Cherry Belle Radish

Raphanus sativus 'Cherry Belle'

vegetable

Cherry Belle is the classic round, cherry-red salad radish, with crisp white flesh and a mild, clean bite, and one of the very fastest vegetables anyone can grow, going from seed to harvest in roughly three to four weeks. That speed makes it ideal for filling gaps between slower crops, marking rows of slow-germinating carrots, and giving beginners a quick, satisfying first success. It is a cool-season root that does best in the mild weather of spring and fall, and like all radishes it turns sharp and woody if rushed through heat.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Cucumbers and Squash — Radishes interplanted help deter cucumber beetles
• Lettuce — Shares cool-season space
• Nasturtium — Trap crop for aphids
• Carrots — Radishes mark the rows and loosen soil while carrots germinate

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Flea beetles →

  Row cover seedlings; radish grows fast enough to often outgrow damage and even serves as a trap crop for other plants

• Cabbage root maggot →

  Rotate brassica-family crops and use row cover

• Woody roots →

  Sow in cool weather and never let growth stall

🌾 Harvest & storage

Cherry Belle is ready remarkably fast, usually three to four weeks from sowing, and the window is short, so check the planting daily once roots begin to swell. Pull them promptly at full size, around an inch across; left too long they quickly turn pithy, fibrous, and sharply hot, and may split or bolt. Because the roots hold in good condition only briefly, harvest as you need them, which is why small successive sowings beat one big planting. After pulling, twist off the tops and store the roots in the refrigerator, where they keep only a week or two.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Cherry Belle radishes are very low in calories and mostly water, yet a good source of vitamin C with potassium, calcium, and fiber. Their crisp, peppery bite comes from the same glucosinolate and isothiocyanate compounds found across the mustard family, antioxidants linked to the protective reputation of cruciferous vegetables. Both the root and the leafy tops are edible, the greens carrying extra vitamins and usable cooked or in a quick saute. Eaten raw and fresh, radishes deliver their crunch, vitamin C, and peppery flavor for almost no calories, which is much of their appeal.