Beets

Beets:

• Why you should grow it
  • Can ‘pop’ in beets almost anywhere
  • Does need good sun, but will grow in partial sun
  • The leaves are also edible!
  • Leave them in the ground until you’re ready to eat them
    • Pick them through the fall and winter
    • They can survive light frost
  • They grow quickly
  • You can get a spring crop and a fall crop

• How to start seeds
  • Needs consistent moisture to sprout
  • Can start indoors with containers that you can directly plant
    • Toilet roll
    • Peat / Coconut coir pots
  • Be careful to transplant as the root is the main edible part
  • They like cooler soil to germinate
    • Shade the soil or plant under taller plants if you’re planting later in the season

• Tips for growth
  • Thin out seedlings when they start to sprout
    • good spacing is essential for bigger beets
  • Plant alongside brassicas, bush beans, corn, garlic, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, and mint
  • You can even use mint leaves as mulch
  • Avoid planting near pole beans and field mustard

• Harvesting
  • Loosen the soil around the beet
  • Depending on the variety, they can be from 6″ to 12″ in diameter
  • Pull from the roots of the leaves

• Saving Seeds
  • You’ll have to wait until the following year to save the seeds, they are biennial
  • Leave the beets in the ground adding a floating row cover, mulch and anything else to insulate the beets
  • You can carefully dig them out and store in sand in a cool, dark place – a root cellar is ideal, hence the name!
  • Replant beets or remove insulation in the spring
  • Beets will flower and seeds will be ready to harvest in late spring