Beetroot is a vegetable crop, the cultivation of which people began to engage in two millennia ago. She has the unique ability to quickly acclimatize in both warm and cold climates. Beets are unpretentious, easy to care for. Breeders have bred many varieties of this vegetable, differing in maturity, appearance, taste, yield and other characteristics. Read about the best beet varieties in the article.
A bit of history
Sugar beet, as a type of plant, was known by ancient people. This is evidenced by archaeological excavations: scientists find traces of fossilized seeds of culture. The existence of this root crop was the first to be known in the countries of the Mediterranean and Asia. For a long time, at the time of the origin of beets as a culture, people used only leaves, and the root was used for medicinal purposes. Later, when the vegetable was brought by merchants to Europe, its benefit was also highly rated here.
Over time, people learned that beets can be given to animals. So, German breeders in the XVI century brought fodder beet varieties. But before the appearance of canteens and sugar was still far away. It is known that even Napoleon made efforts to develop sugar beet varieties, since he dreamed of destroying the British trade in this product. But the production of sugar from this vegetable has long remained an expensive process. In our country, a sweet treat was prohibitively expensive; only people of the upper classes could afford it.
Types of beets
To date, all beets grown by people are conventionally divided into four large groups. Each of them has its own varieties and hybrids.
- Beetroot is just that vegetable that is grown in households to meet the needs of the family. This article will discuss its varieties. Root crops of this species come in different sizes and colors. They are distinguished by a sweet taste, juicy pulp, in which there are no veins or villi.
- Feed beet - farmers are engaged in its cultivation, as it goes to feed livestock. Vegetables are large, rich in fiber, in shape are round, conical, oval; in color - from yellow to burgundy.
- Sugar beet - it is grown in large areas by field crop growers. Root crops are needed in large volumes for the production of sugar and other products. This root crop is easy to distinguish: it has a white color and an elongated conical shape.
- Leaf beet - this variety is rich in beneficial substances. It differs in large tops, which can be eaten. It tastes like spinach. Stems have white, pink, orange, yellow, burgundy color.
Early beet varieties: description
All table vegetables of this species by maturity are divided into three groups: early, middle, late. In some beet varieties, according to gardeners, not only root crops, but also tops, especially young ones, are suitable for consumption. It is used for making cabbage soup and salads. This is one of the first vitamins in the spring from your garden. Beets of early varieties grow and mature quickly. It is consumed fresh without any heat treatment. Harvest can be harvested after 2.5-3 months. But these vegetables have a significant drawback: they are stored little, they are not left for the winter. However, the advantage of early beets is also great: it ripens when there are no other vegetables. Some varieties are described below in the article.
Red ball
This beetroot quickly ripens, for this process it is enough from 35 to 100 days. The vegetable got its name due to the round shape, like a ball. Its weight reaches 500 g. Inside and outside the beets are painted red. Juicy pulp has a delicate, sweet taste. This variety has no flowering; it is resistant to frost and heat.
Egyptian flat
This beet variety is characterized by high productivity and lack of bloom. The fruits are oval in shape with flatness in the center and a uniform red-violet color. The delicate and juicy pulp has a pink tint. The weight of the root crop reaches 300 g, sometimes the vegetable grows to 1.5 kg. The ripening period lasts from 80 to 100 days. The fruits during storage retain their taste and appearance.
Libero
In this beet variety, ripening occurs on the 80th day after emergence. Fruits of red color have a rounded shape, smooth peel, excellent taste and the same size. Their surface is leveled. The average weight of one root crop is 220 g. The dense pulp has no ringing or it is very weakly expressed. This root crop prefers moist soil.
Mid-season beets
These vegetables are well suited for sowing for the winter. Dry summers are painlessly tolerated in the absence of water. The root crops of these varieties are stored longer without losing their presentation. Below are the characteristics of beet varieties with medium ripening.
Bordeaux
This variety in Russia is the most common. It has been cultivated in our country for more than a century. The advantage of beets is the ability to grow and bear fruit on any type of soil. The vegetable has a good taste due to the high concentration of sugar and has a dark red flesh. This variety is considered one of the most useful. If beets are sown in summer, their shelf life will be five months. This is a good indicator for this variety. Vegetables are suitable for any kind of processing. Harvesting is easy, as root crops are half immersed in the ground. If sowing is carried out before the onset of winter, then in the spring, vegetables will well tolerate return frosts.
Detroit
The maturity of this beet variety is slightly less than three months (115 days). Bushes are of medium height. The shape of the root crops is round, their surface is smooth, the color is bright red. The mass is small - 200 g. This beetroot is juicy and very tasty. Fruits regularly and stably. It is unpretentious in cultivation, unstable to the formation of arrows, bears fruit well and is preserved.
Late beetroot
These root crops are resistant to autumn and spring frosts, heat and temperature extremes. They are characterized by a long shelf life. If you place beets of later varieties in a cool pantry or cellar, it will lie without changing the taste and presentation until the next year's harvest. But these vegetables have a drawback: they ripen for a long time. However, when considering, on the other hand, this can turn into a benefit, since late beet varieties make up the vitamin base in winter and especially in early spring, when other vegetables have not yet grown. Experts recommend growing beets in warm climates.
Renova
The ripening time of this beet variety comes late, 110 days after the first shoots. Root crops are cylindrical in shape and pink in color. Their surface is smooth, even. The juicy pulp has an elastic consistency and no rings. Productivity from year to year is high, the shelf life is large - six months.
Citadel
This variety has few tops. The vegetative period lasts up to 130 days. The root crop has a cylindrical shape, its length is 26 cm, and its mass is from 180 to 360 g. The pulp has a red color, there are no rings in it. This beet is grown on the beds in the garden and in greenhouses. Root vegetables love light and moist soil.
The best varieties for open ground
These are vegetables resistant to flowering, which are rarely affected by cercosporosis, tolerate heat and drought well. Watering and top dressing with various fertilizers, both organic and mineral, are only welcome for these root crops. Vegetables should be stored without any waste. An example of favorite varieties for growing on their beds are: Borshchova, Opole, Odnorostkovaya, Bordeaux and others. But the best variety of beets for open ground is the Cylinder, as many gardeners believe. However, each grower chooses a particular variety depending on their preferences.
Single sprout
This is a late variety; it does not need thinning. Four months after emergence, full maturity sets in. Root crops have a flat-rounded shape, their mass reaches 240-580 g. Beets that taste good have juicy flesh of maroon color. This variety is stored for up to five months. For growing vegetables, only cluster seedlings are used. This is because the seed has a single sprout. Beetroot has an average resistance to growth, but high to disease varieties. If you provide proper root care, you can collect a ton of vegetables from one hectare.
Cylinder
These root crops ripen late. They have an unusual shape for their type of culture: fusiform, cylindrical. The length of such beets varies from 25 to 32 cm. An odorless vegetable with a pleasant taste and bright flesh to the color of potassium permanganate. This variety is best suited for winter storage, which lasts from seven to nine months. The root crop retains its taste, useful properties and presentation. Many vegetable growers consider the Cylinder the best beet variety. According to reviews, it is resistant to heat and return frost in the spring. With a high content of nutrition in the soil, it can bestow its owner a high yield: 120 kg of beets are harvested from a plot area of 10 m 2 .
Borsch
This beet belongs to mid-ripening varieties: from the emergence of seedlings to harvesting takes from three to three and a half months. Root crops are the same size, their skin is thin, juicy pulp of dark crimson color. Vegetables of this variety grow and ripen even under conditions that are considered unfavorable. If you periodically feed them, then here you can collect up to nine kilograms of vegetables per square meter of land. When sowing beets in the summer, arrows do not form. If this procedure is carried out before the onset of cold weather in November, it will winter well. It is stored for a long time, until spring.
The sweetest beet varieties
Depending on the use, vegetable growers grow different varieties of root crops, but everyone wants to have sweet beets in their garden. Here are some of its varieties:
- Bravo - this beet is considered one of the sweetest. Root crops are quite large, reaching a diameter of 18 cm, their weight is from 300 to 700 g. Vegetables have a high yield: you can collect seven kilograms from a plot of one square meter. Root crops are not afraid of bad weather, they are easy to care for. Vegetables perfectly retain their taste and marketability during long-term storage. They are grown in regions with different climates.
- Mulatto - this variety is also among the sweetest vegetables of this species. Seeds have high germination, and root crops have a pleasant taste, a leveled surface, approximately the same diameter (10-12 cm), rounded shape. There is no ringing in the pulp. The mass of one beet is from 200 to 350 g. This variety has a high yield: six kilograms of fruit per square meter of area.