Loam, peat and sand soils were artificially contaminated with 137Cs, 90Sr, 239,240Pu and 241Am in the winter 1983/84 as part of a five-year lysimeter study on the time dependent transfer of radionuclides to crops. Carrot, cabbage and barley crops were grown in rotation in subsequent years and after harvesting were separated into edible and unpalatable portions for radiochemical analysis. The study therefore provided an oppurtunity to investigate variations in the partitioning of 137Cs, 90Sr, 239,240Pu and 241Am between edible and non-palatable parts of crops when soil was the only source of activity. Soil-to-plant concentration ratios were calculated for each crop part once equilibrium conditions had been established in the lysimeters, i.e. 1986–1989 inclusive. Observed concentration ratios were higher in unpalatable portions, particularly for 90Sr, 239,240Pu and 241Am. Variations in observed concentration ratios between edible and unpalatable parts were attributed to differences in translocation, soil contamination or a combination of the two processes. Titanium was used as an approximate surrogate for soil contamination of crops. Whilst soil contamination was responsible for all of the additional 239,240Pu and 241Am present in carrot foliage, barley straw and outer leaves of cabbage, their enrichment in carrot peel seemed to reflect a genuine accumulation in the cells of the root cortex. Soil contamination made an important contribution to the 137Cs content of non-edible parts of crops growing in sand and loam due to the relatively low soil-to-plant concentration ratios in these soils. For peat soils, root uptake and translocation were responsible for most of the 137Cs in unpalatable crop parts. For 90Sr, differences in the distribution between crop parts were entirely attritutable to differences in mobility and translocation due to plant physiological factors. Finally, the distribution of 137Cs and 90Sr in different plant parts was compared to that of their stable nutrient analogues K and Ca. In general, the partitioning of 137Cs and 90Sr was similar to K and Ca.