Beetroot Cylinder was named because of its elongated shape. This variety was bred by Dutch breeders, and for many years it has been very popular among summer residents and gardeners for its unpretentiousness in care and excellent taste characteristics. The vitamin composition of beets is similar to cabbage and carrots, and regularly using this product as food, you can normalize the work of the intestines and cardiovascular system. Therefore, beetroot is so in demand. Description of the variety is given below.
What does a vegetable look like?
This is a cylindrical table beet with maroon peel and dark red pulp. The size of the root crop is 16-17 cm in length and 9-10 cm in diameter. Weight - from 200 to 500 grams.
The variety is considered medium late, the ripening period is 120-130 days. The taste of the vegetable is sweet, so you can cook a variety of dishes from it. Also, Cylinder beets are excellent for canning, boiled quickly and stored well, her skin is thin and the flesh is juicy. This is characterized by Beet Cylinder. The description can also be supplemented with the features of this variety.
How is it growing?
This beet variety is considered high-yielding, as it is not susceptible to species morbidity. The beets of the Cylinder grow well in those areas that used to be under cucumbers, cabbage, onions or carrots. You should not put it on the beds after spinach and similar crops. For a larger crop and product quality, beets need a well-lit area. Its width should be about a meter. Water the beets in the grooves between the rows.
To cultivate this beet variety, special skills are not needed, even inexperienced gardeners can harvest a rich harvest. As mentioned above, the taste of cylinder beets is sweet. But the taste is directly dependent on the composition of the soil. If it is acidic, then adding dolomite flour to the bed will help. Then the beets will not have veins and white rings in the slice.
Seed preparation
The right choice of planting material is an important step in the process of obtaining a good harvest. The quality of purchased seeds is not always at a high level, so they can be prepared independently. In addition, this will save a little budget. In autumn you need to select the testes. It is important to do it right. They should have a small size, regular cylindrical shape, rich burgundy color on the cut. The testes are planted in late spring. After planting, you need to regularly water and loosen the soil. Before flowering, the soil must be fertilized.
When most of the seeds on the branch darken, it needs to be cut. Do not wait until all the grains have ripened, otherwise they will begin to crumble. To collect more material, the peduncle is best tied to a support. Important: different varieties must be sown away from each other to prevent over-pollination.
Store seeds in a dry and warm place. It is important to prevent their hypothermia, since after planting they can bloom, which will not allow root crops to grow. Before sowing, seeds must be selected in size and processed. Processing is usually carried out with a solution of potassium permanganate or ash. After this, the seeds need to be soaked for a day in clean water.
Sowing and seedling care
Seeds are planted at the end of May. Both tape and line method of sowing is suitable. Depth of landing is about 3 centimeters. It is better to plant three seeds at once, and then the extra shoots can then be removed. Beetroot The cylinder is very responsive to heat, therefore, in warm weather, seedlings appear after 3-5 days. If the weather is cool, then the shoots may not appear for several weeks. Planting seeds is possible even at a soil temperature of 6 degrees. A sharp cold snap can ruin the entire crop.
Strengthened seedlings need to be thinned: for starters, 3 cm from each other, and when foliage appears, by 10 cm. You should not make a long distance, otherwise root crops will outgrow (some vegetables can grow up to 2 kg, which is not always convenient when using).
It is important to regularly water and loosen the soil. Beet variety Cylinder is considered drought tolerant, but still need to be watered. When seeds germinate, a root system forms and root crops form.
Tip: in regions where the climate is cold, it is better to grow beets seedlings. Occupation is quite time-consuming. When picking seedlings, you need to remember the following recommendations:
- seedling roots can be cut off a little;
- for the plant to take root, seedlings should be no more than 8 centimeters;
- Before transplanting, the earth must be well loosened.
Features of agricultural technology
Beetroot Cylinder does not like shade, so it is better not to plant it behind fences, under trees or in the shade of high-growing crops. The soil on the site for planting beets should be fertile. Otherwise, it needs to be fed with complex fertilizers. The plant itself is usually fed with mineral additives. At the same time, manure is not used, it does not allow beets to grow and develop. With manure, many roots are introduced into the soil, and it also provokes the incidence of soil.
In mineral fertilizing, magnesium and boron must be present. They stimulate the growth and development of root crops. Ash is considered a good fertilizer for a vegetable. Beet Cylinder loves high beds. This is especially true for damp areas. If the soil is very moist and acidic, then the root system of the vegetable rots.
Harvesting and storing beets
Beet harvesting begins in September. During harvesting, the tops are immediately cut off, the vegetables are slightly dried (in sunny weather, you can directly in the garden) and sent for storage. For better storage, they dig up beets in dry, warm weather.
You can see that the root crop has ripened by the following signs:
- beets have grown to an appropriate size;
- small lateral roots appeared on the root;
- the lower leaves of the tops turned yellow and withered, began to dry out.
To keep the beets for a long time, it is important not to damage the root crops during harvesting. The spine should also remain intact, so it’s better to dig out the vegetables with a shovel and carefully cut the foliage. Damage during harvesting threatens to rot the root crop.
You can store beets in a pit with potatoes or in large boxes of 10-15 kilograms. To increase the shelf life, you can sprinkle the vegetables with sand. The ideal storage temperature is from 0 to 2 degrees, and humidity is approximately 90%. In such conditions, tubers are fresh until the very summer, until a new crop.
Beetroot Cylinder: reviews
And what do gardeners say about this vegetable? Here are the qualities they highlight:
- Beet Cylinder is very tasty, fruitful, well stored. It makes excellent salads, soups and preparations.
- This is probably the most common beet variety in our strip. And this is not surprising, because she has wonderful taste. It is great for rich borscht, and for a light snack. And even in the cellar until the very summer she does not lose her taste and quality. Interestingly, it grows quickly (the variety is not late), but it is stored well.
- Harvesting this beet is always rich, and growing it is very simple. Minimum care - maximum result!
- Thanks to such an elongated shape, the beet takes up less space on the bed. It is very convenient to plant it together with other vegetables (for example, between onions). This helps to save space in the garden, especially if it is limited.
Conclusion
Summing up, we can say that the beet of the Cylinder, the photo of which is presented in the article, is a picky plant. Feels good in temperate climates with minimal maintenance. Growing the Cylinder, you need to monitor the acidity of the soil and prevent overmoistening. To reduce the acidity of the soil with lime.