8 Reasons Why Your Radish Leaves Are Turning Yellow - The Practical Planter (2024)

Growing radishes can be very satisfying, but you’re going to want to do your best to take care of them. If you want to enjoy the best ones possible, caring for them the right way is a must.

If you’ve noticed that some of the radish leaves are starting to turn yellow, you might be a bit startled. It’ll probably make you think that you did something wrong.

What can cause this to happen? Well, there are actually quite a few potential causes, which we’ll break down below.

1 – Overcrowding

Overcrowding is one potential cause of radish leaves turning yellow. If you’ve placed a bunch of radishes too close to each other, they might not have enough room to thrive.

The yellow leaves that you’re seeing could be a sign that they need to be spaced apart. Try to plant them a little further apart from each other so that they won’t have to compete so much.

2 – The Radishes Aren’t Getting Enough Light

Sometimes radishes will have yellow leaves when they aren’t getting enough sun. Radishes need to get six hours of full sun each day.

It’s fine if they have some shade, but they do need the sun to thrive. You might have them in a bad spot, and you could try to solve things by moving them to a more ideal location.

3 – Weeds

Even something like weeds could cause a radish to have its leaves change colors. Having to compete with weeds can stress the plant and keep it from growing as it should.

Take a look at where your radishes are planted and see if there are any visible weeds. You might need to do a more thorough job weeding in the future to avoid difficulties like this.

4 – Not Watering Radishes Enough

Not watering radishes enough will also cause you many different problems. Sometimes they will have yellow leaves when they aren’t getting as much water as they’re supposed to.

Radishes should receive a light watering four or five times each week. You don’t want the soil to get really soggy, but it does need to remain moist.

You can have an easier time keeping the soil moist if you utilize mulch where you’re growing them. Even something as simple as mulch made out of grass clippings should do the trick.

5 – Watering Too Much

Interestingly, watering a radish too much can also cause the leaves to turn yellow. If you have been a bit overzealous with how much water you’re giving them, then you might have caused the leaves to change colors.

Generally, plants that get watered too much are going to have a hard time surviving. It’s like the plants are drowning because there’s too much water and they haven’t been able to dry out.

All you need to do is be more careful when you’re watering them. Try to keep the soil moist without going overboard so they don’t suffer.

You do need to water radishes often, but you should never make the soil soggy with water. Try to keep the soil moist without making it soggy to get better results.

6 – Nutrient Issues

Nutrient issues might cause the leaves to turn yellow, too. Basically, when the soil doesn’t have enough nutrients, it’s going to be hard for the radishes to get what they need.

The leaves turning yellow could be a sign that the radishes aren’t doing well with the current soil. You might need to do some things to improve the soil quality so they can get back to being healthy.

Radishes do best in sandy soils that are rich in organic matter. You could try mixing some compost into your soil to improve things, and even aerating the soil will likely help out a bit.

Nitrogen deficiency might be to blame for the yellowing leaves if your soil is particularly bad. In this case, using some fertilizer might help you to turn things around.

Typically, you don’t need to fertilize radishes much, but it might help them to get their green leaves back. Choose a fertilizer that is high in nitrogen so that you can get everything back to normal.

7 – Pests

Pests might be the cause of your problems, but it might be hard to tell which pest. You see, there are quite a few pests that can bother radishes, and you’ll want to be on the lookout for all of them.

Harlequin bugs will suck on radishes and cause the leaves to wilt over time. This can turn the leaves yellow as well, and sometimes the leaves will even have white or yellow spots.

Leafhoppers have been known to spread a virus that is called Aster Yellows. You’re going to want to keep these troublesome bugs out of your garden because they can decimate your radishes quite fast.

Look to solve any pest issues as quickly as you can so that you won’t encounter further issues. If things go well, then you might be able to save your radishes, but it’s also possible that you might need to remove the ones that have been infected with pests.

8 – Diseases

There are also many diseases that can cause radish leaves to turn yellow. Fungal diseases are fairly common, and one of the most well-known ones is Septoria leaf spot.

This can cause the leaves to have yellow spots. Clubroot is another fungal disease to be aware of, and it causes leaves to yellow while also making the roots swell.

Blackleg is yet another fungal disease that will see radish leaves turn yellow in between the veins. Other parts of the leaf might become brown and could eventually curl up.

Downy mildew is one to look out for when the weather gets cooler. It causes yellow spots and the leaves might have a yellow border.

Black rot can also cause yellow leaves, and the leaves will eventually turn brown and wilt. Needless to say, all of these diseases are very bad for your radishes.

You want to do your best to prevent your plants from getting diseases like this. Try to keep them from being planted near areas with conditions where fungi like this will thrive, and do what you can to stave off fungal infections.

Drenching your radishes with water could encourage fungal growth, and you might wish to be more careful. The soil is supposed to remain moist, but it isn’t supposed to be sopping wet.

If you can make some adjustments to how you’re doing things, you might be able to keep this from happening again. The next time you plant radishes, be more mindful of the potential for fungal diseases so that you can make good preventative choices.

Make Good Choices

Make good choices when caring for your radishes and you should be able to avoid further issues. One of the things above is likely the cause of the color change you’re seeing in the leaves.

If you make a few changes, you might be able to turn things around. Even if you have to throw them out due to them being diseased, you’ll be able to do better next time with the knowledge that you have now.