Beetroot

tumbledown's picture
tumbledown Posted at 07:01 on Sun, 08/06/2008
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Intro
Intro picture: 
Beetroot
Intro: 

A tasty ingredient in salads, stews and soups. When it’s young and tender, it is delicious raw, sliced or grated with a dash of orange or lemon juice. You can even add the foliage to salads.

Location and soil
Type of soil: 

Well-drained, fertile soil although tolerant of most soil types. Definitely doesn't like recently manured soil, which causes the beetroots to become mis-shapen

Location: 

Beetroot prefer a sunny, open site

Sowing seeds
Seed picture: 
Sowing beetroot seeds
Sowing seeds: 

The large seed is easy to handle but can be slow to germinate. The first sowing should be in late winter or early spring under cloches, or outdoors from early spring to summer -Then sow a short row every couple of weeks

Looking after the crop
General care: 

Birds love the young seedlings so keep them netted. Water thoroughly in dry conditions. They don't need much weeding because most weeds can't grow under beetroot's dense foliage

Harvesting the crop
Harvesting: 

You should harvest beetroot when the roots are the size of a tennis ball - although baby beets are good to eat as soon as they’re the size of a golf ball.

Use a fork to loosen the soil under them before lifting, gently knock off any surplus soil and twist off the leaves a few inches from the top of the root. |This will stop them from “bleeding”.

Avoid damaging the root, so they will keep for a long time, and store in boxes of dry sand or coir matting or peat, not touching each other.

Varieties
Variety description: 

Pablo is a good and very early variety

Variety description: 

Boltardy is good for early sowing

Pests
Problem: 
Pest or disease: 

Beetroot is relatively free from pests, apart from birds who like the seedlings

Pest or disease: 

Keep an eye out for aphids. Sure signs are curled leaves and distorted fresh, new shoots.

Pest or disease: 

Mangold flies occasionally cause real problems. Look out for leaves with light brown blisters which then turn completely brown and fall off. Plants are usually stunted.