How to plant beets in open ground in spring. How to thin out beets in open ground correctly. Optimal planting density

Beetroot is a biennial crop. After planting, large leaves grow, as well as a root crop. In the second year, flowers with seeds appear. Root crops have different sizes, shapes and weights. The size of the root crop depends on the variety, as well as the conditions of detention. The root crop has a round and conical shape. From one square meter you can harvest 3-4 kilograms of crop. Professionals harvest 4-6 kilograms of crops.

Planting a crop requires compliance with certain rules. It is advisable not to plant beets next to corn. Corn is capable of drawing enormous amounts of moisture from the ground. In such conditions, the beets will feel hungry.

Landing

The yield increases if you plant the plant next to the following crops:

• Beans.
• Tomatoes.
• Potato.
• Spinach.
• Garlic.
• Salad.
• Radish.

Seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 5-6 degrees. Sprouts begin to sprout after 1 week. The seedlings are resistant to cool climates. Sprouts can withstand temperatures down to -2 degrees. An adult plant can withstand temperatures down to -4 degrees. For beets, the optimal temperature is 18-20 degrees. When beets form roots, the need for heat increases. During this period, the air temperature should be from 20 to 25 degrees.

Choosing a plot of land

It is best to plant the crop on loose and moist soil. The correct option would be land with a low content of alkalis and acids. On alkaline soils the plant does not produce a crop. It is necessary to plant the plant in illuminated areas of the ground. The culture begins to stretch when it lacks sunlight. In such conditions there is a risk of crop failure.

Fertilizer is applied a year before planting. Organic mixtures are used as fertilizer. If you were unable to fertilize last year, apply humus before planting. Humus is added to the soil at the rate of 4 kg per 1-2 meters of land. If the soil is highly acidic, then lime is added. Lime is added to the ground at the rate of 300-700 grams per 1 meter.

How to plant seeds

You can start planting seeds then, when spring temperatures reach 5-6 degrees. Before planting, the seeds are soaked in water so that the seedlings sprout quickly. The seeds are dried at a temperature of 18-20 degrees. During the drying period, single seedlings appear. It is necessary to sow dry seeds.

Seeds can be sown in such a way that there is no need to thin them later. To do this, it is necessary to maintain proportions in planting, as well as properly process the seeds. In this case, the distance between the holes should be 10 centimeters. Seeds must be treated with fertilizing. Fertilizers that contain oxygen are especially useful. In this case, the seeds will be strong and the sprouts will be strong. Such seedlings appear quickly, and there is no need to thin them out.

You need to sow in three lines. The seeds are buried in the ground to a depth of 4-5 centimeters. Heavy soil can slow down the growth of beets. In heavy soil it is necessary to sow to a depth of 3 centimeters. Productivity depends on weather conditions. Beets can freeze when the temperature drops below 5 degrees. Planting beets in 2 terms allows you to get a guaranteed harvest. The first planting occurs at the beginning of May, and the second at the end.

The culture needs to be fed so that there are no problems with the harvest. During 1 season, 3 feedings are carried out.

You can thin out beets twice when necessary. First thinning occurs when the plant has 2 leaves. Leaves appear 10 days after germination of seedlings. There should be a distance of 3-4 centimeters between the sprouts.

Second thinning occurs when 3-4 leaves appear. The distance between plants should be 8-10 centimeters. Thinning is best done after rain or watering. The plant is easy to pull out of damp soil. But it is not necessary to pull out the whole beets. To carry out thinning, it will be enough to pinch the greens. This method eliminates the possibility of damage to the roots of the remaining plants. You should not pick varieties with elongated roots. When transplanting such varieties, the integrity of the roots is damaged. As a result, the root crop grows inferior.

It should be taken into account that round root crops are not damaged during transplantation. Varieties with such a system are not susceptible to injury after plucking. To make beets sweet, they are fed with fertilizers containing magnesium and boron. Nitrogen is added when leaves are not growing well.

Watering and tillage

You should pay attention to soil care. Soil is necessary loosen regularly. Loosening allows you to eliminate the appearance of dry crust on the soil. At first, the earth is loosened to a depth of 5 centimeters. Gradually the depth increases to 10. The root crop should be hilled if it peeks out of the ground. Beets love moisture. The root crop begins to dry out when it peeks out of the ground. Beds with crops must be watered. The beds are moistened before planting, as well as after sowing.

Throughout the season it is necessary carry out regular watering. It is best to water using a watering can. Special sprayers are well suited for watering beets. Such sprayers automatically water. Sprayers distribute moisture evenly throughout the area. Thus, the water evenly moistens the entire area. No breaks between watering are allowed when the root crop is actively forming. Watering stops a month before harvesting.

Beets belong to the goosefoot family and are a very undemanding cold-resistant plant in terms of planting and care conditions, which is recommended to be planted on loose soils and well watered. At what time should beets be planted in the spring, under what conditions, and after what vegetable crops is it best to plant them on your own plot? Today’s article will help you sort out all these important questions.

When should you start preparing to plant beets? Experts strongly advise starting the preparatory stage in the autumn with preparing the soil. To do this, it is not only necessary to remove the remaining parts of vegetable crops from the beds, but also to enrich the soil with organic fertilizers. When all this is done, the soil will need to be dug up to a depth that is equal to the height of the shovel. Also, if the condition of the soil on the site is poor, it is additionally fed with mineral fertilizers.

To do this, about 20 grams of ammonium nitrate or the same amount of ammonium sulfate, 40 grams of superphosphate, 15 grams of potassium chloride per square meter are added to the soil. As for organic fertilizers, it is customary to use about 4 kg of compost or 3 kg of humus per square meter. In the case where the soil has a high percentage of acidity, the well-known lime should be added to it.

The bed should not be shaded by anything, otherwise future vegetables will lack a rich color. Before planting beets in the spring, the soil must also be loosened using a rake for this purpose. Adding dolomite flour to the soil during this period has also worked well. The soil for proper planting must be fertile loamy or sandy loam, with a neutral acidity level. Remember that this vegetable crop has a negative attitude towards such types of soil as loamy, dense clay, acidic or waterlogged.

If you did everything correctly, then the soil is ready by the time you are ready to plant beets. The soil should also warm up to 5 degrees, because at a lower temperature the seeds may germinate, and then you simply won’t wait for the harvest of your favorite vegetables. There are several ways to properly plant this vegetable crop. The first step is planting seeds. To prepare, they are soaked in a solution of a growth stimulator, or simple ash will do. After a day, the seeds should be washed with water and then wrapped in cloth. Before planting the seeds, the soil will need to be moistened. For these purposes, special grooves are made approximately 4 cm deep, the distance between which should be up to 20 cm. Then water is poured into them. Once all this is done, the seeds can be planted individually.

Over time, the seedlings will have to be thinned out, because more than one plant most often appears from each such fruit. That is why it is recommended to plant seeds less frequently. The planting pattern should resemble a kind of lattice. The following schemes for planting beets are also known: one-line, which involves sowing seeds into prepared furrows to a depth of about 4 cm, and it is customary to leave about 45 cm between them, and two-line - its essence is that two furrows are made, the distance between which is up to 25 cm, then a gap of 50 cm is left, after which a couple of lines are made again. Care consists of rare loosening of the soil and timely weeding.

To avoid thinning in the future, you can plant beets as seedlings. It is grown in a greenhouse, making the distance between the grooves about 6 cm, and the seeds are advised to be sown 3 cm apart. Planting of seedlings is done a month before they are moved to the main place. It is necessary to replant seedlings when the plant has about 4 leaves. The sprouts will definitely need to be hardened, and the room will also need to be ventilated regularly.

When you decide to plant it in the ground, you will need to water it thoroughly. Each sprout is immersed with its root system in a clay solution, after which it is planted in the garden according to a special scheme.

If we take into account the compatibility factor of vegetable crops, we can find out that tomatoes, potatoes, onions, and cucumbers are considered the best predecessors of beets on a personal plot. Experts do not recommend planting this plant after carrots, cabbage, and chard. And after the beets themselves, you can plant crops such as tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. It is possible to plan the creation of mixed beds, where beets will be planted along the edges and, for example, cauliflower inside.

Nowadays you can see three types of beets in household plots - root sugar beet, leaf beet, which has the beautiful name chard, and fodder. Each gardener himself chooses the type and variety he needs for planting. You can grow beets for your own needs, then the dining room would be an excellent option. And fodder is usually planted by those summer residents who keep livestock. You can also plant beets along the edge of the plot, and celery or kohlrabi in the center.

After all the mandatory conditions for proper planting of beets have been met, all you have to do is timely loosen and weed the soil to ensure it has access to oxygen vital for the full growth and development of the crop, as well as fertilize it with modern fertilizers in recommended doses, and thoroughly water your garden.

Video “Sowing and planting beets”

Optimal landing time

Many gardeners are interested in an important question - when should they plant beets in their garden? Experts unanimously declare that beets can be planted twice a season. What is the time frame for its planting? For the first time, vegetables can be planted in the garden in the spring, when the soil has already warmed up quite well in depth - at least 10 cm. Typically, these dates fall at the beginning of May. It is in well-warmed soil that excellent germination of seeds is noted, and their full growth and harmonious development are also possible. The second time beets can be planted in the autumn, which falls at the end of October. This type of planting is also called winter planting. This option for planting vegetables has one huge advantage - beets can ripen quite early, and already at the end of July your whole family will have an excellent opportunity to enjoy their favorite root vegetable.

Video “What to plant before winter”

From the video you will learn which beet varieties are most resistant in late winter and early spring.

The benefits of vegetables are undeniable. Everyone knows that they should be included in our diet without fail and preferably daily.
And grown in the garden, with your own hands, they are many times healthier and tastier.
Vegetables are an integral part of most dishes.
Having a summer cottage, you can grow small volumes of different types of these useful plants.
We will devote today's article to growing beets and caring for them.
Fresh young tops, sweet juicy root vegetables rich in vitamins and beneficial microelements are worth spending your time caring for the plant.
Characteristics, popular varieties
Beetroot is a biennial plant, which is represented by a rosette of succulent leaves of different sizes, and also has a fleshy, juicy root crop, the color, shape and size of which are determined by the variety.
It gained popularity for its simple agricultural cultivation techniques, valuable properties, and the possibility of long-term storage. Contains sugar, fiber, organic acids, mineral salts, vitamins C, B, B2, P, PP. It is also high in calories compared to other vegetables.
Contains many alkalis with a small amount of acids. Beetroot juice is used to cleanse the blood, is good for the digestive system, and is used to treat colds and viral diseases.
Table beets are quite demanding of heat, so the temperature regime is very important when growing them.
The best varieties are the result of foreign and domestic selection. In the first case, these are such as the Polish Chervona Kulya, Regala, Bikores, Bolivar, in the second - Bordeaux 237, Diy, Bagryannaya, Smena, Delicatesnaya.
For consumption in the autumn-winter period, the Egyptian Flat variety is recommended, for canning and storage - Cylinder, Detroit.
How to plant beets?
The key to a bountiful harvest is a sunny, well-lit place. You can also plant where cabbage, cucumbers, potatoes, and tomatoes used to grow. Moreover, next year the place must be changed, but it can be returned only after 3-4 years. Acidic, swampy soils are not suitable for beets, but they will take root well in organic-rich, loamy soils.
In addition, the land must be well cultivated and cleared of weeds. Before planting, the bed is dug up, fertilizers are applied: ammonium nitrate, superphosphate, potassium chloride, humus or compost, and, if necessary, lime.
There are two ways to grow beets:
sowing seeds directly into the beds;
seedlings.
In the first case, the sowing pattern is mainly single-line (45 cm between rows) or two-line - 25 cm between lines and 50 cm between tapes. Plant to a depth of 3-4 cm and mulch the rows.
The seedling method involves sowing seeds in a greenhouse in nests of 3-4 seeds, and the seedlings are subsequently thinned out. Seedlings are planted in a permanent place when they reach a height of no more than 8 cm, and they should not be buried too deep. The width between rows is 30 cm, between plants - 15-20.
When to plant beets?
You can sow beets both in spring and before winter (late October - early November). In spring, the ground should warm up well (8-10˚C to a depth of 10 cm).
The advantage of autumn sowing is an earlier harvest at the end of June. In order for the seeds to germinate better and faster, they are pre-soaked in water several days before sowing.
The timing of planting beets to obtain seedlings is 10 days earlier than on a ridge in open ground.
Vegetable care
It is important not only to plant beets correctly, but also to carry out proper care measures: fertilizing, watering, thinning, weeding and others.
Fertilizing is carried out immediately after rooting of seedlings, and after 4 weeks - a second one. Potassium and nitrogen should predominate in the fertilizer.
Water for the first time when young, well-developed shoots appear. The last one is 15-20 days before harvest. Moreover, it is necessary to water so that the water reaches a depth of 20 cm. Then the soil is loosened.
Beetroot is characterized by dense seedlings, since each seed is a cluster of several seeds. Therefore, it is very important to carry out thinning to avoid stretching of plants and deformation of root crops. It needs to be done as early as possible.
The first is carried out in the phase of two true leaves, leaving 2-3 cm between plants, the second - beets have 4-5 leaves, the distance is 6-7 cm.
It is also important to carry out weeding and loosening, and this work should not be delayed.
Before frost sets in, beets are harvested, carefully digging them up, cleared of soil, the tops are cut off, leaving a petiole of no more than 1 cm. For storage, it is better to choose specimens measuring 7-10 cm in diameter.
First, the root crops are sorted, dried and placed in boxes, sprinkled with bulk material (sand, dry peat, sawdust). It is better to store in a cellar, a cool place with good ventilation.

seed beets has such a structure that when planting it in open ground thinning can't be avoided. It is a bag in which several more micro-seeds are enclosed. A sprout will emerge from each one and a young plant will develop. And then the “kids” will feel cramped in one “nest.” For active growth and a rich harvest, they need to be planted. When and how It’s better to do this - we’ll figure it out.

Photo: from one beet seed 2-4 shoots grew, which it was time to thin out.

When is the best time to thin beets?

First thinning. Upon landing beets seeds in open ground, it is necessary to thin out the seedlings for the first time when one true leaf appears. Optimal conditions for thinning: moist soil (after rain or watering) and, preferably, a cloudy day. The seedlings are thinned out, leaving a distance of 3-4 or 7-8 cm between them.

Second thinning. 2-3 weeks after the first thinning, the second is carried out. At this stage, the plants should have 4-6 true leaves. The distance between plants is at least 20 cm. It is worth noting that if you delay thinning too much, the harvest will be worse.

Thinning. Replanting beets during thinning

People often ask on forums: Is it possible to replant beets after thinning? Not only is it possible, but it is also necessary. Why throw away plants that can also produce a harvest. Beets transplanted after thinning take root well. If there is no separate bed, you can plant beets on the sides of beds of other vegetables.

How to thin out beets: mini-instructions

• Plantings are watered or thinned after rain (in moist soil the seedlings are better separated from each other).
• In each “nest” the largest and most powerful plant is found (it is left).
• The remaining shoots are separated and set aside.
• If necessary, add soil to the place where the pulled out shoots used to sit. !There is no need to hill up the plants themselves!
• It is not necessary to throw away the extra seedlings - they can be planted along the beds with carrots, onions or potatoes (see below).

How to replant beets after thinning: mini-instructions

• We take the plants remaining after thinning and move them to the planting site.
• The soil in the garden bed should be moist, so it should be watered first.
• Use a stick or finger to make a hole in the ground and plant the plant in it.
• After planting, water again.

It is not necessary to occupy a separate bed for replanting the beets remaining after thinning. You can plant it along the edge of onion or carrot beds, along a potato strip (as we do). Baba Tanya claims that the transplanted beets turn out to be even larger than the seedlings left in the main bed. It’s probably easier for her to grow away from her fellow vegetables, in the company of other vegetables :)

Thinned plantings(first thinning - distance 3-4 cm):

Transplanted beets(it’s still lying dormant, but very soon it will come to life, begin to grow and give a rich harvest:

Question: How to plant beets so as not to thin them later?

Painstaking thinning can be avoided if:

• plant beets with seedlings (this was discussed in one of the previous articles) or
• choose a single-germ variety.

In any other case, no matter how hard you try, it is impossible to plant beets without thinning them later. Here, again, you need to remember what a beet seed is (see the beginning of the article).

How to thin out beets: video

Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a video about thinning beets. We’ll try to make the video ourselves, but next season. In the meantime, we suggest watching a video on how to plant beets. This video will be of interest to those who are planning to replant beets after thinning:

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.

Selection of varieties and seeds

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, weighing up to 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 early ripening beets.

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. Summer-ripened root crops 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. You can organize some semblance of a warm bed, but with a thin layer of organic matter so that it has time to decompose by the time the beet root grows into 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 garden bed before digging at a rate of no more than 0.3 kg. per square meter of 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 alternating hot water and cold, maintaining each temperature 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.

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 do not require close attention at all if they grow 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. Phomosis 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

An important point in caring for beets is 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.

These troubles should be combated, first of all, by observing the hygiene of the 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 cellars and vegetable pits, preserving useful substances until spring. Be sure to find a place on your plot for beets.

Beetroot is one of the favorite garden crops; it can be found in almost every garden plot. The secret to a good beet harvest lies in the correct choice of variety, timely planting and good care.

Growing beets in open ground

Variety selection

There are quite a few varieties of table beets used in cooking. Experienced gardeners recommend planting several varieties of different ripening periods. The harvest is harvested in two periods, early varieties for consumption in the summer, mid-season and late varieties for canning and storage.

The most popular varieties:

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

Beetroot Vinaigrette Marmalade

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

Beet Black

• later - Cylinder, Ataman.

Beet 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.

Varieties with uniform pulp without rings are juicier

Preparing a site for beets

Beets love warmth and bright light, so they need a sunny area 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 using a shovel with the application of fertilizers indicated in the table.

It is important not to exceed the recommended doses of 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

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

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.

Beet seeds treated with stimulants and fungicides

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.

Beet seed treatment

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 only be achieved 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 cold, damp soil, the seeds can rot, and the sprouted plants will then disappear.

Beets are usually planted no earlier than mid-May.

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.

Planting beets

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

Pattern for sowing beets at the same distance

Video - The 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 the 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.

   In dry and hot weather, beets are regularly watered from a watering can using sprinkling method

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.

   Mulching will help reduce the frequency of watering and loosening

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.

   In the phase of two true leaves, the plants are thinned out

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 droppings.
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

It is simply impossible to imagine borscht, herring under a fur coat or vinaigrette without beets; they are tasty and extremely healthy. In this article you will learn all the secrets of growing root vegetables in open ground.

Beets grown in open ground

1. Beets are a light-loving vegetable, so you won’t be able to get a good harvest by organizing beds in the shade;
2. Seeds germinate at temperatures above 5 degrees, so before planting them, make sure the soil is warm enough, otherwise you risk triggering the bolting process;
3. The quantity and quality of the harvest largely depends on proper watering. Although the vegetable grows even in dry conditions, for excellent growth it is recommended to water it 2-3 times a week;
4. Do not forget to feed and protect from pests in a timely manner.

Which variety to choose

There are several varieties of vegetables:

• Dining room. We use it for cooking. It can be round, flat and cylindrical. There is pink, light and wine-burgundy. Red ball and bohemia are considered the best for growing in open ground; their harvest can be harvested after 10-11 weeks. Egyptian flat, Bona and Detroit ripen a little longer (16-17 weeks). The late variety is Cylinder, you can try it after 19 weeks.

Table beet

• Sugar. It is used, as you know, for the production of sugar. Grown mainly in the southern regions. Prominent representatives of this category are the already mentioned Detroit variety, as well as Bohemia, Bona and Larca.

Sugar beet

• Stern. People do not eat it; they grow it mainly to feed livestock. Root crops are quite large and come in round, oval and conical shapes.

Fodder beet

Landing

The plant is planted in open ground at an average daily temperature of at least 5 degrees. Planting with insufficient warming threatens the appearance of flower stalks and poor quality of root crops. The optimal time for planting is the May holidays, when the soil is still moist.

Soil preparation

The vegetable grows well in light, fertile, nitrogen-rich soil. Areas where cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants or onions previously grew are suitable for growing it. It is not worth creating beds where chard, carrots and/or cabbage were located last year.

It is advisable to prepare the site in late March - early April. Each square meter must be fertilized with a mixture, the preparation of which will require: 35 g of superphosphate, 20 g of ammonium sulfate and the same amount of ammonium nitrate, 15 g of potassium chloride. For greater fertility, it is not forbidden to add a couple of kilograms of humus to each square of the plot. Acidic soil needs to be neutralized by pouring one and a half kilos of fluff lime per m2.

Bed with lime for beets

At the beginning of May, you need to start sowing, having first dug up the ground and organized the beds.

Planting seeds

Success largely depends on the quality of the selected seeds. Remember that they should be hard and not pressed, without an unpleasant odor. It is better to purchase them from trusted sellers.

Before planting, the seeds must be prepared - soaked in cold water for 20 hours or in warm water for literally half an hour. Attention: you should not soak seeds in granules, since the procedure will nullify the entire effect of granulation. Afterwards they can be sent into the ground, not deep - literally 1-2 cm.

Beet seeds

The germination process can be accelerated by bubbling, in other words, soaking in water saturated with oxygen. A special apparatus is used for this purpose, but a regular compressor for aquariums is also suitable. The procedure takes from 12 to 18 hours; at the first signs of germination, transfer the seeds to well-moistened soil. The larger the gap between the seedlings, the larger the root crop will be, but you should not strive to grow kilogram vegetables, since their taste will not be as pleasant as that of medium-sized fruits. The optimal distance between seeds is 5, between rows is 25 centimeters.

If the groundwater level is high in the area, the beds will have to be raised or arranged on ridges.

Planting seedlings

Planting seedlings will allow you to harvest much earlier than when sowing seeds. For this purpose, choose early varieties from what we suggested above. Depending on the region of your residence, it should be sown in March-April.

A large box or tray is suitable for growing seedlings. Make sure there is good drainage and a suitable soil mixture. Distribute the seeds evenly over the surface of the prepared soil, sprinkle a small amount of soil on top and water. Place in a warm place. During seed germination, make sure that the soil is not waterlogged, otherwise they will rot, and you should not overdry it.

Before planting in open ground, shorten the central root of the seedling by a third. To ensure that young seedlings become stronger, water them with a humate solution for the first couple of weeks and protect them from direct sunlight. Well, when the root crop is the size of a walnut, thin it out to an interval of 8-10 cm between them.

Planting beet seedlings

Planting winter beets

There are also gardeners who plant vegetables in winter. In this case, the ground needs to be dug up a quarter of a meter, and then fertilize each square of the plot with organic matter (1/2 bucket/m2), potassium chloride and superphosphate, at the rate of 30 g per unit area, and sow root crops. The seeding rate is 2-3 grams per square meter. In the spring, when the snow melts, do not forget to fertilize the beds with urea.

Mulching beds with beets with hay

Winter beets need mulching. It will protect crops from frost, so stock up on fresh sawdust and other materials suitable for this purpose.

Beet care

Watering

When watering, it is important to find a middle ground. High humidity threatens that the plant will rot, and overdrying threatens that the fruits will be small.

How to determine that a root crop needs water? Try simply sticking your finger into the soil; if it is only a couple of centimeters dry, then refrain from watering.

Immediately after planting, it is very important not to over-moisten the soil. In June, it is enough to pour one and a half buckets per square meter a couple of times a week. If such a watering regime is not suitable for some reason, then it is allowed to moisten the soil 2 times a month, but then you will need at least 6 buckets for each unit of area.

Watering young beets

After watering, loosen to prevent the formation or destroy the soil crust that has already appeared, which impedes the aeration of root crops.

Thinning

Beet seeds are inflorescences containing several pieces at once. That is why they germinate quite densely. In order for the root crops to be of good size, thinning should be done already in the first stages of development. Some gardeners throw out removed plants, but if they are planted in another place, they will take root well.

Thinning and replanting beets

When the first leaves appear, care must be taken to ensure that the weeds do not clog the young shoots. Therefore, carefully ensure that there are no weeds in the beet bed. Before germination, spraying with tractor kerosene will help fight excess vegetation (about 50 grams per square meter will be required). Then use sodium nitrate solution for this purpose. But after the beets gain strength, the grass will not harm it in any way.

Fertilizer

Beets need good fertilizer; they prefer organic matter and ash; with a lack of nutrients, they grow poorly.

The first portion of nitrogen fertilizers should be applied after the first thinning, 10 g per m2. As soon as the tops begin to close in the rows, it is necessary to apply a second fertilizing. For this procedure, prepare a cocktail of 8 g of superphosphate and 10 g of potassium chloride for each unit of area.

Despite the fact that beets love feeding, do not overdo it. In particular, excessive amounts of nitrogen fertilizers lead to the accumulation of nitrates in the root crop.

Mineral fertilizers for beets

Disease and pest control

Beets rarely get sick, and pests rarely attack them. However, you need to know the symptoms of diseases in order to eliminate them in a timely manner.

The most common diseases include:

1. Fomoz. It appears as brown or yellowish concentric spots on the lower leaves of the rosette, then black dots appear. The reason is a lack of boron. If the listed symptoms are detected, fertilize with brown (3 grams/m2) and irrigate with a solution, for the preparation of which 1/2 teaspoon of boric acid must be diluted in a bucket of cold water.
2. Cercospora. The fact that the plant is sick is indicated by small light spots on the upper side of the leaves and a light gray coating on the lower side. Timely feeding of the plant with potassium chloride will help preserve it.
3. Downy mildew. At the beginning of the disease, a gray-violet coating appears on the underside of the leaves, then they curl up, lose color and dry out in dry weather, and rot in damp weather. Soaking seeds in Apron before sowing and regular spraying with fungicides at the beginning of the growing season will help prevent this disease.
4. Corneater. Young plants turn black, thin out and die. To prevent this, do not neglect borax fertilizers and loosening. Peat mulching will also be an excellent help.
5. Fusarium and brown rot. The lower leaves wither, the petioles turn black at the base, the fruits crack and fill with a white substance - these are signs of the disease. The reason is the high nitrogen and moisture content. Fertilizing with boron solution and liming is effective in control.

When yellow round spots appear on the tops, it is appropriate to talk about a lack of potassium and excessive acidity of the soil. Lime milk will help solve this problem, for the preparation of which you need to dilute 200 g of fluff lime and 80 g of potassium chloride in 10 liters of water and pour the resulting solution over the plant. Red tops indicate sodium deficiency and, again, acidic soil. Sprinkle the beds with ash and water with salt water.

Beetroot is also subject to attack by pests, including:

• leafmining flies;
• mole cricket;
• beet aphid;
• scoops;
• flea beetles;
• shield carriers.

Regular weeding will help prevent pests. If this measure turns out to be ineffective, then spraying with an infusion of onion peels will get rid of aphids. Solutions "Iskra" and "Karbofos" will destroy flies. “Dusting” the bushes with ash or tobacco dust will scare off the fleas. Well, treatment with bitoxibacillin or gomelin will help cope with the cutworm.

Root crop destroyed by mole cricket

Harvesting and storage

Harvesting is required before the first frost. It is recommended to store beets at a temperature of 3 to 5 degrees. In a cellar, basement or earthen pit, root vegetables will remain until the summer, retaining maximum benefits for the body.

Video: growing beets in open ground

We often use beets to prepare first courses and “winter” salads. If we start cooking it for vinaigrette, “shuba” and other salads, it means that summer is gone, and we are starting to eat vegetables intended for long-term storage. This tasty, healthy, nutritious vegetable is found in every country house,

beet growing

in open ground it is not difficult, but you need to know certain features in order to always get a rich harvest. We are so fond of this root vegetable, originally from the Mediterranean coast, that it is now cultivated in all regions of our country, despite the difference in weather, climatic conditions and soil.

Variety selection

There are table, sugar and fodder beets. Table, leaf and root vegetables, may differ in ripening time, fruit shape, and color of root pulp. You can grow any variety in your dacha, it is only important to know the characteristics of the variety.

Early ripening beets are planted for summer consumption; they ripen completely two to three months after sowing, but they begin to eat them much earlier. It is better to grow mid-late and late varieties for long-term storage, which ripen from three to five months. Root crops that are harvested after full ripening usually lie around all winter, but beets may not grow for such a long time in all regions. Therefore, it is advisable to choose a variety, knowing how long it needs to grow and the duration of the warm season in a particular area.

Early varieties, such as “Cold-resistant”, “Egyptian”, “Red Ball”, “Bordeaux 237”, “Nobol”, require 60 to 90 days from the moment of sowing to ripen. Young root vegetables begin to be used for food if their diameter exceeds 1.5 cm, this is the time when the dense shoots are thinned out and the roots and leaves can already be eaten. Young juicy leaves are often used together with other garden herbs for salads, okroshka or soups.

Mid-early varieties ripen from 90 to 130 days. Beet varieties “Detroit”, “Mulatka”, “Bona”, “Bohemia” are more resistant than early ones. It does not suffer from temperature changes, withstands drought, and is less susceptible to diseases. Once fully ripened, it can be stored for a long time. It is these varieties that are chosen for consumption in winter in those regions where September brings real cold, where later varieties simply cannot ripen.

Late-ripening beets should grow from 130 to 150 days from the moment of sowing; of course, five months of heat does not happen everywhere, so such varieties are not grown in the north. Among the most popular late varieties, gardeners choose “Cylinder” and “Renova”.

Video "Varieties"

From the video you will learn about the best varieties of beets for growing.

Selecting a location and preparing beds

Beets, which are not too troublesome to plant and care for in open ground, love open sunny places. So she needs to find a bed that is not shaded so that she can receive maximum solar heat all day. Every year, beets are planted in a new place, otherwise you may not see the harvest at all, and you will spend the entire season fighting diseases and pests in vain. It is not advisable to plant it after all types of cabbage, radishes, rapeseed, and carrots. Experts have different opinions about potatoes, but this vegetable grows best where tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, eggplants, legumes or grains were previously grown. As you can see, the choice is large enough that you can change the location every year - this is a very important condition for problem-free growing.

Beets do not like heavy, acidic soils, as well as stagnant water, but they can somehow maintain their existence even there. But a vegetable grown on light, breathable soils, maybe even slightly alkaline, and if it regularly receives the right amount of moisture, will certainly produce a tasty, juicy, slightly crunchy root vegetable. It is best to select (or create) a site with fertile sandy loam or loamy non-acidic soil; such conditions will be the key to a good harvest. Often, gardeners plant beet borders along paths in beds with cabbage or carrots. This neighborhood will provide the vegetables with the necessary nutrition and watering, since the needs largely coincide.

Sowing is most often done in the spring, when the earth has already warmed up to +10 degrees, but the site is being prepared in the fall. After harvesting, the bed is completely freed from plant debris, dug up to the depth of a shovel, simultaneously removing the roots of perennial weeds. If the soil is even slightly acidic, you need to adjust the pH by adding lime, dolomite flour, or at least wood ash. In the fall, they fill the soil with fertilizers - they must add humus or compost, complex mineral fertilizers containing, in addition to the essential nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, a certain amount of iron, boron, copper, magnesium, molybdenum, manganese.

But beets are sensitive to an overdose of fertilizers; too generous mineral fertilizing can lead to the accumulation of nitrates, and the root crops will develop voids or cracks. Root crops cannot be fertilized with fresh manure, only with humus that has stood for at least two years.

Thus, the prepared soil is watered and left to rest until spring to absorb fertilizers. Autumn sowing is done before winter, no earlier than November, so that the seeds do not germinate, but are preserved until the onset of heat, while at the same time being hardened by frost.

They will sprout earlier than spring sowings and produce stronger shoots, unless they germinate during an unplanned thaw, which will inevitably lead to their subsequent freezing.

Seed preparation and planting procedure

Beetroot seeds are unique; several are hidden under one shell; upon germination, up to five sprouts can form, which is why they are placed in the ground, one in each nest. Strange large drupes should have a sandy-brown color or a little greenish, if purchased seeds are colored bright pink or bluish-green, this means that they have been treated with fungicides and growth stimulants, they do not need to be prepared for sowing in any way, they are placed directly dry into the ground.

Untreated seeds need to be prepared for sowing. To do this, they are first soaked in warm water, those that float up are thrown away, those that remain are wrapped in gauze or collected in a linen bag and filled with a solution of a growth stimulator (Epin, Zircon) for the time indicated on the package. You can prepare such a solution yourself. For a liter of warm water take 2 g of boric acid, 4 g of nitroammophosphate, 5 g of superphosphate, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and a little wood ash. Pour this solution over the seeds for half an hour. Then the seeds are kept in conditions of heat and moisture for another day.

The hatched seeds are placed in prepared furrows in the garden bed, at a distance of about 10 cm from each other. The furrows are easy to make with the end of the board - the board is placed sideways on the prepared bed and lightly pressed, deepening it up to two centimeters. Then they retreat 20 - 30 cm and make the next furrow. This is very convenient: the bottom becomes smooth, dense, the rows become parallel, the distances between the rows are the same. They are lightly watered with a watering can just before sowing.

The seeds are covered with soil, watered, and then mulched a couple of centimeters high with peat or compost. Sowing is carried out when the air and soil temperatures are at least +10 degrees. If you sow earlier, the seedlings will appear, maybe a little later, but such plants do not form a root crop; they usually grow large leaves and rush to throw out the peduncle.

In regions with short summers, it is more convenient to grow beets using the seedling method; they are planted in the garden also at a ground temperature of at least +10 degrees. Before that, they germinate under film or at home. If the seeds were sown in boxes, then when the leaves appear, they are planted in separate cups or dug up a couple of times before planting in the garden bed, and the torn out sprouts are transplanted to another place. Seedlings are planted in a permanent place after three leaves appear; it is advisable to simply move the sprouts along with a lump of earth, so it is good if they were already growing in separate cups. Such a transfer along with the native land reduces stress and speeds up the process of adaptation to a new place.

Outdoor care

After a couple of leaves appear, the plants are cared for as usual: weeded, watered, loosened, fed, protected from pests and diseases. From sowing until the leaves close, the bed with beets must be weeded all the time - weeds not only take away nutrients from the vegetables, but also provoke various diseases. After the beet leaves close above the ground, weeds practically no longer grow under them.

For uniform development, root crops must receive a sufficient amount of moisture, so you need to water the plants regularly, preferably using settled water heated in the sun. Young plants are usually watered once a week in the evening, and in the morning the soil around them needs to be loosened to prevent an earthen crust from forming. Mature plants are watered less frequently, but it all depends on the weather - hot, dry weather requires more frequent watering, while rain or cloudy weather delays watering. If in doubt, you can always check with your hand how dry the soil is to decide whether watering is needed. To water and loosen the soil less often, you can mulch the bed with peat or just hay or cut grass.

At first, plants actively consume nitrogen, they need it for growth, and later, during the formation of root crops, they require more potassium, phosphorus, and boron. Therefore, after the leaves appear, the bed can be watered with a solution of mullein infusion or bird droppings, only they need to be diluted eight times (manure) or twelve times (droppings). Some people water it with nettle infusion or urea. Beets respond well to foliar feeding; in the summer, they are watered from a watering can over the leaves with a solution of boric acid, for which 2 g of boric acid is dissolved in 10 liters of water. In the summer, water the leaves with salt water, dissolving 1 tablespoon in 10 liters of water. Gardeners who cultivate vegetables on depleted soils feed them every two to three weeks. But experts warn that excess fertilizer can lead to cracking of root crops and the formation of voids. In addition, beets are prone to the accumulation of nitrates, which we then consume, causing harm to ourselves. So all feeding should be done after mature consideration.

Be that as it may, the closer autumn is, the less often you need to water and feed the plants. Two to three weeks before harvesting, watering is stopped altogether. This applies most of all to late varieties, which are intended for long-term storage. Early ripening beets are watered as needed and pulled out when needed.

Not many diseases await beets in the garden. With a lack of boron, phomosis can develop. Downy mildew can deprive the harvest; at the first symptoms (curling of leaves, appearance of a purple-tinged coating) before the formation of root crops, you can treat it with copper-containing preparations or special fungicides. If there is waterlogging or stagnation of water in heavy soil, root beetle may occur. Attacks by beet and leafminer flies, cutworms, beet aphids or flea beetles are possible. An infusion of onion peels can save you from them. A good preventative measure would be dusting plants with wood ash and tobacco dust.

Harvest and storage

Early beets are pulled out when the roots have grown more than 6 cm in diameter, but you can eat them earlier. But the late varieties, which are going to be stored in winter, are harvested when the leaves turn yellow, dry, and fall to the ground. If the leaves begin to dry, after a week you need to choose a harvest.

On a dry, fine day, the beets are pryed with a pitchfork, taken out, and left to dry in the garden bed. Then they cut or pick off by hand (this method is considered less painful), leaving at least 2.5 cm of petioles, shake off the remaining soil, and sort.

Those beets that will be stored for a long time are dried in the fresh air under a roof or in a ventilated room. And then they are transferred to a place where it will be stored at a humidity of 90% and a temperature from 0 to +2 degrees. Root vegetables are stored in wooden or even plastic boxes; for better preservation, they are powdered with chalk or simply sprinkled with sand.

Video “Growing and care”

From the video you will learn all the secrets of fruitful growing of beets.