Radish & Root Veg Seeds — Carrot, Radish, Turnip, Beet, Daikon, Rutabaga
Twenty cold-hardy, open-pollinated varieties from Russian heirloom stock. From 25-day fast radishes to long-season rutabaga landraces that survived Ural winters for a hundred years. All packets 50 seeds, all SALE −40%.
The backbone of every cold-climate kitchen garden
Root vegetables are among the oldest cultivated crops in Northern and Central Asia. They were not selected for supermarket shelves — they were selected to keep families fed through winters that last five months and drop to −40°C. That means dense texture, concentrated flavour, and storage life measured in months, not days. This collection gathers 20 open-pollinated varieties that have passed through those conditions for generations.
Cold converts starch to sugar. Turnip, rutabaga, carrot and beet exposed to temperatures between −2°C and +4°C for 2–3 days before harvest are measurably sweeter than those pulled in mid-summer. Every variety in this collection is adapted to exactly that sequence — warm growing season, cold finish.
Four plant families cover the full range of the category. Raphanus sativus (radish and daikon) offers the fastest return — 25 to 90 days — with flavours from mild and creamy to sharp and peppery. Brassica rapa (turnip) doubles as a leaf vegetable; the tops are edible from thinnings onward. Daucus carota (carrot) needs the longest season but rewards patience with the highest sugar content of any root crop. Beta vulgaris (beet) is the only root here that also yields a cooking green — the leaves are nutritious and handle light frost without wilting.
All seeds in this category are grown and harvested by our collection team in the Ural region, Russia (USDA Zone 4–5). Germination tested at 18–22°C across multiple batches before each season's dispatch; category average 85–92%. Every variety is open-pollinated — you can save seed from your own harvest indefinitely. About our collection →
Six plant groups, one complete harvest
What grows in this collection, and what makes each group worth a space in your garden
Carrot
Daucus carota subsp. sativusThe sweetest root in the category. Sugar content increases dramatically during cold nights in September and October. Three varieties in this collection: Tushon (long Nantes-type, 25–30 cm), Amsterdam (narrow, early, 60–70 days), and Paris Market (round, 5 cm, ideal for containers and heavy soil). All selected in Russia's Volga and Ural regions where short growing seasons demand early maturity and maximum flavour.
Radish
Raphanus sativus var. sativusThe fastest edible root on earth — most varieties are table-ready in 25 to 35 days. Six varieties cover the full colour and season range: Purple (sharp, spherical, spring sowing), White Afrodite (mild, long, summer), Ladushka (bright red, classic round), Munich Beer (long white, very mild, popular in Central Europe since the 17th century), Winter Round Black (the Russian pantry staple — stores 6 months, eaten from October to April), and Margelan (green-skinned, pink-fleshed Central Asian type, crunchy raw or braised).
Turnip
Brassica rapa subsp. rapaOne of the oldest cultivated vegetables in Russia — Petrovskaya turnip appears in written records dating to the 17th century. Four varieties: Petrovskaya (flat, golden, classic Russian shape), Geisha (flat white, Japanese type, very mild and tender, 45–50 days), Golden Ball (spherical, rich yellow flesh, keeps well), and Osterzundom (elongated German type, purple top, stores through winter). Young turnip tops from thinnings are edible as a leaf vegetable rich in calcium.
Daikon
Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatusThe large Japanese white radish, but with Russian-adapted cold tolerance. Sasha is a round daikon form — 12–15 cm diameter, very mild, good for pickling and fresh eating. Minovasi is the classic elongated type, 30–40 cm long, used in East Asian cooking. Both are sown in mid-summer (July) for autumn harvest, which avoids the bolting problem that plagues spring-sown daikon. The root is 93% water, with a clean peppery-sweet flavour that disappears almost completely when cooked or fermented.
Beet
Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgarisTwo complementary varieties: Egyptian Beets (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima) — the wild Mediterranean ancestor form, flat-round, deep crimson, extremely tolerant of heat and drought, with a yield of 5.0–8.3 kg per square metre under good conditions. Dark-Skinned Beetroot — the classic Russian cultivar, very dark purple-black skin, intensely coloured flesh, stores reliably through winter. Both varieties produce edible young leaves from thinnings; beet greens are among the most nutritious leafy vegetables in the kitchen garden.
Rutabaga & Root Celery
Brassica napobrassica / Apium graveolens var. rapaceumRutabaga (Krasnoselskaya and Giant Laurentian Kuuziku) are the longest-season roots in this collection — 90 to 110 days — but reward the wait with flesh that sweetens dramatically after frost and stores until April without a refrigerator. Krasnoselskaya is the Russian standard, Kuuziku a Swedish giant form reaching 2–3 kg per root. Root Celery (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum) is the most complex crop here: slow to germinate (14–21 days), 150–180 days to full size, but the flavour — concentrated celery, nutty, earthy — has no substitute.
How to grow root vegetables from seed — step by step
Six steps that apply across every variety in this collection
Prepare the bed — deep and stone-free
Loosen soil to 25 cm for short varieties (round radish, Paris Market carrot, Geisha turnip) and to 35–40 cm for long daikon, Tushon carrot, and rutabaga. Remove all stones and break up compaction — this is the single biggest factor in root shape. Add 4–6 litres of mature compost per square metre and rake level. Avoid fresh manure: it causes carrot and parsnip roots to fork.
Timing — sow direct when soil reaches 6–8°C
Root vegetables must be direct-sown — never transplanted. Even a brief root disturbance at the seedling stage causes forking, splitting, and stunted growth. Radish, turnip, and beet can be sown from mid-March in temperate Europe (UK, Germany, Netherlands). Carrot from April. Daikon in July for autumn harvest. Root celery is the exception — start indoors in February, transplant carefully at 6–8 cm height without disturbing the root ball.
Sowing depth and spacing
Sow at 5–10 mm depth for radish, turnip, beet. Carrot and daikon at 10–15 mm. Cover lightly, firm gently with the flat of your hand. Row spacing: radish 20 cm, carrot and beet 25–30 cm, daikon and rutabaga 40 cm. Water once after sowing with a fine rose to avoid washing seeds sideways. Germination begins in 4–7 days at 16–20°C; 7–14 days at 8–12°C.
Thin early and thin hard
The most common mistake is waiting too long to thin. Do it at the 2-leaf stage — before roots have started to form and while plants are still easy to pull cleanly. Final spacing: radish 3–5 cm, carrot 4–6 cm, turnip 8–10 cm, beet 8–12 cm, daikon 15–20 cm, rutabaga 20–25 cm. Thinnings from radish, turnip, and beet are edible — add to salads. Thin in two passes if the seedlings are dense.
Water steadily — avoid feast-and-famine cycles
Inconsistent moisture is the primary cause of splitting in carrot, radish, and beet — and of bitterness in daikon. Aim for 20–25 mm per week total (rain + irrigation). Mulch with 4–5 cm of straw or compost to retain moisture and stabilise soil temperature. Do not water-stress carrot in the last 3 weeks before harvest: the plant responds to drought by thickening its core into an inedible woody column.
Harvest timing and storage
Radish: harvest as soon as roots reach full size — oversize radish become pithy and hot. Carrot and beet: leave until after the first light frost for maximum sweetness. Turnip: pull at 6–8 cm diameter. Rutabaga: harvest from October onward, stores unwashed in a cool cellar at 0–4°C for 5–6 months. Winter Black Radish: the Ural standard for winter storage, keeps at 0–2°C wrapped in damp sand for up to 6 months.
Sow radish between carrot rows — it marks the row and loosens the soil
Carrot seeds are tiny and slow — they take 14–21 days to germinate, during which the surface crust can set hard and block emergence. Sow a few radish seeds in the same row at the same time. Radish emerges in 5–7 days, breaks the crust, and marks the row so you can cultivate without disturbing the invisible carrot seedlings below. By the time carrot seedlings need the space (3–4 weeks later), the radish is ready to harvest. The root channels left by harvested radish also loosen the path for developing carrot roots. This companion-sowing method has been standard practice in Russian kitchen gardens for generations and requires no extra space.
Root vegetable comparison — which variety to choose
Key characteristics compared across the most popular types in this collection
| Characteristic | Oreshka varieties | Typical F1 supermarket radish | Generic carrot seed (mass market) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days to harvest | 25–35 (radish) / 70–110 (carrot) | 28–30 (uniform, for machine harvest) | 75–80 (Nantes hybrid, uniform) |
| Variety type | Open-pollinated heirloom — seed-saving permitted | F1 hybrid — seed-saving produces variable offspring | F1 hybrid — seed-saving not viable |
| Flavour profile | Sharp to mild across 6 radish types; intense carrot sweetness after frost | Mild, consistent, bred for shelf life over taste | Moderate sweetness, consistent texture |
| Cold hardiness | USDA Zone 3–6; selected in Ural conditions (−40°C winters) | Zone 5–9 typical | Zone 4–9 typical |
| Storage duration | Winter Black Radish: up to 6 months. Rutabaga: 5–6 months. Carrot: 4–6 months | 1–2 weeks refrigerated (no cellar selection) | 3–4 months refrigerated |
| Pack size / price | 50 seeds / €3.00–4.25 (SALE −40%) | Typically 25–30 seeds / €2.50–4.00 | Typically 300–500 seeds / €2.00–3.00 (F1) |
Common mistakes with root vegetables — and how to avoid them
The reasons most root crop failures happen, based on grower questions we receive each season
Transplanting seedlings
Root vegetables must be direct-sown. Any disturbance to the taproot — even brief exposure during transplanting — causes irreversible forking. A forked carrot or radish will never straighten. Carrot, beet, daikon, turnip, and rutabaga all carry this sensitivity. The only exception is root celery, which can be carefully transplanted if the root ball is kept fully intact.
Adding fresh manure to the bed
Fresh or incompletely composted manure triggers excessive nitrogen uptake, causing forked and hairy roots in carrot, rough-skinned radish, and cracked beet. It also draws root-feeding insects. Always use well-rotted compost (at least 12 months old) or no amendments at all on the year of planting. If soil is genuinely poor, improve it the season before, not at sowing time.
Leaving thinning too late
Thinning at the 4-leaf stage or later causes immediate root disturbance in neighbours as the pulled plant's root is now entangled with adjacent roots. Do the first thin at the 2-leaf stage (7–10 days after germination). If you cannot bring yourself to thin to a single plant, do a two-pass system: thin to 2 cm at week 1, thin to final spacing at week 2. The delay costs little; the dense crowding costs the whole crop.
Irregular watering causing split roots
A dry period followed by heavy rain or irrigation causes the root's outer skin — which has stopped growing — to split as the inner tissue expands rapidly. This affects radish and beet most severely, carrot to a lesser extent. The solution is consistent moisture with mulch, not deep watering events. Splitting does not affect flavour but destroys storage life and makes roots prone to rot within days of harvest.
Harvesting daikon in spring
Daikon sown in spring bolts to flower within 6–8 weeks without producing a usable root, because increasing day length triggers the reproductive phase before the root can develop. Daikon should be sown in late June or July, when days are shortening again. It germinates and grows through the warm late summer, then the cooling autumn suppresses bolting and concentrates flavour in the root. Autumn harvest daikon is consistently larger, milder, and less peppery than spring-sown attempts.
Storing unwashed roots in plastic
Root vegetables exhale carbon dioxide and moisture as they respire. In a sealed plastic bag this condenses immediately and the roots rot within 7–10 days. Store in a ventilated container (wooden box, hessian sack, open crate) packed in slightly damp sand or sawdust at 0–4°C. The damp medium prevents desiccation without trapping humidity. Never wash roots before storage — the protective skin layer absorbs water and becomes permeable to mould.
Why source root vegetable seeds from Oreshka
Three concrete differences from what you find at a local garden centre
Collected at source in the Urals
Seeds grown and harvested by our team in Ural Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4). The same cold climate where Petrovskaya turnip, Krasnoselskaya rutabaga, and Tushon carrot were selected over decades. Packed fresh each season from the most recent harvest — not from a commodity warehouse.
Germination tested at 18–22°C
Every batch lab-tested before dispatch. Category average: 85–92% germination across all root vegetable stocks. Far above the minimum 70% that EU seed regulations require for commercial vegetable seed lots. You get 50 seeds per packet and can expect 42–46 of them to germinate under correct conditions.
Open-pollinated, non-GMO, seed-saving permitted
Every variety in this collection is open-pollinated. Grow it out, select your best roots, allow one plant to flower and set seed, harvest and dry those seeds — and you have a free supply for next year, adapted further to your specific soil and microclimate. F1 hybrids from most retail sources do not work this way. Seed-saving has kept these Russian landraces alive for 100+ years.
Frequently asked questions
Which root vegetable is easiest to grow from seed for beginners?
Radish is the fastest and most forgiving — ready to harvest in 25–35 days, no thinning skill required, and the consequences of mistakes are visible within a week rather than months later. Geisha turnip (45 days) and Amsterdam carrot (70–75 days) are also reliable. Avoid root celery (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum) as a first crop: it needs 14–21 days to germinate, 150–180 days to full size, and careful indoor starting in February. Save it for season three when you have the process organised.
Can I grow carrots and radishes in Zone 5 or Northern Europe (UK, Germany, Scandinavia)?
Yes — this is precisely what this collection was bred for. Nearly every variety was selected in Russian climates spanning USDA Zone 3 to Zone 6, with winters reaching −35 to −40°C and growing seasons of 90–120 days. In the UK (Zone 8–9), Germany (Zone 6–8), and Scandinavia (Zone 4–7), these varieties are overqualified for the conditions. Sow radish from mid-March, carrot from April, daikon in July. Turnip and beet can go in from early April; rutabaga from late April for autumn harvest. All tolerate light frost at any growth stage except the germination window.
What is the difference between daikon, radish, and turnip?
They are related but meaningfully different. Radish (Raphanus sativus) matures in 25–60 days. Roots are typically round or cylindrical, 5–30 cm long depending on type, with a peppery bite that sharpens in hot weather. Daikon is the same species (Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus) but a large white Asian form — 30–50 cm long, weighing 400 g to 2 kg, with a milder, slightly sweet flavour. It behaves very differently to summer radish: it needs long days to form root, must be sown in late summer, and is fermented or braised rather than eaten raw. Turnip (Brassica rapa) is a different genus entirely, closer in botanical terms to cabbage and broccoli than to radish. The flavour is earthy-sweet rather than peppery; the texture is firmer and denser. Both leaves and root are edible. Turnip stores for 4–6 months; daikon stores 2–3 months; summer radish does not store at all.
Can root vegetables be grown in containers or pots permanently?
Yes, with depth as the only real constraint. Short-rooted varieties grow in any container 20 cm deep: Purple radish, White Afrodite, Ladushka, Munich Beer, Paris Market carrot, Geisha turnip, Golden Ball turnip. Medium varieties (Tushon carrot, Margelan radish, Egyptian beet) need 30–35 cm. Long daikon (Minovasi) needs 40–45 cm — use a deep pot or a raised bed. Use loose, stone-free potting compost, never garden soil (too dense, compacts immediately in a pot). Water container roots twice as frequently as in-ground plantings, and feed with liquid seaweed at 3-week intervals after the first true leaves appear.
How long does it take to harvest root vegetables from seed?
In order from fastest to slowest: Radish 25–35 days; Turnip 45–60 days; Beet 55–75 days; Daikon 60–90 days; Carrot 70–110 days depending on variety; Rutabaga 90–110 days; Root celery 150–180 days. Sow radish and turnip successionally every 2–3 weeks from March through August for a continuous harvest spanning May to November. Carrot can be sown in two waves (April and July) to spread the harvest across August to November. Rutabaga and root celery are single-sow, single-harvest crops — plan the bed space accordingly.
Why buy root vegetable seeds from Oreshka instead of a local garden centre?
Most garden centres sell 3–5 mainstream F1 hybrids selected for yield uniformity and supermarket shelf appeal. They are bred for commercial growers, not kitchen gardeners seeking variety. Oreshka offers 20 heirloom open-pollinated varieties including cold-hardy Russian selections (Petrovskaya turnip, Krasnoselskaya rutabaga, Tushon carrot, Winter Black Radish, Margelan radish) that are genuinely rare outside Russia and Central Asia. Several of these varieties have been grown continuously for 100+ years in the same region without commercial interruption. All are non-GMO, seed-saving is permitted and encouraged, and every packet contains 50 seeds at €3.00–4.25 — enough for a full 4-metre row.
Ready to plant? Stock up for the full season.
20 varieties in stock · 50 seeds per pack · All SALE −40% · Worldwide shipping
Browse Full Vegetable Catalog → Shop Herb Seeds →oreshka-seeds.com · Sealed moisture-proof packets · 2–3 day dispatch