Beets: Secrets to Growing Beautiful and Sweet Root Vegetables

Although beets are one of the most undemanding vegetables, even their harvest isn't always exemplary. Often, instead of bright and sweet root vegetables, hard, practically inedible ones grow. What's going on? What planting, growing, and care guidelines should be followed to ensure that beets grow beautifully and deliciously in open ground?

Purchasing and soaking seeds

Take the time to buy seeds at a specialist store that has been selling them for years. They'll have a wider selection and are less likely to buy low-quality seeds.

Before sowing, inspect the seeds and discard any defective ones. To improve germination, soak them in a fertilizer solution. To prepare it, take 1 teaspoon of superphosphate, 1 tablespoon of ash, and 1 liter of water. Mix these ingredients, let sit for 24 hours, and then strain. Take a piece of cloth approximately 25 x 25 cm, moisten it with the solution, and wrap the seeds in it. Leave for 24 hours, moistening them occasionally.

Selecting a site

• Sun. Beets aren't particularly demanding when it comes to light, but they will grow sweeter in a sunny spot.
• Soil. Fertile, loose soil is preferred.
• Soil acidity. The optimal pH level is 6.5-7.5. If the pH is too high, add ash or eggshells; if it's too low, add peat or acidic fertilizers.

Sowing

Beets can be sown directly into open ground as early as May, if the air temperature has warmed up to +6 degrees.
In the beds designated for beetroot, make furrows up to 4 cm deep. Place the seeds in these furrows, keeping a distance of 10 cm for small varieties and up to 30 cm for large varieties. Cover with soil and cover with non-woven fabric. Leave the cover until the seedlings have 3-4 leaves.

Under favorable weather conditions, the seeds germinate within a week or even sooner. However, it can take up to 14 days for the first shoots to appear.

Care

• Thinning. The first thinning should be done after the plant's first true leaf appears. To do this, carefully remove any sprouts that are too close together. Otherwise, they won't develop fully. The next thinning can be done in July, when the roots begin to form. This is necessary if the plants are spaced closer than 10 cm apart. Incidentally, the young beets, including the tops, can be used to make delicious borscht or salads.
• Watering. Beets are not afraid of drought, so it is enough to water them only a couple of times a week.
• Loosening. After watering, the soil between the rows should be loosened to prevent crusting. Mulching with straw or grass can also be used for this purpose.
• Weeding. To prevent weeds from taking nutrients from beets, they should be removed promptly.
• Top dressing. In early and late June, beets should be fed with a nettle infusion. A couple of weeks after the first thinning, apply a solution of 2 cups of ash and 1 tablespoon of salt dissolved in 10 liters of warm water. To improve the beets' flavor, you can give them a boron supplement: dissolve 10 grams of boric acid in 10 liters of water.
• Harvesting. If you're more concerned about the quality of your beets than their size, dig up beets that have reached 5-6 cm in diameter. However, some varieties remain sweet even when they reach larger sizes. It's best to check the packaging for this information.

Be sure to plant beets in your garden. They require very basic care, but the results are beyond praise!