When you are planting your vegetable garden this spring, save some room for a row of beets.
Beets don't require a lot of space in the garden and are a double-purpose vegetable, as the tops and bottoms can both be eaten. There are not many vegetables where both the root and the greens can be made into delicious recipes. Not only are beets good-tasting, but they are also good for you as they are high in vitamins, calcium, potassium, folate and fibre. And even though they are very sweet they are low in calories.
Beets are a cool-weather crop, so are a great vegetable for our Prince George climate. The seed can be directly sown into the garden around the beginning of May when soil temperatures have warmed up. Grow beets in a sunny location, in a deep, well-drained soil that is free of rocks and debris. The soil should be slightly alkaline so compost or old rotted manure can be added to the soil.
Beet seeds are actually a compound seed that is a cluster with three to four seeds per cluster. Sow the seed 12 to 20 millimetres deep, spaced three to five centimetres apart. It can take anywhere from five to 10 days for the seed to germinate depending on moisture and warmth.
When the young seedlings are five to seven cm high, you can start to thin them out so that they are eight to 10 cm apart. When you are thinning, don't throw out the young seedlings as they are perfect for salads.
Beets are easy to grow; just give them consistent moisture for constant growth, which in turn ensures tender beets. Beets can be harvested and eaten as you want them. You can continue to thin them out as you harvest them so that at the end of the season you are left with larger-sized beets that can be stored.
If you don't have a garden or ran out of space, beets can be grown in containers. The container should be at least 25 to 30 cm deep. They are an attractive-looking plant with their colourful foliage making them a good choice for an edible landscape.
There are different varieties of beets that come in different colours and shapes. The most common types are the round red varieties such as Early Wonder, Green Top Bunching, WinterKeeper, Bull's Blood (also known for its baby greens) and Detroit Dark Red, which we have been growing in our garden for many years. If you are looking for something a little different you might want to plant some Cylindra beets, which are red-rooted cylindrical beets, great for slicing.
Over the past few years the Touchstone Gold beet is gaining popularity. We have been growing this variety in our garden for the past few years along with the Detroit Dark Red and really enjoy it. Touchstone Gold has a bright yellow/gold flesh and a green top. It is a great-tasting beet that we like to roast. A nice quality about the yellow/gold flesh is that your hands don't turn red when you handle it.
Another variety that we might try this year in our garden, if there is room, is the Chioggia beet. It is an Italian Heritage variety that has bright pink and white alternating rings inside.
Also available is the Chioggia Guardsmark, which is an improved Chioggia beet.
