Beetroot should not be missing from any garden! You can grow and store the earthy- flavored root for the whole season without much effort. This makes it an ideal winter vegetable! From a nutritional point of view, it is also very healthy because it contains many vitamins and minerals. In the kitchen, you can use beetroot raw and cooked. The leaves are also edible.
Beetroot Varieties
Red beetroot (Beta vulgaris) belongs to the goosefoot family and is closely related to chard. Beets come in many shapes and colors. The best known by far are dark red to purple round turnips, such as the red ball variety, but there are also pear-shaped and pointed beetroot varieties. Roller-shaped beets such as Forono are easy to work with in the kitchen. Many people don’t know that beetroot is also available in white and yellow, such as the Burpees Golden variety. The Tondo di Choggia variety is particularly pretty to look at; its tuber is marbled pink and white. We love the Robuschka variety from Bingenheimer Saatgut.
Planting Beetroot
Beetroot is usually sown directly outside from mid-April on, when the soil has already warmed up a little. You can start them inside on the windowsill from March onwards and plant them outdoors in April. The young plants are not always transplantable, especially if the roots are damaged.
Place the seeds about two centimetres deep in the soil. For indoor planting, it is best to use flower pots or planters. When sowing directly into the bed, the distance between the seeds should be about ten centimetres and the distance between the rows should be 25 to 30 centimeters. If you sow them too densely, separate the plants so that the beets can develop optimally. In principle, beetroot tolerates light frost, however, it does not hurt to cover seeds and freshly planted young plants with a fleece. Depending on the variety, you can sow beetroot until the end of August. Our tip: sow several times at intervals of about four weeks, so you can harvest the whole summer. Beetroot seeds can germinate for up to five years.
Location and Maintenance
Beetroot is considered easy to cultivate, as it makes few demands on location and soil. It likes a sunny spot in the garden, but it can also cope with semi-shade. As it has rather deep roots, the soil should be permeable and not too heavy.
If there is too much nitrogen in the soil, beetroot will store nitrate, therefore you should fertilize them rather moderately. Make sure you water them regularly. This will make the beets tender and juicy. Otherwise, the plants are considered robust and less susceptible to diseases and pests. Occasionally, leaf spot disease can occur. Snails are particularly prevalent in young plants and leaves. Also, beetroot is a biennial plant. It usually flowers only in the second year.
Harvest, Use, and Conservation
Depending on the variety, location, and planting time, you can harvest beetroot after about 12 to 16 weeks. It’s better to harvest a beet that’s smaller rather than larger. Otherwise it will no longer taste good; a size between a golf ball and a tennis ball is considered ideal. Carefully dig the turnip with a claw culitivator and turn the leaves. Make sure you don’t hurt it. The beetroot will not only bleed out; it also decays quickly.
In the kitchen, beetroot can be prepared raw and cooked. Leaves and young turnips are suitable uncooked for salads and smoothies. Larger ones can also be served cooked in salads. You can also serve them as stews, roasted, or as a garnish. You can prepare the leaves like spinach. Harvested before frost, you can store beetroot fresh like carrots. You can also pickle or juice them. Also, beetroot is not only suitable for growing in the garden. You can also grow them as shoots or microgreens on the windowsill, so you can harvest the fresh greens all winter.
