How to grow beets How to grow beets

Beet (commonly known as beetroot) is a sweet and healthy vegetable that is rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants have functions such as preventing cancer and protecting the heart. Beets are easy to grow and are always among the top 10 vegetables to grow at home.

How to grow beets, this DIY tutorial includes: sowing, caring for seeds, harvesting and storage. If you want to learn how to grow beets, read this article about how to grow beets in the production department to learn how to grow beets!

Sowing

1Select seeds or seedlings. Your local nursery or garden store should carry it. Don’t be afraid to plant dead seeds, beets are easy to grow.
- If sown early, choose Boltardy beets. The white and golden varieties of beet seeds take half the time to plant as Boltardy, and they are not easy to juice when mixed into salads, but they do not have the beautiful carmine color. In addition to considering planting time and color, choose which beets to plant based on your preferred taste.
2Choose a suitable planting site. Beets like neutral, moist and relatively fertile soil, do not have too much lime, and the soil acidity should not be too high (a pH of 6.5-7.0 is appropriate). The soil should be soft and not have too much clay or sand. However, because beets do not take deep roots, they can sometimes be grown in clay soil, as long as the soil is loosened and organic fertilizer is added (no need to add organic fertilizer if the soil is low in clay). It is best for the planting area to have sufficient light and good ventilation, and a little shade is fine.
- If you plan to plant in late fall or early spring, apply a granular fertilizer several weeks before planting and allow the soil to absorb the nutrients.
3Beets can also be grown in pots.If You choose round beets (most are round, elongated or cylindrical ones are less common), you can also use a flower pot, as long as it has a diameter and depth of 20cm.
- Fill the pot with loose multi-purpose compost, then scatter the seeds sparsely over the surface, then cover the seeds with 2cm of compost. When the seedlings grow to 2cm high, pull out weak seedlings to leave more space for the healthy seedlings to grow. The distance between two seedlings is about 12cm.
4If you plant on the ground, you must first plow the land. Clear the planting area of ??weeds, garbage and stones that may affect the growth of beets. Loosen the soil and create a shallow trench.
- If the soil is heavy, it is best to plow in late autumn; if it is not heavy, plow in early spring. If sowing in autumn, the top soil does not need to be too smooth, because it still has to go through the baptism of cold winter.
- In the Northern Hemisphere, seeds should be planted after the last frost. Sowing should be done between September and February in the Southern Hemisphere.
5Sowing or planting seedlings. The depth of sowing beet seeds is about 2cm deep. Seeds or seedlings should be at least 5-10 cm apart from each other. It is easiest to sow seeds in rows.
- If it is replacement sowing, you can sow every 14 days. This will take over the sugar beet harvest.

Maintenance of seeds

1Water daily until the beet seeds germinate. In the first few days after sowing, beet seeds need more water to germinate. When the seeds grow roots, they draw water from the soil.
- However, don’t water too much. Otherwise, beets will grow with many leaves and thin roots, and may only bloom but not bear fruit. Also, watering too much may cause the beets to become loose in texture.
- After beets sprout, water only every 10-14 days during dry periods. If it is not very dry, natural rainfall can provide sufficient moisture.
2Deleted. When the beets grow 2cm leaves, they should be spaced 10cm apart. In other words, you need to pull out the weak seedlings and leave the ones that are growing well.
- Some people suggest that beets should be spaced more than 10cm apart. If the land area is sufficient, the beets can be arranged more generously.
- Someone also suggested deleting it twice. The second time is when the seedlings grow taller. You can choose according to your own situation.
3Fertilization. Apply 4-6 liters of organic fertilizer per 10 square meters. Add a thin layer of compost or manure. If the beets grow young and weak, you can also add 30 grams of high-nitrogen fertilizer per square meter.
- Watch out for birds and weeds. If you have enough space, consider adding a protective cover to the beets to prevent small animals from damaging them. Weeding is also done by hand. Pull out weeds as soon as you see them. Do not use sharp tools such as hoes to avoid damaging the beets. Hand weeding is best.

Harvest and Storage

1Harvest part of the beetroot. When you can see the beetroot on the surface, you can roughly estimate its Size. Wait until the beetroots grow to the size of a small orange. You can harvest them. If they grow too big, they will taste bad. Hold the beet leaves with one hand and use a small shovel to gently dig out the beetroots.
- Generally speaking, beetroots can be harvested 8 weeks after sowing or when they reach a diameter of 2.5 cm. Many people pick selectively, harvesting some and leaving some behind. That way, the beets left behind will grow faster. Beetroots with a diameter of about 7.5 cm have the best taste.
2Leave some beets aside. You can leave some of the beets in the ground until next spring, but they will need to be protected. Cover them with thick mulch or straw. If the temperature is above zero degrees Celsius in winter, you can dig out some straw.
- However, the texture of beets will become looser if stored for a long time.
3Carefully cut off the beet leaves. Don’t cut it all off, you should leave about 5cm. In this way, the juice will not be lost and the best taste and color will be retained.
- Don’t throw away any leaf clippings either. The leaves can be eaten like spinach. It tastes good!
4Save. Rhizomes can be stored for a long time and can survive the winter. Beets should be stored in a frost-free, dry environment in wooden boxes lined with sand.
- Find a wooden box and spread 5cm thick sand on the bottombox, then a layer of beets, then sand, and repeat until the box is full. The sand prevents the beets from sprouting and preserves their flavor.

Tips

Beets are relatively cold tolerant.
Moderate temperatures and warm soil are best for sugar beets.
Each beet seed can grow 3-4 beetroots. It is recommended that you pick the fastest growing one first and let the others grow longer. Do not pick them all at once.
Soaking seeds before sowing will aid germination.