How and when to plant beets for seedlings and in open ground, care and harvesting of beets. Proper planting of beets with seeds in open ground How best to sow beets in a garden bed in spring

Very useful and common in our gardens and vegetable gardens root vegetable - beets. For her to give good harvest In the spring it needs to be sown, taking into account certain conditions.

How to grow beets: infographics

See the infographic below ⇓ for important points about growing beets in your dacha.

How to plant beets correctly: preparing the land

This stage begins in the fall. At this time, all parts of any plants must be removed from the beds. Add organic matter to the soil. Then dig to a depth equal to the height of the shovel. If the soil is depleted, then it is worth adding mineral fertilizers. If the soil is highly acidic, you need to add lime.

It is good if beets are planted in the spring where potatoes, peas or cucumbers grew last year.

The bed with beets should not be shaded. Otherwise, the root vegetables will not have an intense shade. Because it only forms in bright sunlight.

Before planting beets in the spring, the soil must be loosened with a rake. Then you can enter dolomite flour.

Now the soil is ready and you can wait to plant beets in the spring. You need to let the soil warm up to 5°C. If this is not done, the seeds will go to waste and root crops will not form.

Beetroot: planting and care

There are two ways to grow beets. The first of them is planting beets with seeds. In order for the shoots to appear faster, they need to be soaked. This is done in a solution of a growth stimulator or ordinary ash for a day. Then the seeds need to be washed in warm water and wrapped in a dry cloth.

Before planting beets, the soil needs to be moistened. To do this, draw lines about 4 cm deep in the garden bed. The distance between them should be approximately 20 cm. Then the grooves watered. After the water has been absorbed, beets can be planted in open ground. Since its seeds are large, they can be placed in the ground individually. There is no need to be afraid that there will be no shoots. Several plants always grow from one such fruit. Therefore, the seedlings will still have to be thinned out. Therefore, it is better to plant beets with seeds less often, so that later they have room to grow. Thinned shoots can be used to firm up other beds. And then the dacha will bring maximum benefit. We can say that when beets are planted, the planting pattern looks like a lattice, at the intersection of which the future plants are located.

If you immediately plant beets in open ground, then the planting scheme can also be:

• single-line - seeds are placed in a groove to a depth of 3 - 4 cm, and then sprinkled with earth, 40 - 45 cm are left between the grooves;
• two-line - make two grooves with a distance of 25 cm between them, then a space of 50 cm and again two grooves (lines) into which the seeds are sown.

The time for sowing seeds should be chosen so that the soil still retains moisture from winter snow. Typically, beets are planted in the first ten days of May. If spring is late, then this time is shifted by a week.

Caring for them involves weeding and rare loosening. During its growth, it is necessary to perform a couple of feedings. At first organic fertilizer, just a little bit. And then ash or mineral mixtures without nitrates.

Planting beets with seedlings

This method is suitable if you don’t want to deal with thinning. For those who have not delved into the question of how to plant beets with seeds, you can grow them as seedlings in a greenhouse. The distance between the grooves is made 5-6 cm, and the seeds are sown 3 cm apart. Planting of seedlings is carried out 1 month before it is planned to move it to a permanent place.

When 4 leaves appear on the plant, this serves as a signal that it can be replanted. This means that the sprouts need to be hardened by arranging ventilation of the greenhouse.

Before planting in open ground, water it well. I lower each sprout with its roots into clay mortar. And they are seated according to the scheme on the site.

When to plant beets

Beets can be planted 2 times a season:

• in the spring, when the soil warms up well at a depth of 10 cm, in terms of timing this is approximately the beginning of May;
• in autumn, before winter at the end of October - beginning of November.

The advantage of planting beets in winter is to obtain an earlier harvest; they can ripen as early as the end of July.

What can you plant after beets and what can you combine planting beets with?

Based on their plant compatibility, you can figure out what to plant after the beets. For example, you can choose color or white cabbage. Also, the answer to the question of what to plant after beets will be a list that contains:

• cucumbers and peppers;
• tomatoes and eggplant;
• potato.

In addition, it is possible to create a mixed bed, where beets will grow on the edge and cauliflower inside:

Which beets should I plant?

You can choose one of the following types:

• dining room;
• stern;
• sugar.

Selecting a type and beet varieties depends on the purpose of its use.

If the dacha is equipped with a room in which livestock is kept, then planting fodder beets will be required. For it you need to prepare the ground in advance. Add mineral fertilizers and compost to it. Then dig up. The seeds need to be sorted and pickled. If you wish, you can keep it in a stimulant solution. But it is permissible to sow without preliminary preparation seeds The pattern by which it is sown differs from that described above. Because root vegetables grow very large. The distance between the grooves should be more than 50 cm. Adjacent sprouts in the same row should be placed every 25 cm.

Those who need it only for food will need to plant table beets. This variety is especially sensitive to lack of light. Therefore, it is not advisable to place a bed with it in the garden so that it is not shaded by trees. This also explains the increased demands on weeding and thinning.

For amateurs, it is possible to plant sugar beets. However, it requires a special soil structure: it is desirable that the area is not peaty and sandy. It is advisable to fertilize this type of beet from sowing to the formation of the root crop. During intensive growth of tops, sugar beets are fed with nitrogen-containing fertilizer. When the time comes for fetal development, she needs potassium chloride and superphosphate.

Beets are one of my favorites garden crops, it can be found on almost every garden plot. The secret to a good beet harvest is making the right choice varieties, timely planting and good care.

There are quite a few varieties of table beets used in cooking. Experienced gardeners It is recommended to plant several varieties different periods maturation. The harvest is harvested in two terms, early varieties for consumption in summer, mid-season and late - for canning and storage.

Most popular varieties:

• early - Libero, Incomparable A 463, Vinaigrette Marmalade;

• mid-season - Dark-skinned, Negro, Larka;

• later - Cylinder, Ataman.

In addition, when purchasing, 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 vegetable is a matter of taste, but it has been noted that varieties with uniform pulp without rings are juicier.

Preparing a site for beets

Beets love warmth and bright light, so they need sunny plot with nutritious and loose soil. It grows well on peat soils, sandy loams and loams with high fertility. 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, grains;
• onion garlic.

• potatoes;
• all types of cabbage, radish;
• carrots, celery and parsnips.

Beetroot grows worst in areas where its closest relatives were grown: chard, fodder, sugar and table beets.

The plot is dug up at the end of the gardening season or in early spring on the bayonet of a shovel with the application of fertilizers indicated in the table.

It is important not to exceed recommended doses mineral fertilizers, otherwise the root crops will turn out 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, and ash.

It is better to make beds immediately before planting, this way more moisture will be retained in the soil and the seeds will germinate faster. The soil is loosened and leveled with a rake; if it has already dried out, you need to water it well, after which you can start sowing.

Seed treatment

Beet seeds are wrinkled drupes and are quite large in size, so they are easy to plant at the required intervals. Store-bought seeds are often treated with stimulants and fungicides and are easily recognized by their bright pink or greenish color. Such seeds do not need treatment; it can even be harmful. They are sown dry without preparation in moist soil.

The color of untreated beet seeds is brownish, sometimes sandy with a greenish tint. It is recommended to prepare them before planting in the manner described below.

1. Soak the seeds in water at room temperature for several hours. The floating seeds are thrown away; they usually germinate late and produce small root crops of irregular shape.
2. Drain the water and immerse the seeds, wrapped in gauze, in a solution of Epin, Zircon or another germination stimulator. Keep them in the solution for half an hour to 4 hours, following the instructions for use of the drug.
3. Remove from the stimulant solution and place in a warm place for 12-24 hours. During this time, the seeds swell, some of them hatch, after which you can begin planting.

Planting beets in open ground

In order for beets to please you with a good harvest, it is important to correctly determine the planting time. Single sprouts appear at a soil temperature of 5-7 degrees, but massive and friendly shoots can be achieved only when the soil warms up to a temperature of 13-16 degrees at a depth of 8-10 cm.

This usually happens no earlier than mid-May. It makes no sense to plant beets in open ground before - being in a cold wet soil, the seeds may rot, and the sprouted plants will then disappear.

On the prepared beds, grooves with a depth of about 2 cm are marked. It is convenient to make them using a board, pressing its end into the loosened soil - the bed of the grooves will be dense, and the planting depth will be the same. Having chosen 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 obtaining small root vegetables intended for summer consumption or pickling;
• 20-30 cm for varieties with large root crops for winter storage.

The grooves are watered from a watering can, preventing erosion, and left until the water is absorbed. The seeds are laid out at the bottom of the furrows, maintaining an interval of 4 to 10 cm, depending on the size and purpose of the selected variety. They are covered with soil or well-rotted humus on top and watered.

For large planting volumes, you can make a template, as in the figure, and the distances between plants will always be the same.

Video - Subtleties of planting beets in open ground

Beet care

Beets are unpretentious and drought-resistant, but they can produce a high yield only with good care and compliance with agricultural practices.

1. In dry and hot weather, beets are regularly watered from a watering can using sprinkling method. It is better to use water that has been settled and heated in the sun. At the same time, the leaves are refreshed, the plants accept feeding better, and grow faster.

   

2. Beets must be loosened regularly to prevent the formation of a hard soil crust. It is better to do this the morning after watering. The depth of loosening is no more than 3-4 cm, otherwise there is a risk of damaging the root crops.
3. Mulching will help reduce the frequency of watering and loosening, and will also reduce the number of weeds. Sawdust, straw, and humus are used as mulch.

   

4. Beets need to be weeded regularly from the emergence of seedlings until the leaves close, after which they are not afraid of weeds.
5. 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 root crops reach 1.5-2 cm in diameter, leaving enough space between them for the selected variety. The plucked plants can be used to make soups and salads.

   

6. Frequent feeding of beets is usually not required if the soil is properly prepared. On poor soils, in the first weeks after germination, you can water the seedlings with an infusion of mullein or chicken manure.
7. It is recommended to feed the plants two or three times during the growing season with a complex fertilizer containing microelements: potassium, boron, copper, molybdenum. Ash dusting is also useful and will also help in pest control.

   

Beet diseases and pests

With good care, beets rarely get sick or are affected by pests, but for a full harvest it is important not to miss the first signs of the disease.

Video - How to grow beets beautiful, healthy and tasty

Beetroot is a widely known and healthy vegetable. It is easy to grow and has a long shelf life. In the rather harsh conditions of our country, it provides us with the necessary vitamins during the harsh winter and during the period of spring vitamin deficiency. If the conditions are met, if you care for and love the plant, planting this vegetable with seeds in open ground is not difficult.

Beets are planted in different ways. It can be planted with seeds or seedlings. This is done in the spring or autumn; it is important to observe the correct timing. Spring planting seeds are carried out into open ground in the 1st-2nd decade of May, after the soil has completely warmed up.

If the seeds are placed in insufficiently warmed soil, the seedlings will begin to bolt and you may not expect a good harvest.

You can plant beet seeds in the fall, late October or November, it depends on your region. Planting is carried out when the air temperature drops to -4 degrees. You should not rush into planting; if the planted seeds wake up under the influence of heat, they will die.

Sometimes beets are planted as seedlings. With this method, the seeds are planted at home in special boxes. You can plant seeds at your dacha in a greenhouse or hothouse.

Seeds for seedlings need to be sown in early April, a month before they can be placed in open ground. Planting beets with seedlings allows you to get an early harvest and save seeds, since you can also plant the sprouts that remain after thinning on the beds.

The most popular varieties for growing in the country house or garden

Beetroot may be sugar, feed or table. Sugar and fodder varieties are usually grown in industrial scale and they don’t sow in dachas. On garden beds It’s more common to see table beets.

There are a lot of popular varieties, they differ in growth rate and storage duration. All table varieties are distinguished by high taste and bright color. Here are just a few:

1. . An early variety, the specimens are not very large with excellent taste. Root crops of bright burgundy color without rings on the cut, weighing about 200 g. The variety provides high yields.
2. . Mid-season productive root crop. Fully lives up to its name. Red beets, cylindrical up to 16 cm in length. Resistant to diseases, long shelf life.
3. . Mid-season variety with excellent productivity. Tasty, does not lose color when cooked. Weight 300-350g. Has good keeping quality.

Some varieties are excellent for the middle zone, others for the Urals and Siberia. When choosing seeds for planting, be sure to take into account the weather conditions of your region.

Varieties to plant in Siberia and the Urals

Particularly popular in Leningrad and other cold regions Merchant's wife, Cold-resistant 19, An ordinary miracle . These varieties are distinguished by excellent resistance to disease and cold, and high yield. The cylinder has also taken root well in these regions.

To plant in the Moscow region

Many varieties are grown in the Moscow region and western regions. Some gardeners prefer juicy early varieties that will not last until spring, but are very tasty and will provide vitamins in the fall and winter. Others plant late varieties, less juicy, but stored for a very long time.

Early varieties include Red Ball, Detroit, Mulatto. All of them produce high yields, are distinguished by intense color and good taste.

Bordeaux, Cylinder and Mona, also attracted Muscovites. These are later varieties, with high yield and excellent taste, they are stored for almost a whole year.

Instructions for planting beets with seeds in open ground

Soil preparation

Before planting vegetables according to step by step instructions, you need to prepare a bed for beets, do this in autumn. Select a sunny, open, well-drained place where cucumbers, tomatoes or onions previously grew. The vegetable grows poorly in places where carrots or cabbage used to live. Does not tolerate proximity to celery and garlic.

You can plant vegetables in the same place in 3-4 years. It does not tolerate waterlogging; it is better not to place the beds on clay soils. Sunny, well-drained planting areas are what this vegetable needs for good growth.

The selected area is completely cleared of any parts of the plants (roots, seeds, leaves). Humus and a complex of mineral fertilizers are added to the soil and the earth is dug up to the depth of a shovel. To make the soil for beets less dense, the soil is mixed with sand or sawdust. Wood ash is an excellent food for vegetables.

Beets do not tolerate fresh manure at all.

If the soil in the selected area is acidic, add a little lime, changing the pH to neutral or alkaline. The optimal value for beets is 6-7.

In spring, the soil in the garden bed is loosened with a rake and complex mineral fertilizer. The crop requires nitrogen and potassium-phosphorus fertilizers, as well as pest control.

Planting seeds in spring

The seeds are sorted and need to be kept in solution for a day growth stimulant or wood ash. For the preparation of which 2 tbsp. l of ash is poured with a liter of warm water, mix well.

After 2 days, the solution is drained; you can soak not only beets in it, but also the seed material of other vegetables. Ash provides seeds with a complex of essential minerals. After a day they are washed and placed in damp cloth, before landing.

In the garden bed, even furrows are made with a depth of 2-3 cm. These grooves are shed with water; some gardeners prefer warm water. When the water has been absorbed, large beet seeds are placed one at a time at a distance of 10 cm from each other and sprinkled with earth.

Beet seeds are multi-sprouting; one beet seed produces from 2 to 6 sprouts. Sprouted seeds are thinned out after the appearance of 2 leaves. The procedure is carried out a second time when the 4th leaf appears.

Autumn landing

Beet seeds are often sown in open ground in the fall, when the air temperature drops. up to -4 degrees. In this case, the soil is prepared in the same way, but the bed is made high, 20-25 cm, so as not to be washed away by melt water. Grooves at autumn planting deeper, 4 cm.

When planting in autumn, seed material does not need to be soaked and the bed is not watered.

When planting in autumn, dry seeds are planted in dry soil.

Benefits of autumn planting:

• seed material hardens well for the winter;
• early friendly shoots are ensured;
• frees up time for other gardening tasks;
• harvest ripens much earlier.

This method has only one drawback, but it must be taken into account. Beet harvest planted before winter does not keep for long.

To protect the seeds from frost, cover the bed with straw on top and cover it with snow. In the spring, when the air warms up to +7-10 degrees, the straw is removed. This method allows you to get an early harvest, even if spring warmth is delayed.

Planting seedlings at home

Seeds are planted in special boxes or under film in the country, a month before planting in open ground. The distance between rows is 5-8 cm, between seed material 3-5 cm. When 2 leaves appear, the seedlings are thinned out, leaving the strongest sprouts; after the 4 leaves appear, they are watered abundantly and carefully, together with a lump of earth, transferred to open beds.

Before planting in the ground, seedlings begin to be hardened by removing the film daily and ventilating the sprouts at home. In order for the sprouts to get used to it, they need 7-10 days.

Plant one sprout at a time, after 10 cm. At a tender age, the sprouts take root well in a new place. Such good way allows you to get a high, early harvest and save on seeds, because all the sprouts can be planted.

At what distance and according to what pattern should I plant in the ground?

On narrow and long beds, vegetables are often sown crosswise, with the distance between the seeds 10 cm, and between the rows 20-25 . This method makes it easier to care for crops. This is a one line method.

With the two-line planting method, two even furrows are made at a distance 25 cm from each other, then leave a strip 50 cm wide free. This is how they alternate planting. They also use a three-line scheme, when the vegetable is planted in 3 rows, through 20-25 cm. This is done to facilitate watering, weeding and loosening the soil.

To grow big harvest, beets need to be watered regularly and the soil in the beds loosened.

Beetroot is an unpretentious vegetable that produces excellent harvests if you follow the tips and secrets described. Gardeners grow it in southern regions, Belarus, Chelyabinsk region, middle lane and northern regions. It is good in our usual first courses, various salads, and is used to make preparations for the winter.

It stores well, providing us with the necessary minerals and vitamins until the new harvest. It can cleanse the blood and normalize digestion. All these qualities have made beets popular among different nations, and the history of their cultivation dates back many centuries.

Exist different ways sowing beets. The two planting options are seeds and seedlings. The right time may be spring or autumn, the main thing is to comply correct timing. carried out during the 1st-2nd decade of May, when the soil becomes completely warmed up.

If the seeds are in insufficiently warmed soil, the seedlings will shoot and a good harvest will not be obtained.

The autumn period can also be chosen for planting beet seeds, usually late October or November, depending on the region. Landing is carried out when the air temperature reaches -4 degrees. It should not be carried out too quickly, as the seeds awakened by the heat may die.

Often beets are planted using seedlings. In this case, the seeds are planted at home. Planting is also done inside a greenhouse or greenhouse.

Seedling seeds are sown when the first days of April arrive and a month later they are placed in open ground. Seedling method Planting beets ensures an early harvest and saves seeds, since the sprouts remaining after thinning are also suitable for planting.

What does it depend on?

Sowing time for beets is determined by the climate conditions of the region in which you live. The optimal time to plant vegetables is when the last frost has passed. The sowing time is also affected by whether you are going to cover the crops with film.

Sowing time also determines the beet variety. Generally, early varieties should be sown earlier, and late varieties should be planted later. Upon landing late varieties the formation of a coarser root crop will occur too early.

The timing of sowing seedlings and planting in open ground in the spring - what is the difference?

You can often hear advice to plant beets early. spring period, in March. However, it does not tolerate frost very well, you should keep this in mind. In the Ural and Siberian areas, beets will have to be planted in open ground one way or another when mid-May arrives. When seedlings are grown at home for a long time, they become stretched and future productivity decreases. This means that to plant seedlings in the garden, it is more correct to sow them in April, in the early days or in the middle.

The appearance of 2-3 true leaves means the seedlings are ready for open ground. It is important to prevent excessive growth of seedlings. If the roots rest on the bottom of the box, the shape of the root crops may turn out to be incorrect.

Planting seedlings in the garden occurs when the soil is heated to at least +10 degrees (usually mid-May).

When to sow seeds?

The best thing

Beets are a heat-loving vegetable, so they are planted in soil that is warmed up to +5-10 degrees. The timing of planting beets varies depending on the climate. For example, in the southern regions (Krasnodar, Kuban) beets are planted in March-April. At the same time, in the Moscow region it occurs in the early to mid-May days, and in the Siberian and Ural areas it occurs in the second half of May.

It is prohibited to sow beets except when the soil is warmed to a depth of 10 cm (in spring), or otherwise than in the fall for winter planting in late-early October-November.

What happens if work is carried out at odd hours?

If you sow beets for seedlings before mid-April under weather conditions that do not allow planting in the garden, the seedlings will stretch.

Briefly about how to grow vegetables

Read more about what can be planted after beets, next to the crop and what predecessors are suitable for it.

When grown in the right place, beets do not require fertilizing.

We invite you to watch a video on how to properly grow beets:

The time when beets are planted is the most important factor in caring for her. In open ground and in autumn. Seedling seeds are planted when one and a half months remain before transplanting into open ground conditions.

At a temperature of +5 degrees, the seeds begin to germinate and can withstand short-term cold snaps down to -2 degrees. But freezing should be avoided as this leads to flowering of plants.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

To grow table beets that are sweet and healthy and suitable for long-term storage, you need to know the intricacies of agricultural technology for this vegetable. Anyone who masters this science is guaranteed a varied vitamin menu throughout the winter.

Beets are unpretentious and ready to grow in all latitudes, with the exception of permafrost. You can opt for regionalized local varieties or experiment with new hybrids with increased hardiness.

The ripening period of beets depends on the variety and ranges from 80 to 130 days. You can adjust the ripening time by planting beets under a greenhouse or seedlings, first germinating the seeds.

The most popular varieties suitable for growing in any climatic conditions:

Valenta– an early ripening variety with sweet, dark red flesh, cold-resistant, shelf-stable, disease-resistant.

Ataman– medium late variety, cylindrical fruits weighing 300 g, burgundy, sweet with homogeneous pulp, very well stored.

Cylinder– a medium-late variety with an elongated bright red fruit, the weight of which reaches 500 g, strong immunity and good keeping quality.

Podzimnyaya- a mid-early cold-resistant variety, resistant to most diseases, round fruits weighing 200 - 400 g with burgundy pulp.

Red hero– mid-early high-yielding variety, cylindrical dark red fruits with thin skin and uniform pulp weighing 200–550 g.

Red ice– mid-early variety, the fruits are bright red, with structured pulp, light weight - 200–300 g, well stored.

Bicores– mid-season, high-yielding variety, bright red fruits weighing 200-350 g, long-lasting.

If you plan to eat beets from your garden all year round, then you need to plant both early and late varieties of beets.

Landing dates

More often, beets are planted in the spring, when the air warms up to 15-18 C. You can do this a little earlier, in April by planting ungerminated seeds under a greenhouse.

If the spring is too cold, you can move the planting date to a later time, choosing beets early date maturation.

Winter beets are sown with dry seeds before the onset of frost. Only specially oriented varieties are selected for this purpose. The crop areas are covered. They begin to grow in early spring and provide a summer beet harvest. Root crops ripened in summer cannot be stored for long periods of time.

Preparing the soil for beets

The soil is dug up in the fall after careful harvesting of the previous harvest. Organic components (compost or manure) are applied as deeply as possible - 30-35 centimeters. It is possible to organize something similar warm bed, but with a thin layer of organic matter so that it has time to decompose by the time the beet root grows to it.

The acidity of the earth is reduced by scattering dolomite flour, ground eggshells or wood ash.

It is better to apply mineral additives - superphosphate and potassium sulfate - in the fall so that they have time to dissolve in the soil. They are scattered dry over the bed before digging at a rate of no more than 0.3 kg. by one square meter land.

The root crop develops better in loose soil. In the spring, it is good to dig up the bed again and mulch it with peat or rotted sawdust.

Site selection, crop rotation

Rules for choosing a place for beets:

1. beets love space; the sparser the root crops are planted from each other, the more space they have for growing rounded barrels;
2. if there is no need for large plantations of this root crop, beets can be planted in a border method next to potatoes, cucumbers, beans, next to greens or onions;
3. beets need frequent irrigation, but stagnation of water will lead to rotting, which means the bed must be laid out next to the watering source in a well-drained area;
4. Beets are not planted twice in a row in the same place; crop rotation is observed very carefully;
5. the preceding plants for this vegetable are onions, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, carrots, zucchini;
6. It is undesirable to plant beets after cabbage and for the second year in a row in one place.

If you have to displace any crops in the garden by planting them on poor soil, then you can safely do this with beets. Its growth can be ensured by good loosening of the soil, timely watering and fertilizer.

Seed preparation

Beet seeds before planting:

• check for germination - pour into a glass of salted water, mix and remove any that float;
• hardened by alternation hot water and cold, withstanding in every temperature conditions for several hours;
• disinfected by keeping for 12 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
• stimulated by soaking in a growth stimulator.
• germinate if the seeds are prepared for growing beet seedlings.

For pre-winter planting, you need to limit yourself only to checking for germination and disinfection - excessively swollen seeds can germinate in the winter and die.

Planting beets in open ground

Beet seeds are large compared to most garden crops. Sowing will not be difficult.

Sow beets in furrows 3-5 centimeters deep with a distance of 5 centimeters from each other and 20 centimeters between rows.

Winter crops are buried 10 centimeters so that the seeds do not die.

When planting beets in open ground as seedlings, the interval is set to at least 20 centimeters.

Beet care

The process of growing beets includes watering, fertilizing, loosening and mandatory thinning.

Beets are not required at all close attention, if it grows in good soil and with proper watering. But if the plant lacks nutrition, it will have a bad effect on taste or lead to diseases.

1. Phoma of beet fruits and leaves develops with a lack of boron and is expressed in the appearance of lightened spots on the foliage; it is also fraught with curvature and the appearance of cavities in the root crop.
2. Cercospora blight is caused by excessive moisture in the beds.
3. Excess nitrogen in the soil will cause the beets to taste bitter and earthy.

Watering and fertilizing

After germination, beets need to be watered frequently - once every two to three days, alternating watering with shallow loosening so as not to damage the roots. There is no need to hill this root crop. But it is good to form a hog between the rows of beets through which water will flow. In case of soil erosion, add a thin layer of humus on top.

Loosening can be replaced by mulching. A layer of crushed dried grass placed between the rows will help conserve moisture.

A one-time application of mineral fertilizers before planting is sufficient for beets. It makes sense to carry out additional fertilizing only if the plants are noticeably stunted in growth.

Periodic watering of beets with diluted herbal infusions or yeast fertilizers is suitable as preventive fertilizing.

Two or three times a season you can water the beets with salted water at the rate of one tablespoon per 10 liters of water. Or use complex fertilizers according to the instructions, for example, Makbor.

Root crops accumulate nitrates more actively than other crops. When growing beets, it is better to opt for natural fertilizers.

Optimal planting density

Important point in caring for beets - thinning. It is carried out in several stages so that the owner has the opportunity to evaluate the growing roots and select the best of them. Before each thinning, it is necessary to fill the beets well.

When the first pair of leaves appears, the weakest plants are removed. In the future, when thinning, diseased specimens are removed; good roots that are too thick can be transplanted to a new place or used for food as greens.

From the initial distance between plants of 5 centimeters, you eventually need to reach an interval of 15-20 centimeters.

Harvest and storage

Beets are harvested in the fall before the onset of cold weather, when the leaves on the plant wither. When harvesting, you must act carefully, using a shovel to pry up large layers of soil and remove the root crops one at a time.

The soil is carefully shaken off the fruit, and it is better not to cut off the remaining corolla of leaves - just remove the wilted stems.

Store medium-sized root vegetables with intact skin in a dry room at a temperature of 2 to 5 C.

Beet diseases and pests

The main pests of any root crops are moles, mole crickets and rodents. Beet flea beetles, wireworms and slugs are also dangerous. In addition, plants are affected by various rots and nematodes.

To combat these troubles, one must first of all maintain hygiene. personal plot– high-quality cleaning, careful deep digging and preventive treatment of plantings with natural disinfectants – wood ash, tobacco dust, hot pepper powder.

These root vegetables are famous for their unpretentiousness and consistency. They are well stored in basements and vegetable pits, saving useful material until spring. Be sure to find a place on your plot for beets.