Beets

Benefits and nutritional information:

• Beets have an impressive nutritional profile, containing various amounts of almost all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

Starting:

• Beets are generally started from seeds planted directly into the garden. It is possible to start them indoors, but they are difficult to transplant with success.
• Sow seeds 1/2” deep, 1” to 2” apart in rows that are about 1 foot apart.

When to plant:

• Beets can be planted from early spring — as soon as soil temperature reaches 50 degrees — through early fall, although they don’t do well when daytime temperatures exceed 75 degrees in mid-summer.

Thinning, training

• Thinning should begin when the sprouts begin to get crowded in the row.  Plants left to mature should be 5”s to 6” apart.
• The young tops that are removed during thinning make excellent greens for the table.

Signs of over-watering, nutrient deficiency

• Leaves that turn yellow may be a sign of nitrogen deficiency. Others that are stunted could be deficient in phosphorus. Other leaf problems in beets may be due to deficiencies in micronutrients such as boron, magnesium, copper, etc. Mixing a well-balanced fertilizer into the soil is the best approach to resolving these symptoms.
• Sprinkling coffee grounds on the soil lowers the pH, which can be beneficial for beets. They can also discourage crawling insects like slugs.

Pests and pest controls

• Avoid planting beets where swiss chard or spinach has recently been grown since they are in the same family and are therefore susceptible to similar pests and diseases.
• Beets can be threatened by a variety of insect pests, but the most common are cutworms, leaf miners and flea beetles.