that leaving the soil completely untreated can lead to serious problems.

Some radishes can have enough damage that we simply cannot use them for food.

This does not happen to every plant every year, but it has happened often enough for us to take the problem seriously.

We do not want to use strong chemical treatments just to get perfect-looking radishes.

Instead, we try to reduce the problem before planting and then continue watching the plants during the growing season.

The Caterpillars Came About a Month Later

Even though we treated the soil before planting, that did not stop insects from arriving later.

About one month after planting, we began seeing butterflies around the radish bed.

Soon, we found eggs and small caterpillars on the leaves.

This was a different problem from the soil pests.

The soil pests affected the underground roots, while the caterpillars were feeding on the leaves above the ground.

We sprayed neem oil again because we wanted to continue using a method that fit our eco-friendly gardening goal.

However, the neem oil did not solve the caterpillar problem in our garden.

We want to be careful with this statement.

We are not saying that neem oil never works on caterpillars. We are only describing what happened in our garden this year.

The experience reminded us that one treatment before planting cannot protect a crop for the entire growing season.

Butterflies can arrive later, lay eggs, and create a new problem.

So we need to keep checking the plants.

The underside of the leaves is especially important because eggs and small caterpillars can be easy to miss.

Prevention Does Not Mean No Insects

This year's radish crop taught us something important about pest control.

Our early soil treatment seemed to help with the soil pest problem, but it did not stop butterflies from coming later.

The neem oil treatment we used again also did not solve the caterpillar problem.

This may sound disappointing, but we think it is useful information.

Gardening is not always about finding a method that works perfectly.

Sometimes we learn just as much from what does not work.

Our goal is to reduce serious damage while keeping the garden as eco-friendly as we reasonably can.

We would rather accept some insect damage than use strong chemicals simply to make every leaf look perfect.

The radish leaves did have caterpillar damage, but the roots continued to develop.

That was also encouraging.

A vegetable plant does not have to look perfect above the ground to produce a useful harvest below the ground.

Korean Radish and Altari Radish Are Different

Korean radish and altari radish are both important vegetables in Korean cooking, but they are different types of radish and are usually harvested at different stages.

Korean radish is commonly called moo in English descriptions of Korean food.

It usually develops a larger and firm root. We use it in many Korean dishes, including soups, stews, and kimchi.

Whole radish (altari) is smaller and is generally harvested younger.

The leaves are also an important part of the vegetable, and the whole plant can be used in cooking.

Altari radish is especially well known for altari kimchi (chonggakkimchi), a Korean radish kimchi made with young radishes and their greens.

Their growing periods can also differ.

As a general range, many Korean radish (moo) varieties take about 60 to 80 days to reach harvest size. Altari radish may be ready in about 40 to 60 days.

These are only general growing ranges. The actual timing depends on the variety, temperature, sunlight, soil, water, and growing conditions.

Our garden showed this difference clearly.

We planted both types on August 1, but they did not reach the same stage at exactly the same time.

By October 6, the altari radishes were closer to the stage we wanted for harvest.

Although the Korean radishes were still a bit early for a full harvest, they were about the size of altari radishes, so we harvested and used them together.

Whole Radish Kimchi (Chonggakkimchi) Recipe

How Cold Weather Affects Radishes

Radishes are cool-season vegetables, so they generally handle cool weather better than warm-season crops such as cucumbers, peppers, and squash.

This is one reason we can grow radishes late into the Calgary season.

But cold tolerance does not mean that a radish can safely stay outside through every freezing event.

A short period around 0°C may not immediately cause serious damage to a healthy radish crop.

A light frost may also be tolerated by some radishes, especially when the roots are protected by soil.

The bigger concern is repeated or prolonged freezing.

When temperatures remain below freezing, plant tissue can become damaged.

The leaves may become limp, dark, or water-soaked.

More serious cold damage can cause parts of the leaves to turn brown or black.

The roots can also be damaged by severe or repeated freezing and thawing.

There is no single temperature that tells us exactly when every radish will be damaged.

Soil temperature, wind, moisture, plant condition, root exposure, and the length of time below freezing can all make a difference.

For our garden, the main concern was the fast change in weather.

We did not want to wait until a serious freeze arrived and then discover that we had missed the best time to harvest.

We Almost Covered the Radishes for a Few More Days

Before harvesting, we considered using additional protection at night.

We could have covered the radish bed for several more days and checked it every morning.

If we had been home and able to give the garden our normal attention, we might have tried this.

But this year, our schedule was different.

We knew that we would not be able to spend much time in the garden for about a month.

The weather forecast also showed a change from mild fall weather to rain, snow, and freezing nights.

The forecast around the expected weather change was:

The daytime temperatures did not look extremely cold.

However, the combination of rain, snow, and freezing nights made us more cautious.

If we could check the plants every day, we might have waited a little longer.

Since we could not, we decided that harvesting early was the better choice.

Why We Chose to Harvest Early

Our decision was based on several things.

First, the altari radishes were ready enough to harvest.

Second, some of the Korean radishes were already large enough to use, even though they could have grown more.

Third, snow and freezing temperatures were approaching.

Fourth, the leaves had already suffered from caterpillar damage.

Finally, we knew that we would not be able to give the garden much attention for the next month.

All of these factors mattered.

We decided that slightly smaller radishes were better than leaving them in the ground and possibly losing the chance to harvest them in good condition.

This is one of the realities of gardening in Calgary.

The best harvest date is not always the date when the vegetable reaches its largest possible size.

Sometimes the best date is the one that fits the weather, the condition of the crop, and our real life.

Harvesting Our Radishes on October 6

On October 6, we pulled the Korean radishes and altari radishes from the garden.

The roots were not all the same size.

Some were large, while others were smaller than we normally prefer.

The leaves showed clear signs of caterpillar feeding.

They were not perfect leaves, but the roots were still in usable condition.

After pulling the plants, we brought the harvest inside and removed the loose soil.

Looking at the harvest made us feel good.

These radishes had grown through the later part of Calgary's short summer and into early October.

From August 1 to October 6, they had more than two months of growing time.

Some Korean radishes may have benefited from a few more days in the ground.

Still, considering the weather and our schedule, we were happy with our decision.

Preparing the Garden Bed for Winter

After harvesting the radishes, we did not leave the garden bed empty.

We dug out the center of the bed and prepared the space for winter.

Then we placed strawberry pots in the open area.

Container-grown strawberries can be more exposed to winter cold than strawberries planted directly in the ground.

An in-ground plant has more surrounding soil, which can provide some insulation for the roots.

A pot has less soil around the roots and is exposed to cold air from several directions.

By placing the strawberry pots in the garden bed, we are trying to make better use of the space and give the plants some additional protection during winter.

This is another way we try to use our small garden efficiently.

What This Radish Season Taught Us

This year's radish crop gave us several useful lessons.

The first lesson is that soil condition matters for root vegetables.

Our Calgary soil is hard, and we have learned through experience that soil pests can seriously damage radishes if we do nothing before planting.

The second lesson is that soil pests and leaf-eating insects are different problems.

Treating the soil does not stop butterflies from arriving later and laying eggs on the leaves.

The third lesson is that different radishes can have different growing times.

Even though we planted the Korean radish and altari radish on the same day, they did not reach their best harvest stage at exactly the same time.

The fourth lesson is that radishes can handle cool weather, but they are not protected from all freezing conditions.

Short periods of light frost may be tolerated, but repeated or prolonged freezing can cause damage.

The fifth lesson is that garden covers require regular attention.

A cover can help us protect plants during a short cold period, but we need to check the plants and weather regularly.

The sixth lesson is about pest control.

We used neem oil that we bought from Amazon and water made by boiling ginkgo seeds that we bought from a herb seller in front of T&T.

These methods fit our goal of keeping the garden as eco-friendly as possible.

In our experience, soil treatment seems to reduce root damage compared with leaving the soil untreated.

However, the later neem oil treatment did not solve the caterpillar problem.

We think it is important to share both results.

Gardening is not about making every method sound successful.

It is about recording what happened and learning from it.

Our October Garden in Calgary

October gardening in Calgary feels very different from gardening in June or July.

During the middle of summer, we think mostly about watering, feeding, harvesting, and waiting for vegetables to grow.

By October, the weather becomes a major part of every decision.

A warm afternoon can be followed by a freezing night.

Rain can turn into snow.

A vegetable that could grow larger with another week may suddenly need to be harvested because the season is ending.

That is why we harvested our Korean radish and altari radish on October 6.

We could have tried to protect them for several more days.

Some of the Korean radishes probably would have become larger.

But we had to consider the whole situation: the coming snow, freezing nights, insect damage, our hard soil, and the fact that we would not be able to give the garden normal attention for about a month.

In the end, we chose the safer harvest.

The radishes are now inside, and the garden bed has been prepared for winter.

For us, this is what gardening in Calgary is really about.

We plan when we can, watch the weather, observe the plants, learn from problems, and change our plans when necessary.

A perfect harvest is always nice.

But a harvest that fits the season and our real life is sometimes even better.

This October radish harvest was not the biggest harvest we could have grown.

It was simply the harvest that made the most sense for us this year.