Plant · P-334

Daikon

Raphanus sativus var longipinnatus

Daikon is a large white radish grown as much for what it does to soil as for what ends up on a plate - one planting yields root, leaves, flower clusters, seedpods and even an edible seed oil, five separate harvests off a single plant. Sown thick into compacted clay as a "tillage radish," its root drives straight through hardpan and then rots in place over winter after a hard frost kills the plant, leaving an open channel for water and air right where the compaction was. It grows fast but is thirsty - skip irrigation during a dry spell and root quality collapses, pushing the plant to bolt early instead of bulking up. Grown as food, most of the pungency and a thyroid-affecting compound sit in the skin, so peeling it before cooking is standard practice.