Beetroot or, as it is popularly called, beetroot is a valuable and tasty product that is in demand by domestic consumers. In this regard, it is not surprising that almost all gardeners prefer to grow this crop on their plots.
Despite the fact that the vegetable has been known for more than one century, in recent years, due to certain achievements in the field of soil science, agrochemistry and other related crops, the technology of its cultivation has undergone certain changes. When is the best time to plant beets and what to pay particular attention to when growing them, we will try to find out.
Beetroot is part of the usual diet of many Russians.
Before looking for an answer to the question of when to start planting beets, a number of other equally significant questions should be resolved.
Seat selection
Sowing beets should begin with choosing the right place where the crop will thrive and yield a good harvest.
It is recommended to plant a crop such as table beet in areas where there is no deficit of sunlight and heat. In this regard, the optimal place for the beds is the southern side of the site, not shaded by trees or shrubs.
Since beets are very fond of water, they will need to be watered almost every day. In order not to experience difficulties in the watering process, the beets should be planted near a water source.
The place for planting beets must be sunny.
Often, beets are planted with other crops: cucumbers or, for example, beans. In no case should you sow beets in the place where cabbage used to grow. It is recommended to change the bed for beets annually. If a crop is constantly planted in the same area, the land will be depleted, and the risk of infection of the plant with diseases and pests will increase significantly.
Soil preparation
To grow a decent beet crop, root crops should be sown in loose, neutral soil. In this case, the digging of the beds should be carried out in advance: before winter after harvesting. When digging, clods of earth should not be broken - this will accumulate more moisture inside the soil. If the soil is acidic, liming should be done. For this purpose, wood ash or dolomite flour is evenly distributed throughout the area intended for the subsequent cultivation of beets in the open field. If the beets are planted on loam, superphosphate can be added during the autumn digging process.
Important! When preparing the soil for planting beets, in no case is it allowed to use fresh manure. It contains a large amount of nitrogen, which is transferred to the root crop and accumulates in it in the form of nitrates.
Proper soil preparation will allow you to successfully grow a crop for the next year and get an excellent harvest.
Preparation before sowing is carried out already in the spring, literally a few days before the seed is in the ground. Usually limited to loosening the soil. If desired, it is additionally allowed to cut grooves.
Seed preparation
Sowing beets in open ground in spring, among other things, implies pre-sowing preparation of the seeds themselves.
Better to buy granulated beet seeds
Currently on sale you can easily find a wide range of planting material that does not require pre-sowing treatment. We are talking about the so-called pelleted seeds, to which growth stimulants and protective agents have already been added. Such seeds are allowed to be sown in the soil immediately after purchase.
If you take simple seeds for planting, they will need to be subjected to some additional procedures.
The easiest method for preparing seeds is to soak them in warm water with stimulants for several days. The most important thing – do not forget to dry them thoroughly immediately before sowing. Otherwise, they stick together, and when the seedlings germinate, they will need to be very thinned out.
Landing time
The question of when is it better to plant beets does not have a clear answer. Even if you type a query in the search bar of your browser, such as "when it is worth planting beets in open ground with seeds or planting beets in spring and sowing, when to sow, how to plant correctly," there will be no specific recommendations.
Generally speaking, the culture is allowed to be planted in two terms: in early spring and almost in summer.
Sowing early ensures quick emergence. Early ripening varieties should be used for such a planting. Sowing early will not be very suitable for cold, wet spring regions. So, for example, if you sow beets too early in the Moscow region, firstly, it will sprout too early, and secondly, it will most likely go into shooting. On such plants, root crops grow very small and unsuitable for food.
Thus, for central Russia, the most favorable period when it is better to sow beets is May (its end) or even the beginning of June.
When to plant beets
Important! Many gardeners plant beets at the same time as potatoes when the soil temperature is at least 10 degrees.
Autumn sowing of beets is also allowed. But in this case, you need to use only special cold-resistant varieties that are not prone to flowering. Autumn planting has its undoubted advantages:
- the seeds have time to partially swell during the pre-spring thaws;
- during the winter, the seeds have time to harden;
- manage to ascend earlier;
- form a stronger and healthier root system.
There is also a big disadvantage of pre-winter planting. Root crops grown in this way are not suitable for long-term storage.
Some gardeners, when calculating the planting time, use the lunar calendar - it allows you to choose the most favorable date for planting work.
Sowing technique
Now that you've figured out when to plant beets, it's time to learn how to do it right. Sowing beets is possible in four ways.
Lowercase
At the landing site, rows are cut with a depth of three to five centimeters at a distance of 20 to 30 centimeters from one another. Furrows are thoroughly watered with water using a watering can, from which the sprayer has been removed in advance. Jet irrigation allows not only to water the soil better, but also to compact it. The secret is that the seeds in this case will be located at the same depth and sprout at the same time. We plant seeds at intervals of 3-4 cm.
Row sowing method
On the landing belt
Landing tape is the easiest and most convenient way to land. A special strip (tape) for planting in specialized gardening stores can be sold with the seeds already fixed. But if desired, the landing tape is easy to make yourself. To do this, drops of starch-based paste are applied to a strip of toilet paper, and beet seedlings are attached to them. Such a planting scheme can significantly save time. All that is required for planting is to spill a furrow with water, lay a tape on it and sprinkle it well with earth.
Tape
This method involves combining several rows with an interval of about 15 cm between the lines into one wider tape. Remember to leave a gap of about 40 cm between the belts to simplify crop maintenance (in particular, watering and weeding).
When to plant beets
Seedlings
Seeds for seedlings should be sown no later than mid-April. It is recommended to use individual containers or peat pots. Transplanting into open ground is done when the plant has several leaves. You need to plant seedlings in such a way that the average gap between the plants is about 15 cm.
Sowing beets is a snap
Important! A few days before planting, it is recommended to take the seedlings outside and place them in the shade to harden young plants.
This method of planting saves seeds by eliminating the need for thinning crops.
Important! There are other ways to save space when boarding. For example, you can plant different vegetables in the same garden. Beets go well with legumes, radishes and onions.
How to care for plantings
Despite the fact that beets – not the most picky root crop, it requires a certain amount of care. At the same time, the list of manipulations that should be performed with the crop does not differ, depending on the region in which the planting was carried out: whether it is Kuban, the Moscow region or, for example, the Urals, the algorithm of actions for obtaining a good harvest is approximately identical.
Thinning
One seed crop gives 2-4 shoots. In this regard, thinning is one of the most significant moments in agricultural technology. In total, this procedure is performed three times during the season:
- The first time the plants should be thinned out immediately after germination. This is usually done when the first leaves appear on the seedling. This time, the plants are left quite densely - about 2 cm apart. In parallel with this, weeds are removed, and the row spacings are loosened;
- The next thinning is recommended about a month after the first. The interval between plantings is increased to 8 cm, leaving the strongest specimens. At this time, the head of the root crop begins to form, so it will be useful to carry out prophylaxis against diseases. Alternatively, you can use Kazim or any other moderately toxic fungicide;
- The last time the beets are thinned out at the stage of emergence of root crops. The distance between plants should be 15 centimeters.
Watering
Watering is especially important for beets, especially in the early stages of the growing season. The entire first month after planting, the crop must be watered, regardless of weather conditions, at least once a week, and later - as the soil dries up. It is necessary to stop watering about a month before harvesting. If this is not done, the root crop will lie poorly. It will not be superfluous to mulch the planting. Straw, last year's foliage, peat, etc. can be used as mulch.
Watering the beet
Cleaning
Selective harvesting of beets begins in the middle of summer. By this time, individual copies have time to grow to a decent state. Young vegetables are allowed to be processed and eaten along with the tops.
Mass harvesting of crops from the garden is usually done in mid-September. It is very important to have time to harvest before the first frost. In addition, if you overexpose the beets in the ground, they will become coarse, and pronounced rings will appear in its pulp, which will negatively affect its taste characteristics.
After harvesting, it's time to think about what to plant in the beet bed next year. To replenish the soil in organic matter, it is preferable to plan for planting those plants that accept manure fertilization. We are talking about corn, pumpkin, zucchini. Beets should be returned to their original place not earlier than after three years.
What to do for good yields
To get a normal harvest, one complete top dressing is enough.
It takes a certain amount of effort to get a good beet crop.
But if, despite this, the plants do not develop quickly enough, it is recommended to repeat the procedure. To do this, you can use mineral fertilizers, which include nitrogen.
Important! In order to prevent oversaturation of the plant with nitrates, nitrogen, like potassium, can be applied with herbal infusions. To obtain the latter, freshly cut grass is poured into the container in equal proportions and poured with warm water. The composition should be insisted within a week. The resulting funds are used with the next watering of the plant.
The presence of trace elements in the soil has a certain effect on the quality of the crop. To stimulate the growth of the beet head and increase its sugar content, you can use the Makbor fertilizer, which contains calcium, magnesium and boron. If we talk about folk remedies, simple table salt is best suited here at the rate of 1 tablespoon per ten-liter bucket.
It doesn't take much effort to get a great beet harvest. The most important thing – know when and how to plant beets correctly, and follow all the recommendations exactly.
Beets are one of the favorite garden crops and can be found in almost every garden plot. The secret of a good harvest of beets lies in the correct choice of varieties, timely planting and good care.
There are quite a few varieties of table beet used in cooking. Experienced gardeners recommend planting several varieties of different ripening periods. At the same time, the harvest is removed in two periods, early varieties for use in summer, mid-season and late ones - for canning and storage.
The most popular varieties:
- early - Libero, Incomparable A 463, Vinaigrette Jelly;
- mid-season - Smuglyanka, Negritanka, Larka;
- later - Cylinder, Ataman.
In addition, when buying, you should pay attention to the purpose of the variety - for fresh consumption and cooking, for canning, for storage. The shape and color of the root crop is a matter of taste, but it has been noticed that varieties with uniform pulp without rings are more juicy.
Preparing a site for beets
Beets love warmth and bright light, so they need a sunny area with nutritious and loose soil. It grows well on peat soils, sandy loams and loams with high fertility. In order to ensure a high yield, it is better to prepare the area for beets in the fall.
Good predecessors of this culture are:
- tomatoes and peppers;
- cucumbers, pumpkins and zucchini;
- greens, legumes, cereals;
- onion garlic.
- potatoes;
- all types of cabbage, radish;
- carrots, celery and parsnips.
Beets grow worst of all on the plots where their closest relatives were grown: chard, fodder, sugar and table beets.
The site is dug at the end of the garden season or in early spring on a shovel bayonet with the fertilizers indicated in the table.
| Fertilizer | Image | Quantity per 1 m², g |
|---|---|---|
| 15-20 |
||
| 20-30 |
||
| 30-40 |
||
| 10-15 |
||
| 500-1000 |
It is important not to exceed the recommended doses of mineral fertilizers, otherwise the root crops will turn out to be loose, with voids and cracks. You can replace fertilizers with organic matter: rotted manure that has lain in the herd for at least two years, humus, ash.
It is better to do the beds just before planting, so more moisture will remain in the soil, and the seeds will germinate faster. The soil is loosened and leveled with a rake, if it has dried out, you need to water it well, after which you can start sowing.
Seed treatment
Beetroot seeds are shriveled drupes and are fairly large in size so they can be easily planted at intervals. Commercial seeds are often treated with stimulants and fungicides and are easily recognized by their bright pink or greenish color. Such seeds do not need processing, it can even harm. They are sown dry without preparation in moist soil.
The color of untreated beet seeds is brownish, sometimes sandy with a greenish tinge. Before planting, it is recommended to prepare them in the way described below.
- Soak the seeds in room temperature water for several hours. Floated seeds are thrown away, they usually germinate late, give small irregularly shaped roots.
- Drain the water and immerse the seeds, wrapped in gauze, in a solution of Epin, Zircon or another germination stimulator. They are kept in solution from half an hour to 4 hours, focusing on the instructions for using the drug.
- Remove the stimulant from the solution and place in a warm place for 12-24 hours. During this time, the seeds swell, some of them peck, after which you can start planting.
Planting beets in open ground
In order for the beets to please you with a good harvest, it is important to correctly determine the planting dates. Single shoots appear at a soil temperature of 5-7 degrees, but massive and friendly shoots can be achieved only when the ground warms up to a temperature of 13-16 degrees at a depth of 8-10 cm.
This usually does not happen until mid-May. It was pointless to plant beets in open ground before - being in cold, damp soil, the seeds can rot, and the emerging plants will then go into the arrow.
On the prepared beds, grooves are marked with a depth of about 2 cm. It is convenient to make them using a board, pressing it with its end into the loosened soil - the bed of the grooves will be dense, and the planting depth will be the same. By choosing a board of the desired width, you can also use it to mark the distance between the rows. It should be:
- 10-15 cm for small root crops intended for summer consumption or pickling;
- 20-30 cm for varieties with large roots for winter storage.
The grooves are poured from a watering can, preventing erosion, and left until the water is absorbed. Seeds are laid out on the bottom of the grooves, maintaining an interval of 4 to 10 cm, depending on the size and purpose of the selected variety. From above they are covered with soil or well-rotted humus and watered.
For large planting volumes, you can make a template, as in the figure, while the distances between the plants will always be the same.
Video - The subtleties of planting beets in open ground
Beet care
Beets are unpretentious and drought-resistant, but they can only give a high yield with good care and adherence to agricultural technology.
- In dry and hot weather, beets are regularly watered from a watering can by sprinkling. It is better to use water that is settled and heated in the sun. At the same time, the leaves are refreshed, the plants perceive the feeding better, and grow faster.
- Beets must be loosened regularly to prevent the appearance of a hard soil crust. It is better to do this in the morning after watering. The depth of loosening is no more than 3-4 cm, otherwise there is a risk of damaging the roots.
- Mulching will help reduce the frequency of watering and loosening, and also reduce weeds. Sawdust, straw, humus are used as mulch.
- It is necessary to weed the beets regularly from the emergence of shoots to the closure of the leaves, after which weeds are not afraid of it.
- In the phase of two true leaves, the plants are thinned out, leaving a gap of 3-5 cm between them. The second thinning is carried out when the roots reach 1.5-2 cm in diameter, while leaving enough space between them for the selected variety. Plucked plants can be used to make soups and salads.
- Frequent feeding of beets with properly prepared soil is usually not required. On poor soils in the first weeks after germination, you can water the seedlings with infusion of mullein or chicken droppings.
- It is recommended two or three times during the growing season to feed the plants with a complex fertilizer containing trace elements: potassium, boron, copper, molybdenum. Dusting with ashes is also helpful, and will also help with pest control.
Diseases and pests of beets
With good care, beets rarely get sick and are affected by pests, but for a full harvest it is important not to miss the first signs of the disease.
| Diseases and pests | Image | Description, causes, treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Fomoz | Fungal disease, accompanied by the appearance of spots on the lower leaves and dry rot of the core of the root crop. The reason is a lack of boron, it is necessary to feed with boric acid | |
| Cercospora | It affects plant leaves, impairs the growth and development of root crops. The reason is a lack of potassium, it is necessary to feed with potassium chloride or ash | |
| It can be identified by a gray-purple bloom on the underside of the tops, then they begin to dry out or rot. The plant must be sprayed with fungicides, it is better to do this prophylactically in the phase of 2-3 leaves | ||
| An infectious disease affecting seedlings. At the same time, the leg becomes thin, turns black, and soon the plant dies. Disease occurs when there is a lack of aeration on heavy damp soils | ||
| Occurs in dry weather with insufficient watering. Leaf cuttings darken, root crops crack with the formation of a white bloom at the site of damage | ||
| It appears, on the contrary, at high humidity and excess nitrogen. It manifests itself as a brown or gray bloom on root crops. When rot appears, the fruits are removed, and the site is not used for growing root crops for 4-5 years |
Video - How to grow beautiful, healthy and tasty beets
Beets are a crop that every gardener tries to plant on the site in order to diversify the range of vegetables. Growing root crops in the open field has its own secrets. And one of them is beet thinning.
Features of beets
When planting beets in the ground, inexperienced gardeners are always surprised. You plant seeds at a distance from each other, but after germination you still have to thin out the overgrown garden bed. This is one of the features of beets. Its fruits, which are correctly called nuts, contain from 2 to 6 seeds. These seeds, during germination, form several shoots in one place, which must be removed.
This is a mandatory procedure, since the tightness and lack of sun will lead to the formation of ugly, deformed root crops that will never gain the desired weight and condition.
Landing
Before planting, dense beet seeds must be soaked in various biostimulants in order to improve the percentage of germination.
For planting, prepare a bed by fertilizing it with humus. Young plants are very sensitive to a lack of nitrogen in the soil, therefore, up to two buckets of humus are applied per square meter of soil.
The culture is considered resistant to low temperature conditions, but it grows and develops better at temperatures from plus 20. Therefore, the seeds are planted on the site in early May, when the threat of return frosts has passed, and the soil warms up evenly day after day. Planting seedlings can be done from mid to late May. In the course of growth, beets are fed.
How to thin out beets
After germination of plants, in the period when the first pair of true leaves appear on them, the beets are thinned in the open field for the first time.
- The beet bed is heavily watered.
- From the bunch of germinated plants, the weakest and smallest are removed, leaving one.
- The distance between the plants is between 7 and 10 centimeters.
- After thinning the beds, I scoop up the soil under the beets so that a small ridge forms. This will help form root crops and protect the plant's root collar, which is bare after it.
After the procedure, there are many small plants that can be used as seedlings. The survival rate of such plants is up to 80%, so it is worth either preparing a bed for them in advance or planting it between companion plants.
Second procedure
It is produced when the beets have gained a leaf mass of up to 4-5 leaves. This is done in order to increase the distance between root crops to the maximum, and to give the opportunity to develop. This procedure is necessary if you need large beets or in the first thinning you left a distance of 3-4 centimeters between the plants.
To properly thin out beets, follow the rule: pull out all diseased and deformed plants, as well as very large ones. Leave the same, medium size.
Plants after the second thinning are not suitable for seedlings.
Transplanting beets during thinning
After the first thinning, there are many small plants that are a pity to throw away and can be used as seedlings. Such seedlings take root well. According to observations, its roots are almost always larger than those planted with seeds in a permanent place.
The resulting seedlings need to be sorted - throw out all the smallest and stunted sprouts. The strongest plants can be planted in the aisles of carrots or onions, if there is enough space, or on a previously prepared separate bed. Experienced gardeners and gardeners prepare such a bed in advance, before how to thin out beets for the first time. The survival rate of such seedlings is 80%.
For planting, humus is introduced into the ground at the rate of 2 buckets per square meter of land.
Seedlings are planted at a distance of 10 centimeters from each other, so that later growing plants do not interfere with each other's development. Small depressions up to 5 centimeters deep are made in the ground, watered and plants are planted in them. The beets are planted in a row, the distance between the rows is 20-25 centimeters. To improve the survival rate of seedlings, the procedure is carried out in the evening or on a cloudy day.
Remember: beets left over from the first thinning are suitable for seedlings, the plants are small enough and will take root well. Plants after the second thinning are not suitable for seedlings.
How to plant beets so as not to thin out
You do not need to thin out the beets if you plant ready-made seedlings on the beds, germinated in plastic cups. Thinning procedures can be avoided if ready-made seedlings germinated in plastic cups are planted in open ground. To do this, a mixture of 1 part of leafy soil and 2 parts of humus is poured into plastic cups or other containers, preferably without a bottom, so as not to injure the seedlings when planting beets in open ground.
Beet seeds are pre-soaked in a stimulant solution for several hours or in water for a day. Then they are planted in cups with earth, after moistening it.
They are planted in open ground when the temperature becomes steadily positive, since at prolonged low temperatures during planting, beets are able to form a peduncle to the detriment of the root crop.
The second option is to grow single-seeded beet varieties. There is only one seed in its nut, so when planted, it will give only one sprout. Seedlings of such varieties are no different from ordinary ones, unless you have to spend time thinning.
Of the varieties, the most famous are Bordeaux single-seeded, Virovskaya single-seeded, Russian single-seeded, Single-sprout, Belorusskaya single-seeded, Lgovskaya, North Caucasian.
The fleshy and juicy beetroot is appreciated not only for its taste. This herb has many beneficial properties. Beets contain a lot of fiber, antioxidants, potassium, iron and organic acids, so nutritionists advise using it to prevent scurvy, diabetes, kidney stones, and hypertension. The red and purple vegetable has been used as food since ancient Babylon. The root crop is very popular now. Beets are grown in almost every summer cottage and garden plot. To get a rich harvest of vegetables by autumn, you need to know when to plant beets for seedlings or in open ground, how to plant and care for beets in the garden.
You can grow a vegetable both in seedling and non-seedling methods. Beet seedlings are most often planted by residents of Siberia and the northern regions. Also, early varieties of root crops, which are rich in vitamins, are grown by seedlings.
The timing of planting beets depends on the climatic conditions of the region. Beets are planted on seedlings 3 weeks before planting in open ground, that is, in March-April, under film - at the end of April, and in open ground - no later than May 20. Seedlings are planted on the garden bed only after the soil warms up to +10 degrees. If in the southern regions it may already be at the end of April, then in the Urals and Siberia - in May or even at the beginning of June.
When to plant beets for seedlings in 2020:
- March. The most favorable days are 2, 7, 22, 12, 13, 14, 28. You cannot sow - 7, 8, 9, 24, 25 and 26.
- April. The best dates are April 10, 28, 29, 30. You can sow seeds from 10 to 20. You cannot plant 8 and 23.
Favorable days for sowing seeds and planting seedlings:
- May. The best days for sowing: May 4, 5, 20, 25, 26, and for planting seedlings - May 5, 6, 11, 12, 16, 25 and 26.
- June. Recommended dates for planting seedlings - 1-4, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 22, 23.
You can not engage in sowing and planting:
- May: 7, 22;
- June: 5, 21.
How to plant beet seeds?
Seed treatment
Before sowing, the planting material is recommended to be disinfected in a weak solution of potassium permanganate and soaked in water for a couple of days to disinfect the seeds and stimulate their germination. The seeds will germinate even faster if you keep them in cold water for a day and 30 minutes in warm water with a temperature of +35 degrees.
Seedling soil
Soil for sowing beet seeds for seedlings can be purchased at the store. A special mixture for seedlings or vegetables is suitable. You can prepare the substrate yourself from the following components:
- garden or sod land - 2 parts;
- rotted compost or humus - 2 parts;
- peat - 4 parts;
- sand - 1 part.
Every 10 kg of the resulting soil mixture is fertilized with one glass of wood ash. It is recommended to disinfect the prepared soil. To do this, you can steam it for 30 minutes in a water bath or warm it up in the oven. After such treatment, the soil needs to be kept in a bag for a week so that beneficial bacteria form in it.
Growing beet seedlings
Three weeks before planting on the garden, they begin sowing seeds. They are placed in the ground to a depth of 1-1.5 cm, sprinkled with soil, lightly tamped and sprayed with a spray bottle.
Containers with crops are placed in a warm place where the air temperature should be at least +20 degrees. So that the soil does not dry out, and the seeds hatch faster, you can arrange a mini-plate. For this, the crops are covered from above with polyethylene or glass. Every day, the shelter is removed for a few minutes to ventilate the substrate and check its moisture content.
Care for beet seedlings is the same as for other vegetable seedlings. After the seedlings appear, the seedlings are placed in a place where there is good lighting and an air temperature within + 14 ... + 16 degrees.
When two true leaves are formed in plants, they need to be cut out, since 2-3 seedlings are collected in one beet seed. The distance between the bushes needs to be made 3-4 cm. If the vegetable was planted in separate pots, then you can skip the picking, and divide the bushes when transplanting to the garden.
When and how to plant beets in the ground? Seedlings are planted on the garden bed only after the soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm warms up to at least +8 degrees. For this, a sunny area is selected.
You can plant beets after legumes, peppers, eggplant, grains, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. So that the vegetable is not affected by diseases, it is necessary to observe the crop rotation and not plant it after beets, cabbage, rapeseed, potatoes, carrots.
Plot for planting beets
The soil in the root vegetable bed should be loose and have a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction. Fresh compost and manure must not be placed under beets. A root crop can be planted on a bed fertilized by them only after 3 years.
When digging the beds, for each square meter, add:
- superphosphate - 40 grams;
- potassium chloride - 15 grams;
- ammonium nitrate - 20 grams;
- sulfuric acid ammonium - 20 grams;
- humus - 2 or 3 kg (if the soil is not fertile);
- fluff lime - 0.5 kg (if the soil has an acidic reaction).
Planting seedlings in open ground
To get large fruits, you need to keep a distance when planting seedlings. The distance between the rows should be about 25 cm, and between the plants - about 5 cm. During planting, the central root of each seedling should be cut by 1/3 of the length. The plant is placed in a hole so deep that the roots in it do not bend, but lie straight. The planted seedlings are sprinkled with earth and watered well. For the first two or even three weeks of planting, it is recommended to protect them from direct sunlight and possible frost, for which they are covered with a special non-woven material.
When the roots take root and grow up, they are thinned out, leaving a distance of 10 cm between the bushes. Experienced gardeners recommend mulching the soil in the garden bed after removing the shelter. The mulch will retain moisture in the soil and prevent weeds from growing.
How to plant beets outdoors?
When growing beets in a seedless way, sowing seeds is carried out after warm weather with a temperature of at least +6 degrees is established. If you sow the seeds earlier, then the tops will grow, not the fruit.
After processing, the planting material is placed in grooves prepared in advance on the garden bed, the distance between which should be up to 30-35 cm.The distance between the seeds depends on the variety, but they should be at least 7 cm.If the vegetable is grown for conservation, then the planting pattern is 7x6 cm.
Seeds are planted to a depth of 2-3 cm, sprinkled with fertile soil mixture and watered well.
Since 2 or 3 seedlings will grow from one seed, when the first two leaves appear on the plants, the planting will need to be thinned out so that the distance between the shoots is 3-4 cm.To do this, the excess shoots are carefully pulled out and transplanted to another bed. When two true leaves are formed on the bushes, a second thinning will be needed, in which the distance between the bushes is left at 7-10 cm.
Planting beets before winter
It is necessary to plant a root crop before winter at the end of October. Seeds are sealed to a depth of 3-4 cm in pre-prepared grooves. The distance between the rows should be 15-20 cm. The garden bed must be sprinkled with peat or humus.
Beetroot care is quite simple and consists of the following activities:
- Watering.
- Weeding and loosening the soil.
- Top dressing.
- Treatment for diseases and pests.
Watering beets
To get a good and high-quality harvest, the roots should be watered regularly. Watering is carried out after the top layer of soil in the garden has dried. It is especially necessary to ensure that the soil does not dry out when the plants are still young, and the weather is dry and warm.
When the roots grow up, they are watered less often, using 2-3 buckets of water per square meter. Waterlogging is also harmful to beets, since plants growing in too moist soil are easily affected by fungal diseases.
To increase the keeping quality of vegetables, watering is stopped two weeks before harvesting.
Weeding and loosening
After watering or rain, the beds are weeded and loosened to a depth of 4 cm. Young plants should be weeded especially often and thoroughly. Otherwise, the weed will grow and "crush" the still immature small sprouts.
Beet feeding
Fertilize the beets several times:
- After the first thinning with mullein solution (1: 8). For 10 square meters of planting, 12 liters of solution are used. The mullein contains nitrogen, which is very necessary for young plants. You can use a ready-made organic fertilizer that contains nitrogen.
- Potash fertilizers are applied after the tops of the plants close. A large amount of potassium is present in wood ash. You can simply sprinkle it on the ground and water the garden well. For every one and a half square meters of planting, one glass of ash is used.
- When growing sugar beets, the sugar content of root crops is increased with a solution from a bucket of water and a tablespoon of salt, which is watered three times: when sprouts appear, two weeks after the emergence of shoots and when the sixth leaf appears.
- At the initial stage, for the development of not only root crops, but also foliage, they use foliar feeding... Beetroot needs such elements as copper, boron and molybdenum, which are part of many fertilizers. They are bred according to the instructions and used to spray the leaves.
- To saturate the roots with sodium, use a solution of non-iodized salt, which is sprayed with tops (60 grams per 10 liters of water).
Diseases and pests of beets
Preventive measures against diseases and pests are:
- compliance with crop rotation;
- pre-sowing treatment of seeds and soil for seedlings;
- timely weeding;
- destruction of plant residues and digging of beds in the fall;
- timely feeding with microelements.
However, even taking all measures to prevent plants does not always 100 percent protect plantings from pests and diseases.
Of the pests, beets are most often affected by:
- shchitonoski - are removed together with the weeds by hand and destroyed with special insecticidal solutions;
- fleas - are destroyed by dusting the foliage with tobacco dust or ash;
- beet aphid - destroyed by onion infusion or Iskra bio;
- mining and beet flies - you can get rid of them with the help of Karbofos and Spark;
- scoops - are destroyed by special bacterial preparations.
Of the diseases, beets can be affected by felt disease, fusarium, root eater, downy mildew, cercoporosis, photomosis. All these diseases can harm root crops, which leads to a decrease in yield. Diseases caused by bacteria are treated with fungicides. Viral diseases are not cured, so diseased plants are destroyed.
If spots or rotted areas are found on the roots during harvesting, they must be stored separately from healthy specimens.
Harvesting sugar beet
To prepare borscht and other dishes, beets can be dug out throughout the summer. If it is supposed to store vegetables in winter, then the roots are dug up a week after the leaves of the plants turn yellow and dry. By this time, the vegetables will have a diameter of about 7-15 cm. They are first undermined with a pitchfork, and then taken out of the ground by hand.
Roots must be dried before storage, so they are harvested in warm weather, when precipitation is not expected in the coming days. Dried vegetables are cleaned from the ground and their tops are cut off so that a stalk about 2 cm in size remains. Peeled root crops are examined, laying aside damaged and spoiled ones separately.
Selected vegetables need to be dried, for which they are laid out for a week in a room with good ventilation, where there is no sunlight.
Storing beets for the winter
It is recommended to store beets in a room with an air temperature of 0 ... + 2 degrees and a humidity of no more than 90%. Good ventilation is very important for storing beets, therefore it is recommended to use wooden or plastic trellises. Roots placed in containers are powdered with chalk and sprinkled with sand. Vegetable boxes are placed on stands away from the walls. In this case, the lower roots will not fog up and rot.
How to store beets in the cellar? It is very good if potatoes are stored in the cellar, on top of which you can pour beets. The fruits will absorb excess moisture and the potatoes will not get wet. When pouring vegetables into the cellar, you need to take care that rodents do not get into it.
Subject to all storage conditions, it will be possible to feast on a healthy vegetable all winter and spring. And if you sprinkle the root crops with sand, then they can survive until the next harvest.
Novice gardeners will find it helpful to learn how to thin out beets in order to get a good harvest of large and tasty root vegetables. This vegetable can be grown both in a seedless and seedling way. Therefore, the strong seedlings remaining after the breakthrough should not be thrown away - they can be used as seedlings. Most often, beets are planted after the first thinning, but if necessary, grown seedlings with 4-5 leaves can be used.
Beet seeds germinate at a temperature of +4 ° C, but you should not rush to planting, since seedlings and grown plants do not tolerate frosts well. The vegetable shows the highest germination at +10 ° C. The seeding rate is 17-20 g per 10 m². The planting depth is 2.5-3 cm. With deep planting, germination decreases and the growth rate of the plant slows down due to a lack of oxygen in the soil.
Beet seeds are infructescences or fruit aggregates, connected by 3-5 pieces into dense glomeruli. Each seed can give 2-4 full-fledged shoots, which leads to thickening of seedlings. If unnecessary shoots are not removed in time, the roots will grow small, deformed and tasteless. The seedlings remaining after thinning can be planted in free places.
If you want to get a harvest of large root crops, then you need to thin out the plantings at least twice. Moreover, the thinned distances should be 3-4 cm in the first procedure and 8-10 cm in the repeated breakthrough.
How to thin out beets?
Thinning is an important agricultural technique for all root crops, especially beets. You need to know how to break through plants correctly. The size of the harvest will depend on the timeliness and quality of the procedure. To create the optimal feeding area for each plant, it is necessary to carry out 2-3, and sometimes 4 thinning of the seedlings.
As soon as the first permanent leaf appears, you can start thinning the plantings. Sometimes the first breakthrough has to be done at the cotyledonous leaf stage. Do not question the need for the procedure; friendly germination is, of course, good, but in thickened plantings the plants will oppress each other. Growing full-fledged root crops in such conditions will not work.
It is advisable to thin out on a cloudy day or in the evening. The soil should be moist, so the day before the procedure, the plants are watered abundantly. Before thinning, the aisles are loosened. The strongest plant is left in each nest, and the rest are removed.
In order not to damage the desired seedlings, you should not uproot the plants, it is better to pinch the sprout near the ground. For convenience, you can use tweezers or scissors. If after the breakthrough there are strong seedlings, then you should not throw them away. Beets can be transplanted into prepared furrows or where they have not sprouted.
Second procedure
Under favorable conditions, the plants grow well, as a rule, 2-3 weeks after the first breakthrough, the beets have time to grow 5-6 leaves, and the root crop reaches 3-4 cm in diameter. You can proceed to the second thinning procedure. Remove the largest plants that have reached bundle ripeness, as well as poorly developed specimens. The distance between the remaining plants should be at least 6-8 cm.
The third thinning is carried out when the roots reach 4-5 cm in diameter and can already be used for food. At this time, the final standing density is formed. So that the root crop does not outgrow, the interval between the plants after the breakthrough should be no more than 10-15 cm. The vegetable grower always has a choice - either to grow it by seed, or to plant seedlings, so that later they do not have to thin out.
Subsequent breakthroughs are reusable selective harvesting.
Transplanting beets during thinning
After the first thinning, there are many strong plants that can be used as seedlings. It has been noticed that the planted beets take root well and form larger root crops than those planted with seeds in a permanent place.
If there are no additional beds for planting plants, you can find a place for seedlings between cucumbers, bell peppers, dill, and other vegetables (except beans). You can also root root seedlings on the sides of your strawberry beds. These plants get along well with each other.
It is advisable to transplant beets during thinning in rainy, cloudy weather, which will ensure better survival. The vegetable reacts very sensitively even to minor damage to the root, so you need to remove it from the ground using a narrow garden spatula. Then carefully place it in the prepared hole, avoiding bends and creases, otherwise the root crop will grow deformed.
If the root is too long, it is best to shorten it by one third. Before planting, you can dip the roots of the seedlings in a mixture of mullein and clay for good survival. In grown seedlings, all foliage is removed, leaving one central sprout. After transplanting, it is advisable to shade the plants by sticking small branches of a maple or other tree with large foliage next to them.
Many experienced vegetable growers do not recognize the sowing of beets immediately to a permanent place, but plant them only in seedlings. The advantage of this method lies in the absence of the need for thinning and in obtaining large root crops.
How to plant beets so as not to thin out?
To get a fruitful and sweet root crop, thinning of beets in the open field is carried out 2 or even 3 times per season. If it is not possible to engage in plant breakthrough, you can immediately plant seedlings at a distance of 7-10 cm from each other. The seeds of beets are large, so this is not so difficult to do.
Many gardeners place beet seeds in advance on paper tapes covered with paste. During planting, the tapes are embedded in the furrows to a depth of no more than 2-3 cm and lightly sprinkled with earth. The disadvantage of this method is that some of the seeds may die, and the seedlings will be uneven. Therefore, in stock it is necessary to have a small area of plants for seedlings, so that there is something to replace the dead seedlings.
Beets are demanding on soil fertility and do not tolerate shading well. There are a number of conditions on the fulfillment of which the quality of the crop will depend, so it will be useful to listen to the simple recommendations of experienced gardeners:
- If you want to get a good harvest of large root crops, then you need to grow on your site only zoned varieties of domestic selection.
- Before sowing, you need to process beet seeds in a weak solution of manganese or ash (2 tablespoons per 1 liter of water). Then wrap in a damp cloth and put in a warm place until the sprouts are pecked.
- Too large root crops are poorly stored, accumulate more nitrates, and often have poor taste. To get a medium-sized lying beet, it is necessary to reduce the distance between rows to 18-20 cm, and in rows to 8-10 cm.
- Experienced gardeners do not want to waste time fighting thickened beet shoots, it is much easier to grow high-quality root crops with seedlings.
- Beets do not develop well on acidic soils, so it will be useful to water them with ash water twice a season (1 glass of ash per bucket of water). You can dust the aisles with dry ash (followed by loosening the soil).
- Wood ash is also a good pest repellant.
- To increase the sugar content, beets are watered twice a season with slightly salted water (1 tablespoon of salt without top per 1 liter of water). The first watering is carried out during the period of tying the root crop, the second - a month before harvesting.
Even a novice summer resident can grow an unpretentious and tasty root crop. Applying in practice the useful advice of experienced gardeners, you can get a significant increase in the yield.
