Growing Beetroot and How to Grow the Best Beetroot
Growing Beetroot - Tips and advice on how to grow beetroot in your own
backyard. It's easy to grow, makes for great salad leaves as beetroot
leaves are edible and eaten raw in salads or steamed, and the beetroot
itself can be eaten both raw and cooked too. Don't just think about
pickled beetroot.
Beetroot is one of the most popular root crops, and is ideal to grow in your backyard. Swiss chard, sugar beets and mangelwurzels also belong to the same species and they readily cross with each other. The beetroot, also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet or informally simply as beet.
Although beetroots are grown for their roots, the foliage can be used as a spinach, and for hundreds of years this was why they were grown. The baby leaves, when very young, can be picked and used in a salad.
Beets are a good source of vitamin A and C and are considered helpful for building up the immune system. See our page on juicing vegetables for some juicing recipes.
Know when to plant vegetables, as well as during the month for planting by the moon.
If you grow beetroots during hot, dry weather and on poor soil, they will still look good above the ground, but below their roots will be small, poor in color and in some cultivars they will have a white zone.
Several globular varieties display unusual concentric circles of pink or red with white, these include the Italian Chioggio, Red-white, Egyptian. For the more adventurous there are both golden and white varieties. Golden Beet, are known for their non-bleeding qualities and the White Albina is said to be sweeter than the standard red varieties. Both are globular shaped and produce tops which can be harvested and cooked like spinach.
Baby or mini-beets are also available, their small size and early maturing making them favorites for many, especially if you are growing vegetables in containers and are short of space. Two varieties of mini-beets to look out for are Gourmet Baby and Mini Gourmet.
Finally, for some really interesting beets that are cylindrical in shape is the Cylindra which is a dark red, and the Sugar, which has a sweet, white, conical root.
These vegetables like to be grown in
soil that is loose, fairly sandy and which has been liberally sprinkled
with lime as they don't like an acidic soil. 1/2 cup of lime per square
metre is sufficient. If you are not sure, check the soil pH with a soil
testing kit which you can find at your local gardening centre. However,
they will tolerate any soil conditions and will also grow well in clay
and particularly salty soils which they seem to like.
Planting beetroot in ground that has been manured for a previous leaf crop such as cabbages or lettuce is perfect for beetroot. To prepare the beds make sure that the bed has been dug over to a depth of 10 cm.
Beetroots are extremely sensitive to baron deficiency in soils, and therefore are a good indicator of this. The indications are blackened areas and cracked roots and a generally withering beetroot occurs. Using a seaweed solution to bring up the pH levels in your soil to 6.0 - 7.0 will sort this out.
Soak the seed in water overnight before sowing. Sew beetroot seed sparingly; beetroot seed is unusually in that it comprises a capsule containing around 3 seeds, thereby making it easy to over sow. In the morning, sow 2 cm deep, spaced at 10 cm apart. Rows can be spaced 15-25 cm apart.
Cover the seeds with fine soil, and press done gently making sure that the seeds make contact with the soil. Water in gently with a fine spray. Keep the soil moist by watering every day. During hot weather grass can be laid thinly over the rows as a temporary mulch to prevent the soil from drying out and crusting. Remove the grass immediately as soon as the seedlings begin to emerge. Seeds should germinate within 10-14 days. They will take 10-12 weeks to mature.
Always make sure that the soil never dries out because if it does the crop will be woody and unpalatable. Your beetroot will also become woody if you don't thin the seedlings out as they grow. No matter how careful you try to be when sowing the seed you will invariably end up with rows that are overcrowded. If you don't thin them out there will be no space for your roots to develop and then only best for using the crop for their foliage.
The first thinning out should take place when growing beetroot when the plants are 3 - 4 cm high, followed by a second thinning out, if necessary, when the plants are 7 cm high, making sure that there is at least 7.5 - 10 cm between each plant. Drawing the soil up around the plants will give them extra support and will be welcomed by your beetroot plants.
After pulling your beetroot from the soil, twist the tops off 3 - 5 cm above the root crown. Make sure that you do not damage the root crown in any way as this will cause the root to bleed and loss of color will result.
So what do you do with your beetroot once you have grown it?
Here's a recipe for Beetroot Cake
4 eggs, beaten
225 ml sunflower oil
2 large beetroots, cooked & grated
2 cups self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Method: Beat sugar, eggs and oil together. Add beetroot. Into a second bowl sift all the dry ingredients together. Combine contents of both bowls. Pour the mixture into 2 greased 500 g loaf tins. Bake at 175°C for 40 minutes.
Pickled Beetroot Recipe
4 qt. red beetroot
2 qt. vinegar
2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. allspice
Cut the tops from the red beetroots, leaving 1 inch of the stems and the roots attached. Scrub well with a vegetable brush, and put to cook in boiling water. Cook until the beets are tender enough to be pierced with a fork. Pour off the hot water and run cold water over them. Remove the roots and stems, and cut into slices of any desired thickness or into dice, if preferred. Pack into jars or crocks. Then bring the vinegar to a boil, and to it add the sugar, salt, and spices. Pour this hot mixture over the beets. Seal the beets while hot, cool, and store.
Juicing Recipes for Beets Juicing Recipes:
Scrub young beets, or beetroots as some people call them, and put them through the juicer. This makes an extremely beautiful wine-red juice, which unfortunately tastes very unpleasant. Therefore only small amounts of beet juice can be used. Take 2/3 of canned pineapple juice and 1/3 beet juice for a very pleasant drink.
Vitamins: Beets are very rich in the vitamin B folate. It also contains some vitamin C.
Health Benefits: These colorful root vegetables contain powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer.
Beetroot is one of the most popular root crops, and is ideal to grow in your backyard. Swiss chard, sugar beets and mangelwurzels also belong to the same species and they readily cross with each other. The beetroot, also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet or informally simply as beet.
Although beetroots are grown for their roots, the foliage can be used as a spinach, and for hundreds of years this was why they were grown. The baby leaves, when very young, can be picked and used in a salad.
Beets are a good source of vitamin A and C and are considered helpful for building up the immune system. See our page on juicing vegetables for some juicing recipes.
Know when to plant vegetables, as well as during the month for planting by the moon.
GROWING BEETROOT - Climate
Beetroots are remarkably hardy. Beetroot like to be grown in at least half-sun, and will tolerate light shade, but not heavy shade. In light shade they will ripen a little slower than those beetroots that have been planted in full sun. Where areas experience heavy frosts plant in spring. Otherwise in temperate climates they can be planted from late winter to mid-autumn. In warmer climes you can plant beetroot throughout the year. Beetroots are not sensitive to heat, providing they get enough water during the height of the summer. And again, they are resistant to cold weather, although during this time their growth will be slow.If you grow beetroots during hot, dry weather and on poor soil, they will still look good above the ground, but below their roots will be small, poor in color and in some cultivars they will have a white zone.
GROWING BEETROOT with other Companion Plants
Beetroot should be grown near kohlrabi, onions and dwarf beans. Do not grow beetroot near runner beans.GROWING BEETROOT - Beetroot Varieties
There are many varieties of beetroot available. The traditional dark red globe beets are still firm favorites with growers. The Derwent Globe, Darkest Globe, and Detroit Dark Red being common varieties, while Rapid Red, Early Wonder and Early Market are recommended for fast growth and maturation.Several globular varieties display unusual concentric circles of pink or red with white, these include the Italian Chioggio, Red-white, Egyptian. For the more adventurous there are both golden and white varieties. Golden Beet, are known for their non-bleeding qualities and the White Albina is said to be sweeter than the standard red varieties. Both are globular shaped and produce tops which can be harvested and cooked like spinach.
Baby or mini-beets are also available, their small size and early maturing making them favorites for many, especially if you are growing vegetables in containers and are short of space. Two varieties of mini-beets to look out for are Gourmet Baby and Mini Gourmet.
Finally, for some really interesting beets that are cylindrical in shape is the Cylindra which is a dark red, and the Sugar, which has a sweet, white, conical root.
GROWING BEETROOT - Soil Conditions
Planting beetroot in ground that has been manured for a previous leaf crop such as cabbages or lettuce is perfect for beetroot. To prepare the beds make sure that the bed has been dug over to a depth of 10 cm.
Beetroots are extremely sensitive to baron deficiency in soils, and therefore are a good indicator of this. The indications are blackened areas and cracked roots and a generally withering beetroot occurs. Using a seaweed solution to bring up the pH levels in your soil to 6.0 - 7.0 will sort this out.
GROWING BEETROOT - How to Grow Beetroot from Seed
Growing beetroot from seed is more successful than transplanting. However, if the transplanting is done carefully they will survive and do well. It really is a hardy vegetable, however, transplanting beetroot will result in retarding the growth of the plant for some time before it recovers.Soak the seed in water overnight before sowing. Sew beetroot seed sparingly; beetroot seed is unusually in that it comprises a capsule containing around 3 seeds, thereby making it easy to over sow. In the morning, sow 2 cm deep, spaced at 10 cm apart. Rows can be spaced 15-25 cm apart.
Cover the seeds with fine soil, and press done gently making sure that the seeds make contact with the soil. Water in gently with a fine spray. Keep the soil moist by watering every day. During hot weather grass can be laid thinly over the rows as a temporary mulch to prevent the soil from drying out and crusting. Remove the grass immediately as soon as the seedlings begin to emerge. Seeds should germinate within 10-14 days. They will take 10-12 weeks to mature.
GROWING BEETROOT - How to Grow Beetroot from Seedlings
If you are growing beetroot to transplant out at a later stage the plants can be moved to their permanent beds when they are 8 - 10 cm high, and should be set out apart with 7.5 cm between the rows. If you trim 1/3 off the foliage at this stage, this will help with the transplanting out and cause the plant to grow better.GROWING BEETROOT - Cultivation
Beetroot appreciates a good amount of nitrogen, so may be fed every 2 weeks from the time the plant is about 19 cm high. Because beetroot like a salty soil, you should give them a watering with a weak salt solution on every alternate week. Dilute 1 teaspoon of common household salt in 4.5 litres of water.Always make sure that the soil never dries out because if it does the crop will be woody and unpalatable. Your beetroot will also become woody if you don't thin the seedlings out as they grow. No matter how careful you try to be when sowing the seed you will invariably end up with rows that are overcrowded. If you don't thin them out there will be no space for your roots to develop and then only best for using the crop for their foliage.
The first thinning out should take place when growing beetroot when the plants are 3 - 4 cm high, followed by a second thinning out, if necessary, when the plants are 7 cm high, making sure that there is at least 7.5 - 10 cm between each plant. Drawing the soil up around the plants will give them extra support and will be welcomed by your beetroot plants.
GROWING BEETROOT - Harvesting
They can be picked at anytime where they are big enough to be useful. Beets can be picked from the time they are about 5 cm in diameter, which is about 8 weeks after planting by seed, or 7 weeks after transplanting. Smaller ones can be picked and steamed. Medium ones can be grated into salads raw, pickled, cooked, juiced with other vegetables etc. However, as already mentioned, if you are going to leave the crop until fully mature, this will happen 10-14 weeks after sowing the seed, depending on the variety.After pulling your beetroot from the soil, twist the tops off 3 - 5 cm above the root crown. Make sure that you do not damage the root crown in any way as this will cause the root to bleed and loss of color will result.
GROWING BEETROOT - Diseases
Few ailments bother beetroot. Brown spots may develop on older leaves that could indicate the presence of a fungal disease, but this is a minor problem which won't affect the crop itself.GROWING BEETROOT - Garden Pests
When growing beetroots look out for cutworms that you will find on the young seedlings and on the crown of mature plants.GROWING BEETROOT - Storage
Beetroots can be stored for several months. Remove any leafy tops first and store in a cool dark location, arranging them so that each piece is quite separate. You can embed them in a box of either straw or sand so that they don't touch each other.So what do you do with your beetroot once you have grown it?
Here's a recipe for Beetroot Cake
EASY BAKING RECIPES for Beetroot Cake
1 cup caster sugar4 eggs, beaten
225 ml sunflower oil
2 large beetroots, cooked & grated
2 cups self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Method: Beat sugar, eggs and oil together. Add beetroot. Into a second bowl sift all the dry ingredients together. Combine contents of both bowls. Pour the mixture into 2 greased 500 g loaf tins. Bake at 175°C for 40 minutes.
PICKLE RECIPES for PICKLED BEETROOTS
Pickled beetroots meet with much favor as a relish. Like pickled beans, they must be cooked before they can be pickled; also, unless they are very small, they should be sliced before pickling as the recipe points out.Pickled Beetroot Recipe
4 qt. red beetroot
2 qt. vinegar
2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. allspice
Cut the tops from the red beetroots, leaving 1 inch of the stems and the roots attached. Scrub well with a vegetable brush, and put to cook in boiling water. Cook until the beets are tender enough to be pierced with a fork. Pour off the hot water and run cold water over them. Remove the roots and stems, and cut into slices of any desired thickness or into dice, if preferred. Pack into jars or crocks. Then bring the vinegar to a boil, and to it add the sugar, salt, and spices. Pour this hot mixture over the beets. Seal the beets while hot, cool, and store.
Juicing Recipes for Beets Juicing Recipes:
Scrub young beets, or beetroots as some people call them, and put them through the juicer. This makes an extremely beautiful wine-red juice, which unfortunately tastes very unpleasant. Therefore only small amounts of beet juice can be used. Take 2/3 of canned pineapple juice and 1/3 beet juice for a very pleasant drink.
Vitamins: Beets are very rich in the vitamin B folate. It also contains some vitamin C.
Health Benefits: These colorful root vegetables contain powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer.
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growing large beetroot
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I have been growing beetroots for the last few years and have used them mainly for pickling.
This year I decided to let my beetroot grow on for a while....
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