In Enar, beets are prized for their sweet flesh. Cooked or in salads, it is rich in vitamins and mineral salts. From sowing to harvesting, its cultivation is carried out in a specific way.
When to plant beets?
If you sow your red beets in the ground, sowing can be done between the months of April and June.
It is also possible to sow indoors a little earlier. Some early varieties are well suited to this type of planting. It is then advisable to sow the seeds in pots or special boxes, away from the cold. It is also possible to place the seedlings in a warmer soil layer.
In this case, it will be necessary to transplant the beet plants. This will save some time compared to planting in the ground.
Which varieties to choose?
There are many varieties of beets. If you like the sweet taste of this meaty root, some varieties will suit you better. This is particularly the case of the Albina Vereduna white beet or the squid beetroot, whose rough skin is reminiscent of that of the amphibian that inhabits our gardens.
Some species produce plenty of juice, such as Detroit round beets. Others, such as Burpee golden beetroot, native to America, are eaten whole. The root is excellent, but the leaves can also be eaten in salads.
Raw or cooked, beets are often eaten cold, especially in salads. However, some varieties, such as Chioggia beetroot, are eaten hot, as a side dish, or in soup.
What to do before sowing beets?
Before planting your beets, the soil should be prepared. With a suitable tool, the soil should be worked deeply, about 20 cm. Remember to pack it and finish it to the surface.
Then, using your tool, like a towel, you’ll dig parallel, shallow furrows in your beet patch. To ensure a straight line, stretch a rope to guide you. Be sure to space these slots about a foot apart.
To promote the growth of the plant, it is necessary, at this stage, to water the soil, especially if it is dry.
If you’re planting in a box, choose a flat container. Put some gravel at the bottom, then a layer of potting soil. You just have to rub the surface well.
How to plant them?
Once the soil is prepared, it is time to sow. Then place the beet seeds in the palm of your hand, and with the other, place them at the bottom of the furrows.
Seeds sown in a furrow should be covered with soil. Don’t forget to crush it, to firmly incorporate the seeds.
The technique is slightly different if you choose to sow in pots or buckets. Sow no more than two or three seeds per pot. It is very important to cover the pots to ensure regular growth of the plant.
For this you can build a frame or use a plastic cover. The main thing is that the seedling was hot.
Where to plant beets?
Beetroot is not a very demanding plant in terms of soil. It grows best, however, in loose and fairly deep soils. You also appreciate well-drained soils, where the evacuation of water occurs without difficulty. This applies to both clay and sandy soils.
To obtain a good beet harvest, it is advisable to incorporate compost or a suitable fertilizer into the soil.
Also, choose a corner of the garden where the sun is attenuated by some shade. Beetroot, in fact, appreciates light but does not tolerate strong heat. Therefore, moderate temperatures are more suitable.
How to maintain them?
After about a week, seedlings begin to appear. To ensure its growth, it must be taken care of.
While beets appreciate moderate heat, they also love the cold. Therefore, it is advisable to water regularly, especially if the soil is dry.
Don’t forget to dig the ground either. This operation aerates the soil, limits the spread of weeds and facilitates the penetration of water into the soil.
Around the beets, don’t forget to weed the soil and protect it with a suitable mulch. Made from clippings or other materials, this mulch also helps to nourish the soil.
Beet harvesting: how to do it?
For a sowing done in April, the beet harvest can start in mid-July and last until autumn. In any case, don’t wait for the first frosts, because the plant is very sensitive to them. You need to be even more careful about beets that need to be stored during the winter.
Beet plants appear in a rather hairy shape. To make a good harvest it is necessary, therefore, to thin them and maintain only one vigorous plant per hole or mound. Leftover plants can be transplanted. This variety in sowing will also allow you to stagger the crop.
Beet diseases: what to do?
Beets can be affected by a number of diseases. Most are caused by fungi. Sigatoka, ramularia, powdery mildew, and rust attack the leaves, causing characteristic spots or pustules, which often cause the plant to dry out.
Specific temperature and rainfall conditions favor the appearance of these diseases.
Some forms of crop rotation can sometimes limit the spread of certain diseases. In addition, the close monitoring carried out by the beet fungal disease observation network allows producers to take the necessary measures in time.
Finally, there are fungicide treatments, most of the time applied twice and adapted to the disease to be fought, the type of soil and the cultivation methods used.