Growing Daikon Radish: A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 10, 2026
Daikon radish is a much larger, longer-rooted relative of the standard salad radish already covered on this site, different enough in growing needs to warrant its own profile rather than a variety note tacked onto the smaller root.
Deep soil, timed sowing
Direct-seed only, sowing about 10 seeds per foot, thinned to 4 to 6 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart. The root needs friable, well-drained soil worked deeply, in raised beds if possible, the same requirement as burdock and carrots, to grow long and straight rather than forked or stubby. Note the planting season carefully on whatever variety you choose; sowing at the wrong time of year is the most common cause of bolting before a usable root forms.
Harvest carefully
Fork or undermine the soil around the root rather than pulling straight up, which lifts the long root without snapping it. Store at 32°F and 95 percent relative humidity for up to 6 to 10 weeks, with tops cut 2 inches above the crown before washing and refrigerating.
Daikon radish has no recorded companions or antagonists in our data. See the full companion guide for daikon radish for how it’s tracked. At 4 plants per square foot, it needs the same deep-soil planning in the Garden Designer as other long-rooted crops like burdock or parsnip.
Source: Daikon/Korean & Specialty Radishes: Key Growing Information, Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Companion planting guide for Daikon Radish · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 2-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Method: Direct sow: Direct-sow outside. Daikon Radish doesn't transplant well, or doesn't need the extra time indoors.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Daikon Radish plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 4 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 1-1.5 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- 'Alpine' daikon: Johnny's Selected Seeds recommends this as a traditional Korean-style daikon with exceptional flavor, well suited for kimchi and other preserved uses that call for a genuine long daikon root. (source)
- 'Miyashige' daikon (best for: traditional fall harvest): Johnny's Selected Seeds lists this as a traditional fall-harvest daikon of the highest quality, an open-pollinated option where the hybrids above aren't wanted. (source)
- 'KN-Bravo' (F1) radish (best for: color): Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this as an attractive purple-rooted daikon type with sweet flavor and good eating quality, worth growing alongside a white daikon for a two-tone harvest. (source)
Cited from the source shown next to each variety. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement.
Where to buy daikon radish seeds
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing daikon radish" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Daikon Radish: A much larger, longer-rooted radish than the standard salad radish, needing the same deep, loose soil as carrots and burdock to grow straight.
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