Black Radish
Nero Tondo is a striking organic black Spanish radish that brings dramatic visual appeal and satisfying crunch to the garden. This open-pollinated variety matures in just 50 days, delivering dark, round roots with creamy white flesh inside. The contrast between its nearly black exterior and pale interior makes it instantly recognizable at harvest, while its robust nature and straightforward growing requirements make it accessible even to newer gardeners.
—
Moderate
?-?
?in H x ?in W
Annual
High
Hover over chart points for details
What sets Nero Tondo apart is its bold appearance, those charcoal-dark, nearly spherical roots are unmistakably different from the reds and pinks that dominate most radish patches. As an organic variety, it's been selected for reliable performance without synthetic inputs. The 50-day timeline means you'll go from seed to harvest quickly enough to succession plant through multiple seasons, giving you flexibility to experiment with planting windows throughout spring and fall.
Nero Tondo works beautifully sliced thin for salads, where its dark skin provides striking visual contrast against greens and other vegetables. The firm, white flesh holds its texture when roasted, and the roots can be halved or quartered for longer cooking without falling apart. For those seeking to preserve the harvest, these radishes store exceptionally well, extending your season well beyond the garden.
Direct sow seeds into prepared garden beds after the last spring frost once soil has warmed and is workable. For fall crops, sow in mid to late summer to allow 50 days of growth before the first hard freeze.
Nero Tondo radishes reach maturity in approximately 50 days from sowing. Harvest when the roots are full-sized but still tender, they taste best before they become overly large and woody. You can check readiness by gently brushing soil away from the top of the root to see its diameter, then lift carefully with a garden fork or pull by hand, loosening the soil around it first to avoid breaking the roots.
Enter your ZIP code to see a personalized growing calendar for this plant.