Where is the best place to plant beetroot? Growing beets: the secrets of experienced gardeners. Pest protection

To grow table beet sweet and healthy, suitable for long-term storage, you need to know the intricacies of the agricultural technology of this vegetable. Whoever masters this science is guaranteed a varied vitamin menu for the whole winter.

Beets are unpretentious and ready to grow in all latitudes, with the exception of permafrost. You can opt for released local varieties or experiment with new hardy hybrids.

The ripening period of beets depends on the variety and ranges from 80 to 130 days. You can adjust the ripening time by planting beets under a greenhouse or seedlings, germinating the seeds beforehand.

The most popular varieties suitable for growing in any climatic conditions:

Valens – early ripe variety with sweet, dark red flesh, cold-resistant, long-lived, disease-resistant.

Ataman- mid-late variety, cylindrical fruits weighing 300 g, burgundy, sweet with uniform pulp, very well stored.

Cylinder- a medium-late variety with an elongated bright red fruit, the weight of which reaches 500 g, strong immunity and good keeping quality.

Podzimnaya- mid-early cold-resistant variety, resistant to most diseases, rounded fruits weighing 200 - 400 g with burgundy pulp.

Red hero- mid-early high-yielding variety, cylindrical dark red fruits with thin skin and uniform pulp, weighing 200–550 g.

red ice- mid-early variety, bright red fruits, with structural pulp, light weight - 200–300 g, well stored.

Bikores- mid-season high-yielding variety, bright red fruits weighing 200-350 g, lying.

If you plan to eat beets all year round from your garden, then you need to plant both early and late varieties beets.

Landing dates

More often, beets are planted in the spring, when the air warms up to 15-18 C. You can do this a little earlier, in April, by planting unsprouted seeds under a greenhouse.

If the spring is too cold, you can shift the planting date to a later time, while choosing beets early term maturation.

Winter beets are sown with dry seeds before frost. Only specially oriented varieties are chosen for this. Planting sites are covered. They start growing in early spring and provide a summer beet crop. Root crops ripened in summer are not subject to long-term storage.

Preparing the soil for beets

The soil is dug up in the fall after a thorough harvest of the previous crop. Organic components (compost or manure) are applied as deep as possible - by 30-35 centimeters. It is possible to organize some similarity warm beds, but with a thin layer of organic matter so that it has time to decompose by the time the beet root grows to it.

The acidity of the earth is reduced by scattering dolomite flour, grated eggshells or wood ash.

Mineral additives - superphosphate and potassium sulfate - are best applied in the fall so that they have time to dissolve in the soil. They are scattered dry in the garden before digging at the rate of no more than 0.3 kg. for one square meter earth.

The root crop develops better in loose soil. In the spring, it is good to re-dig the bed and mulch it with peat or rotted sawdust.

Site selection, crop rotation

Rules for choosing a place for beets:

beets love space, the less often root crops are planted from each other, the more space they have for building rounded barrels;
if there is no need for large plantations of this root crop, you can plant beets in a border way on potatoes, cucumbers, beans, next to herbs or onions;
beets need frequent irrigation, but stagnant water will lead to decay, which means that the bed should be laid out next to the source of irrigation in a well-drained area;
beets are not planted twice in a row in one place, crop rotation is observed very carefully;
the previous plants for this vegetable are onions, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, carrots, zucchini;
it is undesirable to plant beets after cabbage and for the second year in a row in one place.

If you have to push any crops in the garden by planting them on poor soil, then this can be safely done with beets. You can ensure its growth by good loosening of the soil, timely watering and fertilizer.

Seed preparation

Beet seeds before planting:

check for germination - pour into a glass of salt water, mix and remove those that have surfaced;
tempered by alternating hot water and cold, keeping in each temperature regime for several hours;
disinfected by keeping 12 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
stimulated by soaking in a growth stimulator.
germinate if the seeds are being prepared for the cultivation of beet seedlings.

For winter planting, you need to limit yourself only to checking for germination and disinfection - excessively swollen seeds can germinate in winter and die.

Planting beets in open ground

Beet seeds are large compared to most horticultural crops. Sowing will not be difficult.

Beets are sown in grooves 3-5 centimeters deep with a distance of 5 centimeters from each other and 20 centimeters between rows.

Winter crops are deepened by 10 centimeters so that the seeds do not die.

When planting beets in open ground seedlings, the interval is set at least 20 centimeters.

Beet care

The process of growing beets includes watering, top dressing, loosening and mandatory thinning.

Beets do not require close attention at all if they grow in good soil and with proper watering. But if the plant lacks nutrition, it will have a bad effect on palatability or lead to disease.

Phomosis of beet fruits and leaves develops with a lack of boron and is expressed in the appearance of clarified spots on the foliage, it is also fraught with curvature and the appearance of cavities in the root crop.
Cercosporosis threatens excessive moisture in the beds.
Too much nitrogen in the soil will result in a bitter, earthy taste to the beets.

Watering and fertilizing

After germination, beets should be watered frequently - once every two to three days, alternating watering with shallow loosening, so as not to damage the roots. It is not necessary to spud this root crop. But it is good to form a boletus between the rows of beets, along which water will spill. In case of erosion of the soil, a thin layer of humus is added from above.

Loosening can be replaced by mulching. A layer of chopped dried grass, laid out between the rows, will help to conserve moisture.

One-time deposit mineral fertilizers before planting for beets is enough. It makes sense to carry out additional top dressing only if the plants are noticeably stunted.

As a preventive top dressing, periodic watering of beets with diluted herbal infusions or yeast fertilizers is suitable.

Two or three times per season, you can water the beets with salted water at the rate of one tablespoon per 10 liters of water. Or use complex fertilizers according to the instructions, for example, Makbor.

Root crops are more active than other crops in accumulating nitrates. When growing beets, it is better to opt for natural fertilizers.

Optimum planting density

Important point in the care of beets - thinning. It is carried out in several stages so that the owner has the opportunity to evaluate the growing roots and choose the best of them. Beets should be well watered before each thinning.

When the first pair of leaves appears, the weakest plants are removed. Later, when thinning, diseased specimens are removed, too thickened good roots can be transplanted to a new place or used as food as greens.

From the initial distance between plants of 5 centimeters, as a result, it is necessary to reach an interval of 15-20 centimeters.

Harvest and storage

Beets are harvested in the fall before the onset of cold weather, when the leaves on the plant wither. When harvesting, one must act carefully, prying large layers of earth with a shovel and taking out root crops one at a time.

The earth is gently shaken off the fruit, and it is better not to cut the remaining corolla of leaves - just remove the wilted stems.

Store root crops of medium size with intact skin in a dry room at a temperature of 2 to 5 C.

Diseases and pests of beets

The main pests of any root crops are moles, bears and rodents. Beet fleas, wireworm and slugs are also dangerous. In addition, plants are affected by various rots, nematodes.

To deal with these troubles, first of all, hygiene should be observed. personal plot- high-quality cleaning, thorough deep digging and preventive treatment of plantings with natural disinfectants - wood ash, tobacco dust, hot pepper powder.

These root crops are famous for their unpretentiousness and constancy. They are well stored in cellars and vegetable pits, saving useful material until spring. Be sure to find a place on your site for beets.

Exist different ways beet sowing. The two planting options are seeds and seedlings. The right time can be spring or autumn, the main thing is to keep the right timing. carried out in the period of 1-2 decades of May, when the soil becomes completely warmed up.

If seeds are found in insufficiently warmed soil, seedlings will begin to shoot and good harvest will not be received.

The autumn period can also be chosen for planting beet seeds, usually the end of October or November, depending on the region. Landing is carried out in the event of an air temperature of -4 degrees. should not be carried out too soon, as seeds awakened from warmth may die.

Often beets are planted in seedlings. In this case, the seeds are planted at home. Also, landing is done inside a greenhouse or greenhouse.

Seedlings are sown when the first days of April come and a month later they are placed in open ground. seedling method beet planting provides an early harvest and seed savings, since the sprouts remaining after thinning are also suitable for planting.

What does it depend on?

The sowing time for beets is determined by the climate conditions of the region where you live. The optimal time for planting a vegetable is when the last frosts are gone. The sowing time is also affected by whether you are going to cover the crops with foil.

Sowing time also determines the beet variety. Generally, early varieties should be sown earlier, and late ones should be planted later. When planting late varieties too soon, coarser root crops will form.

Sowing dates for seedlings and planting in open ground in spring - what's the difference?

You can often hear advice to plant beets in the early spring, in March. However, it does not tolerate frost very well, you should keep this in mind. In the Ural, Siberian areas, it will be necessary to plant beets in open ground one way or another when mid-May comes. When seedlings are grown at home for a long time, they stretch out and future yields decrease. This means that for planting seedlings in the garden, it is more correct to sow it in April, in the early days or in the middle.

The appearance of 2-3 true leaves means that the seedlings are ready for open ground. It is important to prevent overgrowth of seedlings. If the roots are supported on the bottom of the box, the shape of the root crops may turn out to be incorrect.

Planting seedlings in the garden occurs when the soil is warmed up to no less than +10 degrees (usually this is mid-May).

When to sow seeds?

The best thing

Beetroot is a heat-loving vegetable, so it is planted in the ground, which is warmed up to + 5-10 degrees. The timing of planting beets varies depending on the climate. For example, in the southern regions (Krasnodar, Kuban), beets are planted in March-April. At the same time, in the regions of the Moscow region, it occurs in the beginning-middle May days, and in the Siberian and Ural areas - this is the period of the second half of May.

It is forbidden to sow beets except when the soil is warmed up at a depth of 10 cm (in spring), or otherwise in autumn for winter planting in late-early October-November.

What happens if work is done outside normal hours?

If you sow beets for seedlings before mid-April under weather conditions that do not allow planting on the garden, then the seedlings will stretch.

Briefly about how to grow a vegetable

Read more about what can be planted after beets, next to the crop and what predecessors are suitable for it, read.

With the right growing place, beets do not require top dressing.

We offer you to watch a video on how to properly grow beets:

The time when beets are planted is the most an important factor in caring for her. In the open ground and in the fall. Seedlings are planted when one and a half months remain before transplanting into open ground conditions.

At a temperature of +5 degrees, the seeds begin to germinate and withstand short-term cooling down to -2 degrees. But freezing should be avoided, as this leads to the flowering of plants.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Beets can not be attributed to the capricious plants, and yet some gardeners often do not succeed. Much has been said about growing beets, but today we suggest that you consider the most common mistakes and questions that arise when growing beets - planting beets, proper watering and feeding beets, thinning and soil for beets.

Soil for beets: with sourness - you can, heavy - you can’t

The acidity of the soil for beets varies between 6.2 ... 7 pH - neutral or slightly acidic. What happens to beets planted in too acidic soil? Micro- and macronutrients are poorly absorbed, and gas-retaining soil bacteria also die, which is why beets begin to suffer from nitrogen deficiency. Therefore, the acidity of the soil for beets must be controlled - either with the help of litmus paper (sold in garden stores), or with improvised means. If the acidity turned out to be too high, be sure to deoxidize the soil with lime, chalk, ash, dolomite flour. Otherwise, don't be surprised why beets grow poorly: acidic environment prevents the absorption of minerals.

The second important indicator is how light the soil is. In dense soils, it is difficult for a root crop to develop: carrots grow clumsy, beets - small. Therefore, either sand is added to it, but compost or rotted sawdust is better. Due to this, the soil becomes air and moisture permeable.

Owners of dense soils can go the other way: plant beet varieties that protrude strongly above the ground. Beetroot is not a potato, the sun does not harm it. On the contrary, varieties in which only the tail is hidden in the ground are usually sweeter. As a rule, manufacturers mark this varietal feature on the seed packaging.

The ideal soil for beets can be considered loam, fertilized with organic matter and humus. In addition, the soil on the beet garden is regularly loosened so that a crust does not form on the ground that prevents gas exchange. And to make your work easier, you can cover the soil with mulch - grass, sawdust, needles and any other materials at hand.

When to plant beets? Better - later

Although beets and carrots are considered the main root crops in the garden, you can’t call them sisters. Carrots are more cold-resistant: they can be planted before winter, and in the spring before planting potatoes. Beets, with the exception of specialized winter varieties, are not planted in autumn, and in early spring too. You need to wait for the soil to warm up to 8-10 degrees (immediately after planting potatoes, or when the leaves on the birch are the size of a marigold). That is, not earlier than the beginning of May, but for the northern regions and the beginning of June.

What happens if beets are planted too early ? Firstly, she can easily go into flowering without tying a root crop. Secondly, falling under frost, and even just low temperatures(+4 degrees and below) root beetle is threatened. This is not a pest, as the name might suggest, but a disease comparable to the “black leg” of seedlings. Shoots, weakened by cold weather, are immediately attacked by the fungus. As a result, the sprout darkens, rots and dies. Even if a root crop that has been ill with a root crop manages to survive, it lags behind in development and will not please with a harvest. Therefore, with planting beets in open ground no need to rush.

But residents of the northern regions can start planting beet seeds for seedlings in early May. Compared to the same carrots, beets tolerate transplanting excellently. Seeds are sown either in a greenhouse, covered with lutrasil, or in boxes, wrapped with the same lutrasil in several layers. The box is placed on a stool (it’s warmer) and placed either on the veranda, balcony, or on open air(for example, under the south wall of the house).

How thick should beets be planted? If through seedlings, then according to the scheme 15x15 cm. And if you like small beet heads (for one borscht), then it is better to reduce the feeding area and plant according to the scheme 10x10 cm, or plant two plants in one hole at once.

If carried out sowing beets in open ground, then it is better to initially sow thicker than necessary for safety: then remove the extra seedlings, but you will not be left with a “bald” garden bed. But the extra sprouts are removed not at once, but in two or three. As soon as the cotyledons unfold, carry out the first thinning, leaving 1-2 cm between the plants. Do this on moist ground so that the seedlings are easier to remove from the ground. And if your bed is small, then you can cut off the extra shoots with scissors so as not to accidentally pull out strong neighbors. Since beets tolerate transplanting well, thickening plants can be transplanted to another bed in the phase of 2-3 true leaves. The second or third thinning is carried out when the plants reach a maximum of 8-10 cm. Leave 10-15 cm between the beetroots - if the soil is good, fertile, and 20-25 cm - if the soil is heavy, poor.

Fertilizer and top dressing of beets: nitrogen and sodium do not need much

Traditionally bed for beets prepared in the fall: they add compost, humus or other organic matter, as well as a tablespoon of complex fertilizer per running meter beds. In principle, you can do without the application of mineral fertilizers, but you need to understand: in the same compost, in addition to organic matter, there are quite a lot of macro- and microelements, but not all that are necessary for the development of the plant. Especially beets suffer from a lack of boron and sodium.

That's why, fertilizing the bed under the beets since autumn, with compost, in the phase of four to five true leaves, when the root crop begins to tie, the beets are fed with a solution of common salt (sodium chloride) and boric acid. To do this, a glass of salt is dissolved in 10 liters of water, and the dissolved in hot water boric acid(per glass - 2 g). Beets love sprinkling watering, so top dressing is poured directly over the leaves at the rate of 1 liter per 1 linear meter. As for the chlorine contained in salt, you can not worry - beets are resistant to it in such concentrations.

From organic dressings for beets great fit herbal infusion, mullein or ammonia. But such top dressing for beets is applied only before the plant begins to "work for the turnip", that is, until July. This is an excellent impetus for the formation of a good leaf apparatus, which will henceforth collect food for the root crop. But organic matter is rich in nitrogen, and beetroot is prone to the accumulation of nitrogen in the form of nitrates when they enter the soil in excess. This will be evidenced by light concentric rings on the beet cut. Naturally, there will be little benefit from such a vegetable. Therefore, on good soils a single application of nitrogen-containing organic top dressings in the phase of 4-6 leaves is sufficient, and for the poor - twice, two weeks after the first top dressing (per running meter - 1-1.5 liters of solution).

How often should beets be watered?

Beets need to be watered only in the first period of growth - before she begins to tie a root crop. In the future (without the need for beets) do not water. The fact is that the central sucking root of the root crop is able to penetrate into the ground for several meters, independently extracting moisture for itself.

Young plants, immediately after germination, are watered at the rate of 10 liters of water per "square" of the beds; grown up - at the rate of 15-20 liters of water per "square" of the beds. Soil moisture is controlled at a depth of about 10 cm: the earth, when compressed in a fist, remains in a lump - which means you can not water it. It happens that beets need to be watered twice a week, and in wet weather you can do without watering - that is, act adequately to the circumstances. Beets during pouring are watered only in drought, and a couple of weeks before harvesting root crops, watering is stopped. And do not forget about mulching the soil - this simple agricultural technique will save valuable moisture in the soil, which means it will save your strength.

Beets are one of the most useful and vitamin vegetables in the country. Everything in beets is edible, including the leaves. She goes to salad, and to a side dish, and to borscht. This popular root vegetable is good because it can be eaten both raw and boiled. And what is important - it is tasty and appetizing of any size, not to mention a cocktail of a huge amount of useful ingredients.

Even a novice summer resident can grow this wonderful plant in his area without much hassle, especially if he listens to proven tips and recommendations for choosing a place for planting, preparing a garden bed and the intricacies of sowing beet seeds in open ground (or pre-seedlings).

According to the ripening period, beets can be divided into the following varieties (from the first shoots to the moment of harvesting):

early ripening-medium early (80-110 days);
mid-season (110-130 days);
late ripening (130-145 days).

The most popular varieties of early or early ripening beets include the following: Early Vodan, Carillon, Red Ball, Mona, Egyptian and Gribovskaya flat, Action, Nastenka.

Mid-season varieties are represented by the following: Bordeaux-237, Sonata, Crimson Ball, Valya, Detroit and Cold-resistant 19.

Among the late-ripening, the following are common: Salad, Matrona and Cylinder.

Interesting! Varieties of beets often differ in that some grow on the surface, while other root crops "sit" exclusively in the ground. So, for clay soils, the first ones (which crawl to the surface) are better suited.

When to sow beet seeds in open ground in spring: optimal timing

Beet is considered a relatively heat-loving vegetable, so it is worth planting when the temperature of the earth warms up to +8, and the air to +10..+12 degrees.

Interesting! The popular landmark for sowing beets is the moment when small leaves the size of a penny will appear on the birch.

Planting dates depending on the region and variety

Thus, the timing of sowing beets varies depending on the climatic features of your place of residence.

For example, in the South (in Krasnodar, in the Kuban), the root crop can be sown already in the second half of March-April. But in middle lane(Moscow region) suitable dates for planting beets in open ground are in early-mid May, in Siberia and the Urals - in the second half of May.

However, hurry up early landing beets are not worth it - it is better to wait until the end of the return spring frosts and only then start sowing seeds.

By the way! Varietal affiliation does not affect the time of planting. Early varieties are not planted earlier, like late ones - later. It just doesn't make sense.

According to the lunar calendar in 2020

If you want to choose certain date for planting a root crop, then you will always come to the rescue moon calendar.

Yes, most auspicious days for sowing beets for seedlings or in open ground according to the lunar calendar in 2020 are:

in April - 5-7, 9-15, 17-22, 27-30;
in May - 2-6, 9, 11, 12, 20-22, 29-31;
in June - 7-9, 11-14.

If you already turn to the lunar calendar, then you should know that it is even more important not to plant a vegetable on unfavorable dates, and this is in 2020 (the days of the Full Moon and New Moon, as well as the period when the Moon is in Aquarius, because this is a barren and dry sign - italicized):

in April - 8, 15-17 , 23;
in May - 7, 13-14 , 22;
in June - 5, 9-11 , 21.

According to lunar calendar, from the magazine "1000 tips for summer residents."

How to plant beets in open ground: sowing rules

Preparing seeds for planting

You can always plant beets with dry seeds, but to improve germination, it is advisable to pre-soak and germinate them.

You can germinate beet seeds before planting in different ways:

When using any method of seed germination, the essence is approximately as follows: the seeds are placed on a damp surface, the container with which is placed in a warm place where the temperature fluctuates around + 20-22 degrees, and make sure that the seeds do not dry out, periodically adding water to capacity.

Benefits of germinating beetroot seeds:

You can immediately see which seeds have sprouted and which have not. So it turns out to achieve better germination in open ground.
When planting with germinated seeds, seedlings appear much faster, as a rule, by 4-6 days.

Bed and soil

Beetroot grows well in lighted beds, so it should be planted where there is often sun.

You can even plant the root vegetable close to the trees on the south side, where the sun will nourish the vegetable for at least half a day.

Advice! If your dacha is located in a lowland and the places are relatively swampy, then it is better to plant beets (and not only them) to high beds. Many gardeners, in principle, love and successfully grow vegetables in such beds.

Excellent predecessors for planting beets are legumes, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers. But cabbage is not a very good predecessor; after it, it is not recommended to sow a root crop.

It is advisable to prepare the soil for growing a root crop in advance, even in the fall. Although it's okay if you start cooking it right in the spring, shortly before planting.

Beets, like all other root crops, need a very good and loose soil , and in clay it is simply difficult for them to grow. Digging up the soil costs about a shovel bayonet (20-25 cm).

If you have too much sandy ground, then you can improve its composition by introducing high-quality humus or compost (3-4 kg per 1 sq. meter of beds) by adding a couple of tablespoons of superphosphate to it (30-40 grams) and then thoroughly digging and mixing everything.

If your soil is too heavy (clayey), then in addition to humus or compost and superphosphate, you should add peat and quite a bit of sand to the soil.

Beets do not like acidic soils, therefore, if you have an increased acidity of the soil, then you should deoxidize it in the fall by adding lime or.

If you add it to the soil in advance, then this will also have a very good effect on the vegetable. You can also do this during planting and subsequent top dressing.

Note! It is impossible to introduce fresh manure into the soil for beet beds, even in autumn, especially in spring. This root crop is very fond of accumulating nitrates, which we absolutely do not need.

Sowing in the garden

Many experienced vegetable growers recommend making grooves along the edge of the garden. With such a planting, the root crops will grow large, and the bed itself will be beautiful. good neighbors for beets can be onions, dill, tomatoes, cabbage and lettuce.

By the way! There is even such a saying: "Beetroot loves to rub against the hem of the hostess."

Step-by-step instructions for planting beet seeds in open ground in spring:

Prepare the seeds: soak and germinate.
Choose a place for the beds and make grooves 2-3 cm deep.
It is good to shed the grooves with water.
Spread the seeds. Seed material should be planted at a distance of about 3-4 centimeters from each other. In the aisle - at a distance of 20-30 centimeters.
This root crop is very fond of, so it is recommended to pour it a little immediately after sowing.
Then fill the grooves with earth and again sprinkle a little with ash.
Mulch with sawdust (lightly, a thick layer is not necessary).
Cover with foil to protect against recurrent frosts and for a greenhouse effect. As soon as shoots appear, the film can be removed.

Video: sowing beets with germinated seeds

Sowing beet seeds for seedlings

If you want to get an earlier harvest, you can plant beet seeds for seedlings. The main specificity of sowing is that the planting capacity must be high enough, because we are planting a root crop.

By the way! Beets grown through seedlings will not require future thinning for obvious reasons.

Agrotechnics for growing beets through seedlings is quite simple: watering is necessary as the soil dries up, as well as a bright place. When the seedlings have 2-3 true leaves, a small root crop can be planted in open ground.

On a note! If you want to get a little confused and try to get an earlier harvest, then sow beets for seedlings. If not, then it grows beautifully and in a seedless way.

Further care for beets after planting

Advice! About, how to care for beets outdoors to grow sweet root crops, read
If you care about your future health and are “addicted” to beets, then be sure that you are quite capable of growing a crop of juicy and large root crops. Of course, first of all, for this it is necessary to initially plant beets correctly in the spring.

Video: when and how to sow beet seeds in open ground

In contact with

Plant beet (lat. Beta) belongs to the genus one-, two- and perennial herbaceous plants of the Amaranth family, although not so long ago, beets, which in Ukraine are called beetroot, and beetroot in Belarus, were classified as part of the Marevy family. The main representative of the genus is the common beet, which has three varieties: table beet, fodder beet and sugar beet. The beetroot vegetable grows on all continents except Antarctica. The progenitor of cultivated plant species, wild beets were used both for food and as a medicinal plant in ancient Babylon. The most interesting thing is that at first only leaves were eaten, and beet roots were used for medicinal purposes.
The ancient Greeks sacrificed beets to Apollo as one of their most valuable plants. Cultural forms of root beets appeared only at the beginning of our era, and in the X-XI centuries they were already cultivated in Kievan Rus. fodder beets brought to XVI century in Germany, and sugar beet breeding began in 1747, when it turned out that sugar contained in cane was also found in beets. Today, beet sugar is used more frequently than cane sugar in many countries. beetroot (Beta vulgaris) has become an essential crop known to be rich in essential antioxidants, potassium and folic acid.

Planting and caring for beets

Landing: sowing seeds in the ground is carried out before winter or in spring, when the air warms up to 8-10 ˚C. Early varieties are sown for seedlings in April, and seedlings are transplanted into the ground three months later - in early or mid-May.

Lighting: bright sunlight.

The soil: peat bogs, loams, medium loamy chernozems of neutral or slightly alkaline reaction. Do not grow carrots in soil that has been made with fresh manure or compost.

Predecessors: Undesirable: Carrots, beets, chard, potatoes, all types of cabbage and other cruciferous crops. Good: grains and legumes, eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers.

Watering: regular (3-4 times per season), as soon as it dries upper layer soil, in dry weather - plentiful. The best way is sprinkling. Water consumption per 1 m² of land - 20-30 liters. Stop watering three weeks before harvest.

Top dressing: after the first thinning - with a solution of bird droppings (1:12) or mullein (1:18), spending 12 liters of fertilizer for every 10 m² of land. When the beet tops close, ash is scattered over the beds at the rate of 1 glass per 1.5 m², after which the site must be watered.

Reproduction: seed.

Pests: mining and beet flies, aphids, scoops, flea beetles and shield-beetles.

Diseases: red rot (or felt disease), fusarium (or brown rot), root beetle, peronosporosis, cercosporosis, phomosis.

Read more about growing beets below.

Beet plant - description

Beet root, the so-called root crop, is juicy, thick and fleshy. In most varieties, when growing in the ground, it is not completely immersed in the ground, but slightly protrudes above the surface. In the first year of growth, beets, like carrots, develop only a rosette of large, bare, ovoid, basal leaves on long petioles, as well as a root crop.

Sometimes by the end of the first year, but usually on the second, an upright, highly branched, faceted stem appears from the middle of the rosette, reaching from half a meter to a meter in height, with small alternate, almost sessile leaves, in the axils of which bunches of small, dim, also sessile flowers appear, composed in complex spikes. The beet fruit is a compressed one-seeded plant.

Diverse beneficial features beets, due to the presence of organic acids, iron and fiber in the roots. Because of this, beets are often used in diets to treat hypertension, kidney stones, diabetes, scurvy, and other conditions. Fresh beet juice has great healing power.

Growing beets from seeds

Sowing beet seeds

Growing beets in open ground involves sowing seeds both in seedlings and in seedlings. Despite the fact that the beet culture is cold-resistant, it should be sown in open ground no earlier than the air warms up to 6-8 ºC, however, the full development of the plant begins only when the temperature rises to 16 ºC. In addition, if early sown seedlings fall under frost, they will shoot themselves instead of growing root crops. To stimulate germination, beet seeds are soaked for a day in cold water or for half an hour in warm (35 ºC).

Seeds are buried in the ground to a depth of 2-3 cm, and the distance between rows is observed depending on the variety - from 7 cm if you grow small beets for canning, and up to 30-35 cm if you need large root crops. The distance between specimens in a row in the first case is 5-6 cm, and in the second - up to 10 cm.

Since in many beet varieties the seeds are collected in seedlings of 2-3 pieces, the sprouts appear in a heap and require thinning for early stage development, in the phase of formation of the first pair of true leaves. As a result of the procedure, the distance between shoots should be 3-4 cm. Removed shoots are transplanted to another place: at this stage of development, they easily take root.

Simultaneously with the first thinning, the site is weeded, and then mulched with fine organic matter - sawdust, for example.

The second thinning is carried out when the seedlings acquire two pairs of leaves, and the root crop reaches a diameter of 1.5 cm - the interval between seedlings after the second thinning should be 6-10 cm. Thinning with simultaneous weeding is carried out after watering or rain in cloudy weather.

Growing beet seedlings

Seedlings grow early varieties of beets, which are rich in vitamin C and carotene, as well as betanin, calcium, iron, phosphorus and other biologically active substances. Young beets are just as valuable early vegetable like radish, lettuce, green onion. Choose flowering-resistant beet varieties for growing seedlings - K-249, Polar flat, Cold-resistant 19.

The cultivation of beet seedlings begins three weeks before its planting in open ground with pre-sowing treatment seeds. The seed for disinfection is soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, then the seeds are kept for 2-3 days in a humid environment for pecking, and finally they are laid out in a box on a damp, light soil pickled with Phytosporin to avoid black leg disease, lightly sprinkled with the same substrate and placed in greenhouse.

Caring for beetroot seedlings is no different than caring for any other seedlings - it needs slightly moist soil, constant temperature and daily airing.

Picking beet seedlings

How to dive beet seedlings, and when to do it? Picking is carried out according to the same principle, with the same signs and with the same interval as when thinning seedlings in open ground. Seedlings dive only once, but if you sowed the seeds not in a box, but in cups, then you can not dive seedlings, but plant them in open ground right in cups.
Planting beets in open ground

When to plant beets in the ground

Planting beets in the ground is carried out from mid-May at the stage of development of seedlings 4-5 leaves. A prerequisite is soil warmed up to 8-10 ºC at a depth of 8-10 cm, which is possible only if the place under the beets is well lit by the sun.

Soil for beets

Before planting beets, you need to choose a site for it and prepare the soil on it. Most of all, beets love fertile loose soils - peat bogs, medium loamy chernozems of slightly alkaline or neutral reaction - the pH should be at least 5 and not higher than 8 units. In acidic or too alkaline soil, beets get sick. Do not plant beets on soils that have been filled with fresh manure or compost: at least 3 years must pass before beets can be grown in such areas.

You can plant beets in areas where onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, cereals, eggplants, peppers and legumes grew before it, chard, carrots, all types of beets, potatoes, rapeseed and any cabbage are undesirable for beets.

In early spring for digging, 20-30 g of ammonium sulphate, 15-20 g ammonium nitrate, 10-15 g of potassium chloride and 30-40 g of superphosphate per 1 m². If the soil on the site is not fertile, then add 2-3 kg of humus per unit area, and to neutralize acidic soil, add half a kilo-kilogram of fluffy lime per 1 m².

How to plant beets in open ground

The size of the beet root depends on the planting density: the larger the gap between the seedlings, the larger the beet root will be. But too large root vegetables are inconvenient to use, in addition, they accumulate more nitrates in themselves and are not as tasty as medium-sized root vegetables. To get juicy, sweet root crops, seedlings are planted in rows on a cloudy day at a distance of 4-5 cm from each other, the row spacing should be about 25 cm. When transplanting, the central root of the seedling is shortened by a third of the length.

After transplanting into open ground, seedlings are watered with a solution of humate for early rooting and protected from the sun with non-woven material, erected over the beds along the entire length of the arc, so that the shelter laid on them does not damage fragile seedlings. After the young beet is accepted, gets stronger, and its root crop acquires a diameter of one and a half centimeters, it will be possible to thin out the seedlings to an interval of 8-10 cm between them, and by July, when the leaves of the tops almost close, the shelter is removed, and the site is mulched for protection. beets from weeds and conservation of moisture in the soil.

Planting beets before winter

Winter beets are planted in late October or early November. On a pre-dug and fertilized site, grooves are made at a distance of 15-20 cm, into which seeds are scattered at the rate of 2-3 g per m², or as described in the section on sowing beet seeds in open ground. The seeds are closed up to a depth of 3-4 cm. Planting beets in the fall involves mandatory mulching of the site for the winter with humus or peat.
Beet care

How to grow beets

Caring for growing beets requires removal of weeds from the site, regular watering and loosening of row spacing. If you have mulched the beds, then you will have to weed, loosen the soil and water the beets much less often. Loosening of row spacing to a depth of 4-6 cm is necessary for the destruction of the soil crust, which makes it difficult to aerate root crops. The crust is especially harmful to plants during the development of the first two pairs of leaves, since it is at this time that the root molt occurs, which retards the growth of the plant and makes it more demanding on growing conditions.

Beet processing

Weeds can drown out young plants, which grow very slowly until 4-5 leaves appear, so their timely removal is a very important condition for caring for beets. Before germination, weed control is carried out by spraying the area with tractor kerosene at the rate of 35-50 g of kerosene per m². And when the seedlings have 2-3 pairs of leaves, the plot is treated from weeds with a solution of sodium nitrate. Then, when the beet comes into force, the weeds will not be able to harm it.

Watering the beets

Beets normally tolerate a short drought, but if you need a high-quality and rich harvest, watering the beds with beets should be regular, and this is especially important just in hot, dry weather. You need to water the beets as soon as the topsoil dries out, it is advisable to do this in the evening, and The best way watering - sprinkling, because with this method, the leaves of the plant are refreshed and washed. If there is no mulch on the site, the next day after watering, it is necessary to loosen the row-spacing to a depth of 4 cm.

To increase the sugar content of root crops, before watering the beets, dissolve a tablespoon of kitchen salt in a bucket of water for watering. Too frequent and abundant watering is just as harmful to beets as insufficient moisture, as it is the cause of fungal diseases. On average, beets are watered 3-4 times per season, the water rate per 1 m² is 2-3 buckets. Two to three weeks before harvesting, watering is completely stopped - this measure also helps to increase the amount of sugar in root crops, and also improves their keeping quality.

Beet top dressing

Beets love organics very much, and cracks and voids can form in root crops from mineral fertilizers. How to fertilize beets in this case? At the beginning of growth, after the first thinning, it needs nitrogen fertilizers, which can be used as a solution of bird droppings in a consistency of 1:12 or mullein (1:8) at the rate of 12 liters of liquid fertilizer per 10 m². It is most convenient to make grooves at a distance of 5 cm from the seedlings and spill them with a fertilizer solution. When the tops of the rows close, it's time to apply potash fertilizers, which can be sprinkled on the beds with wood ash at the rate of 1 cup per 1.5 m², followed by watering the site.

A number of advantages has foliar top dressing of beets:
Firstly, nutrients applied to the leaves are absorbed faster than with root dressing;

secondly, the assimilation of nutrition is more complete, since, once in the soil, some substances sometimes take on a form that is inaccessible to plants;

thirdly, foliar fertilization of beets can be carried out even when it is no longer possible to fertilize the soil without the risk of harming root crops;

Fourth, the foliar application method allows fertilizers to be distributed evenly, which reduces the risk of overdose or accumulation of substances.

So that the beets do not lack molybdenum, boron and copper, these elements are fed precisely by top dressing on the leaves, just like milk of lime (200 g of lime per bucket of water), which nourishes root crops with potassium. Spraying the tops with a saline solution at the rate of 60 g of non-iodized salt per 10 liters of water nourishes the root crops with sodium and protects against the white butterfly and summer fly.

Pests and diseases of beets

Of the diseases, beets are most often affected by phomosis, cercosporosis, peronosporosis, root beetle and rot. To find out what beets are sick with, you need to know the symptoms possible diseases, and only a correct diagnosis will help you decide how and how to process beets in order to save the crop.
fomoz arises, as a rule, from a lack of boron in the soil - this is why foliar top dressing of beets with microelements is so important. It manifests itself fungal disease brown or yellowish concentric spots on the lower leaves of the rosette, then black dots appear on them. As a result, dry rot of the heart develops - inside the root tissue becomes dark brown. Contribute to the development of the disease frequent prolonged rains, fogs, high humidity. If you find phomosis on plants, immediately apply root dressing with borax at the rate of 3 g per m² and spray the leaves with a solution of boric acid (half a spoonful per 10 liters of water). Next year, add boric acid to the soil at the rate of 3 g per m².

cercosporosis, or spotting, can destroy up to 70% of the beet crop by infecting the leaves of the plant, because of which they die off, and, consequently, the quality and keeping quality of root crops deteriorate. If you find small light spots outlined by a reddish border on the upper side of the leaves, and a light gray coating on the lower side, add potassium chloride to the soil as a top dressing. As a preventive measure, treat the seeds before sowing with Agat-25 in accordance with the instructions, and spray the soil with a fungicide before planting.

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