Tillage radish is a cover crop I had never heard of until this summer. One of the amazing things about the tillage radish is its rapid growth. After my neighbor Rol harvested his garlic he planted this bed to tillage radishes in mid-July. Already the wide row is completely covered with lush foliage that will die down once we have a killing frost. The long daikon radish roots that have developed will also rot over the course of the winter. In spring the bed will be ready for planting. Very little weeding or tilling will be required and the soil will be well nourished with more organic matter.
This is so cool! I’ve never heard of it before now either!
Kylee – these are amazing. Can you imagine that much growth in about 6 weeks? Good in many climate zones.
I was just reading an article in this month’s “Horticulture” magazine about cover crops and they included the tillage radish. I’d never heard of these before, either, but the idea of “little weeding required” certainly does sound appealing. I wonder how late they can be planted?