Beetroot is considered traditional from the order of swans, which we cultivate everywhere and quite successfully in our gardens, we use it in cooking as a healthy and tasty ingredient. The plant is unique, not only its roots, but also tops are suitable for food. Borscht, vinaigrette is prepared from it, used in soups and vitamin salads.
Description and characteristics of beetroot
The vegetable is a biennial plant. Its roots are large, their weight reaches one kilogram. Color - maroon. Outwardly, the fruits appear round or flat. The foliage is wide, green in color. After planting in the ground in the second year, the period of flowering and seed formation begins.
The planting and harvesting period is different, depending on the climatic zones of plant cultivation, it lasts from two to four months.
According to the formation of the harvest, table beets are divided into four categories:
- early maturing (from 65 to 80 days);
- early ripening (up to 100 days);
- mid-season (up to 130 days);
- late ripening (from 130 days).
A vegetable contains a large amount of proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, useful vitamins, carotene, acids, and mineral components.
Homeland and growing regions of beetroot
The well-known garden culture appeared about two hundred years ago. Its ancestor is considered to be chard, which grows wild in Western Europe, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. The plant was first mentioned in the fifth century BC. Mangold and became the founder of today's beet varieties - table, sugar and feed. From it, modern species have adopted the main advantage - the content of a large amount of iodine.
The most popular varieties of table beet
To date, agricultural technicians have developed a large number of varieties. But most often, gardeners prefer the following:
- cold-resistant. The variety is early ripening, medium-sized root crops, ripen in two and a half months. The fruits are rounded, slightly flattened, their upper part is located above the soil surface, which makes it easy to harvest. The pulp is delicious, cherry-colored, juicy. The average weight of the fetus reaches two hundred grams. When growing this species from a ten-meter section of the beds, you can collect from forty to seventy kilograms of vegetables, which will persist perfectly. The plant is unpretentious, capable of withstanding cold, rarely gets sick with fungal formations. Beets are recommended for cultivation in the northern regions;
- fortune. An unpretentious beet plant of medium ripening, reliable, with a small rosette of leaves, gives stable yields. It is recommended to grow it in the gardens of the Urals. Suitable for all types of culinary processing, canning, bookmarking for long-term storage. Vegetables are distinguished by large forms, their weight reaches three hundred and fifty grams. The yield is high, reaching from forty to sixty kilograms from ten square meters;
- a crimson ball. Round beets, medium early. Full maturation occurs in three to four months. The weight of vegetables ranges from three to five hundred grams. The plant resists diseases well, does not undergo flowering, yields up to ninety kilograms from ten square meters. It is considered the best variety for any kind of processing. Stored waste-free for six to eight months;
- pablo. The variety is high-yielding and must be harvested three months after germination. Vegetables weigh up to one hundred grams, in the autumn season their weight reaches five hundred. The pulp is dark red in color, juicy and with excellent taste. The vegetable practically does not crack, is rarely prone to stemming. The hybrid gives stable yields in the amount of six to seven tens of kilograms from ten squares, it is successfully used in cooking.
Beet planting technology in open ground
Loose fertile soils should be selected for this culture. Preference is given to loamy chernozems and peat bogs with a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction. Acidity is very important for beets, otherwise the root crops will be affected by diseases and cannot be stored for a long time.
It is forbidden to sow beets in the beds into which fresh manure was introduced.
Cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes and onions are considered the best predecessors for this culture. Although seedlings are able to survive light frosts, you should not take risks with this - it is better to wait a little.
The step-by-step instruction for sowing in open ground is as follows - the bed is loosened to a depth of five centimeters, grooves are made at intervals of thirty centimeters. The seeding depth should be about three centimeters. Seeds can be sown dry or pre-soaked in water. Before this, the soil must definitely be moistened. The spacing between seeds is three to four centimeters. After planting beets, the furrows should be sprinkled and watered. Seedlings will appear in about a week.
Growing and post-plant care
At the initial stage of growth, the beets should be fed with nitrogen, then potash compounds are preferred. Further use of nitrogen fertilizers can lead to voids and cracks in the vegetable.
To support the plant with potassium, it is best to use wood ash to improve the vegetable's resistance to disease.
Beets need constant watering, they love moisture. But waterlogging is not recommended for her, as it can cause diseases.
You can add a spoonful of salt to a bucket of water while watering. This will protect against disease and improve sugar levels.
The soil in the beds must be loosened almost from the moment the shoots form the second leaf. At the same time, weeds are removed, seedlings are thinned out. By the way, beets are transplanted well and quickly take root in a new garden bed.
The second thinning is best done at the end of July, leaving up to ten centimeters between the beets.
Harvesting and storage
Mass harvesting falls on the first frost. It is important not to miss this moment, otherwise the frozen roots will be poorly preserved.
Beets should be carefully removed from the ground, and the tops should be cut off with your hands. Then the vegetables remain in the garden to dry their wounds. Beets that are damaged and diseased are discarded and not stored. The entire crop is put into clean boxes and stored at a temperature of one to two degrees of heat.
It should be noted that beets are best preserved, the growing season of which does not exceed five months. If you plan to keep the harvest for a long time, then you should use varieties of early ripeness, sowing them in mid-May. But for early planting, beet varieties are suitable, which will be eaten daily.