Beetroot was brought to Russia from Byzantium in the 10th century. In ancient times, this plant was very appreciated for its healing properties, for example, Hippocrates used it to treat infectious and skin diseases. Currently, beets have firmly entered our diet, in addition, there are many recipes for alternative medicine in which this useful root crop has found application.
It is difficult to find a summer resident who does not grow beetroot on his site, and there is a simple explanation for this. Not only is this a very useful vegetable, as mentioned above, but also, it is easy to grow, because it is an extremely unpretentious plant. But, despite this, in order to get an excellent harvest, you must follow some rules. Let's figure out how to plant beets (sowing, seedlings, features, care), we will try to talk about all this in this article.
Sowing dates
To begin with, let's decide when to sow beets in open ground. This healthy vegetable can be sown in the spring, but can be sown in the winter.
To obtain an early harvest, sowing is carried out in the fall, in early November, or under the film in late April, and that beet, which is intended for long-term storage, is sown in May, after the 10th day, but no later than May 20. If the seeds are sown too early in the cold soil, the root crops may not grow; instead, flower stalks are formed. After the first sprouts appear, the film can be removed (beet seedlings tolerate frosts to -2 ° C).
Choosing a landing place
Growing beets in open ground requires some preparation.
The area where you are going to sow this useful vegetable should be well-lit and well-drained, otherwise the root crops will be hard and tasteless. The soil for planting is best chosen loamy or sandy loam, with a pH not higher than 7. In clay, sand and podzolic areas, the yield will be significantly lower.
Ideally, under the garden, it is best to allocate a place where cucumbers, potatoes, zucchini, pumpkin or onions used to grow, the choice of land after peas, garlic or cabbage would not be entirely successful. Well, of course, you should not plant beets after root crops such as carrots, parsnips, celery, and also after spinach and chard, which have common diseases with it, it is generally not recommended to grow beets at the same place for two years in a row, and only after three years can it be returned to its original place.
Soil preparation
Having decided on when to plant beets in open ground, we proceed to the preparation of the soil.
A planting bed is best prepared in the fall. First of all, it should be dug up on the bayonet of a shovel, and well loosened. It is advisable to add half a bucket per m 2 of rotted compost or humus to the soil (fresh manure is not recommended). If the acidity of the soil is large, it is recommended to add dolomite flour, lime or chalk at the rate of 1 cup per m 2 during digging (you can’t add in the spring, this can cause root crops such as scab). Before sowing, you should fertilize the soil, this mixture is suitable: 10-12 teaspoons of boric acid, 1 teaspoon of magnesium sulfate, about 2 glasses of ash and a tablet of trace elements (all per m 2 ). Chlorine-containing fertilizers should not be made for planting, but magnesium is very fond of this root crop . Growing beets in open ground on sandy soil requires the addition of peat, sod land and humus to the plot (1 bucket per m 2 ). In a clay soil, a full bucket of peat and coarse river sand is added with the addition of two liters of stale sawdust, which should first be treated with a urea solution.
Seed preparation
How to plant beets with seeds in open ground, you ask? So, before sowing, the seeds should first be prepared for planting. To do this, it is advisable to soak them in a solution of baking soda or ash (half a teaspoon per 0.5 liters of water) for a day, then rinse, wrap in a damp rag and soak for two days at a temperature of at least 25
0 C. This technique allows you to get friendly seedlings a week after sowing.
Sowing
How and when to plant beets? Landing is carried out, as mentioned above, in the spring or in the fall. So, if you plant beets in the fall, then the sowing rate will be 3g per m 2 , the seeds are laid to a depth of about 4 cm, they are covered with mulch on top.
How to plant beets with seeds and seedlings
in the spring? Seeds are sown in rows at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other, into grooves to a depth of 2.5-3 cm. Prepared grooves are shed with hot water, the seeds are laid out in them at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other, then they are slightly pressed into ground and mulch. Most beet seeds are multi-sprouted, that is, 2-4 sprouts appear from one seed, so 5-6 days after germination, the first thinning is carried out, at which the plants are left at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other. The second thinning is done after the formation of 5-6 leaves, leaving a distance between root crops of 8-10 cm.
We examined how to plant beets with seeds in open ground, but in the spring some gardeners prefer to plant this vegetable seedlings, so let's talk how to do it right.
A month before the beets are planted on a permanent place in a specially prepared substrate, seedlings are sown according to the 4 x 4 cm pattern. This method of growing allows you to get the crop 3 weeks earlier than usual. Before planting in the soil, seedlings dive is optional. The required temperature for growing is 15-20 ° C. Seedlings are best grown beets with oval root crops. Its transplantation to a permanent place begins when the plant forms 3-4 leaves. Before this, the container with seedlings is properly spilled with water, after which a plant is dug with a special spatula. In order for the beets to take root better, the root of the sprout is shortened by about 1/4 part before planting. After this, the seedlings are well watered. Plants are planted at a distance of 8-10 cm from one another.
Further care for beets consists in timely cultivation, weeding, fertilizer and watering.
Care
So, when sowing beets in the open ground, we figured out, now let's talk about how to care for it.
Beet seeds, as mentioned above, germinate slowly, therefore, approximately 3-4 days after sowing, it is recommended to slightly loosen the soil on the ridge with a spring rake, this will ensure friendly seedlings. Real deep cultivation for the first time is carried out 4 days after the emergence of friendly shoots. In general, beets are very responsive to loosening, so do not forget to loosen the soil after rain or watering, but after the leaves have closed, loosening should be stopped.
This vegetable does not like dimming, so do not forget to weed in time, especially this is important in the phase of rooting. By the way, in August, beets require one more thinning, when weeding, remove excess root crops, the distance between plants should be 15-20 cm. After weeding and thinning, be sure to occult the plants and mulch the soil.
Many summer residents pick leaves on beets for making summer soups and salads. Doing this is strictly prohibited, the crop will be significantly lower. Do not forget to water the beets in a timely manner, with a lack of moisture, root crops become woody. For better ripening, watering is stopped 4-5 weeks before harvesting.
Beet Disease
An excess of nitrogen in the soil can lead to the formation of voids inside the root crops, with a lack of boron, core rot can develop. The appearance of yellow spots on the leaves indicates a lack of potassium, reddening of the tops indicates a lack of sodium and increased acidity of the soil.
Beets are affected by diseases such as downy mildew, rust, fomosis, leaf spot. The pests of this root crop are the root eater, beet aphid, nematode, flea, fly, root aphid, smooth dead-eater. With these diseases and pests, folk remedies that have been proven for centuries will help.
Harvesting and storing beets
Beets are harvested before the onset of frost, that is, no later than mid-September, in general, the growing season of the root crop (depending on the variety) is from 50 to 80 days. Before storage, cut leaves at a distance of about 3 cm from the root crop. Beets are stored in boxes, sprinkled with sand at a temperature of 1-3 0 C.
Recommended Varieties
"Bordeaux 237", "Pablo", "Winter A-474", "Cold-resistant", "Renova", " Griboedovskaya flat A-473 "," Egyptian flat "," Pushkin flat K-18 "," Incomparable A-46 "," One-sprout ".
Well, that's all, you now know when to plant beets in open ground, which seeds to prefer, how to care for them and how to store them.
Have a good harvest!