When and how to properly plant beet seeds in open ground?
Planting beets with seeds in open ground can be done in different ways in spring or autumn. The vegetable is easy to grow, you just need to comply with some conditions when planting and caring. In this case, the harvested crop will be stored for a long time, and the roots will retain all the nutrients.
Beet varieties for outdoor cultivation
The varieties differ in terms of crop ripening, storage duration of the harvested root crops, color, shape, and purpose. In the latter case, the vegetable can be sugar, feed, or table.
Popular beet varieties for cultivation include the following:
- Beetroot Detroit it has a high yield and excellent taste. From sowing to harvesting, 100 days pass. The variety shows resistance to frost and disease, seedlings appear evenly and are unpretentious during cultivation. The shape of the root crop is round, the flesh is claret without rings and veins. The average weight of a root crop is 200 g.
- Mid-season table variety Cylindra refers to mid-season, high-yield varieties. Harvesting begins after 120 days. The shape of the roots is cylindrical, the flesh is dark red. The average weight of beets is 30 g. The harvested crop is well stored for more than 4 months.
- The high-yielding, mid-season variety Smuglyanka begins to ripen after 105 days. The plant tolerates cold well, shows resistance to cold weather and diseases. The root crop is flat-round in shape, its weight is 300 g. Juicy pulp is bright red.
- Bordeaux beets belong to table varieties. The shape of the root crop is round, slightly flattened. Vegetable weight 350 g. Juicy pulp, rich burgundy color. The yield depends on the weather. The vegetable develops poorly in cold and rainy summers.
Other popular varieties of beets include: Merchant's wife, Krasny ball, Boyarynya, Red Ruby, Bohemia, Red Ice, Pablo.
Landing dates
Planting seeds in open ground in spring is done in early May, when the soil warms up to +10 degrees. The last dates for planting beets are considered to be no later than May 10.
In autumn, the last days of October or the first days of November are chosen for planting seed in open ground. Better to wait until the air temperature drops below -4 degrees. In warmer weather, this is not worth doing, since the seeds will stick through and die.
During the autumn planting of seeds, the beds are made high, raised by 25 cm so as not to be washed out by melt water. The furrows are 4 cm deep and do not need to be watered before planting.To protect the seeds from frost, it is recommended to cover the beds with straw until spring.
If the planting of beets is planned through seedlings, then special boxes are prepared. Seeds for seedlings begin to be planted in early April, a month before transplanting to a permanent place. This planting method allows you to harvest ahead of time. In addition, the shoots left over from thinning can be transplanted into an empty space.
It is necessary to plant seeds at a distance of 4 cm, the distance between the rows should be 6 cm. After two leaves unfold on the sprouts, thinning is carried out. Only strong and healthy shoots are left. As soon as 4 leaves appear, the shoots will be ready to be transplanted to a permanent place.
Choosing a place in the garden
It is best to choose areas for planting beets that are protected from through winds and where sunlight can freely enter. The soil should be well-drained, the vegetable does not tolerate clay composition and waterlogging. It is advisable to change the landing site every 3-4 years.
There is a list of crops, after which it is allowed to plant beets. Cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, and potatoes are considered the best precursors for beets in the garden. A vegetable in a garden where cabbage, beetroot or carrots used to grow is not feeling well. Avoid the proximity of celery and garlic.
Lighting
Beets are light-loving vegetable crops. It develops well during long sunny days. If the length of the day when growing a vegetable is 14-16 hours, then you can collect the richest harvest. In the case of a decrease in daylight hours by 3 hours or more, the formation of a root crop slows down.
For planting beets in spring in open ground, you need to choose well-lit areas, away from fences and trees, so that no shadow falls from them. Do not plant the vegetable too thickly.
Sometimes vegetable growers can face a problem when the beets do not emerge.
Before deciding what to do, you need to find out the reason why she did not ascend. There may be several of them:
- infertile or acidic soil;
- little light;
- poor quality seeds;
- improper watering;
- non-compliance with sowing dates.
To ensure good germination of beets, you need to apply fertilizers and use additional lighting lamps. If the vegetable is grown by seedlings, then, if necessary, arrange additional lighting up to 13 hours with fluorescent lamps, which are suspended at a height of 15 cm above the seedlings.
A good harvest can only be obtained if important conditions are met. It is necessary to feed the beds on time, remove weeds, monitor lighting and watering. It is important to carry out preventive treatment against pests and diseases.
What kind of soil does beets like?
To get a good harvest of root crops, it is important to know which soil beets like best? Beets love fertile, light soil. Peat and loamy composition is well suited. With too low or high acidity, the vegetable begins to suffer from fungal diseases, and the ability to be stored for a long time is lost.
Since the vegetable loves light, drained soil, it is best to mix it with sand or sawdust. If the acidity in the soil is increased, then liming is carried out. The culture loves neutral or slightly alkaline soil.
Sowing root crops in open ground
Sowing beets can be done with dry or germinated seeds. Germinated seeds are sown in moist soil. On a flat surface of the prepared area, furrows are made at a distance of 20 cm.
If the soil is heavy, then sowing is carried out to a depth of 2 cm, if light - then to a depth of 4 cm.The distance in the row between the seeds is 2.5 cm.In the future, during thinning, the distance should be increased to 7 cm.
If the summer is short, then the beets are planted with seedlings in open ground. You can grow seedlings at home or in a greenhouse. You can transplant a plant that does not exceed 8 cm in height.The higher the sprout is, the poorer the root crop will form. Do not deepen the seedlings too much. The distance between the shoots is 13 cm, between the rows - 30 cm.
Soil preparation
In order for the beets to grow quickly, you need to properly prepare the land plot. The soil for planting seeds must be prepared in the fall. All plant residues from the previous harvest (tops, leaves, roots, weeds) are removed from the site where it is supposed to plant beets. The earth is dug to a depth of 25–30 cm, while complex mineral fertilizer and humus are applied.
In the spring, before planting seeds or seedlings, the land plot is loosened to a depth of 10 cm and leveled with a rake.
It is recommended to add mineral components. For the entire growing season, the culture requires nitrogen and potassium-phosphorus fertilization. Beets respond well to the cultivation of land with wood ash and do not tolerate fresh manure at all.
Seed preparation
During the preparation of beet seeds for sowing, they are sorted out, soaked in solutions that stimulate plant growth. You can place the seeds in a wood ash solution. Ash allows you to saturate the seed with all the necessary mineral components.
It is also recommended to carry out the disinfection procedure.
An easy way to germinate beet seeds quickly:
- seeds are soaked in water at room temperature (floating seeds should be thrown away);
- the water is drained and placed in an Epin or Zircon solution for 4 hours;
- after that, the seeds are placed in a warm place for a day.
These actions will help the seeds to swell and hatch. After that, you can start planting seeds.
Planting process
There are two beet planting schemes - one-line and two-line. Landing is also allowed in a three-line way. This makes it easier to care for the plant. The beds are more convenient to water, loosen and weed.
In the case of single-line planting, furrows are made into which the seeds are placed at a distance of 10 cm.The interval between furrows is 45 cm.
With a two-line variant of planting a vegetable, two furrows are made at a distance of 25 cm, then a free space of 50 cm is left. A similar scheme is alternated several times.
Seedlings of beets in the open field are planted with an interval of 11-14 cm. The interval between rows is 25 cm. This will allow collecting large roots, while retaining the benefits and juiciness of the pulp.
Care rules
Beets begin to germinate when the soil temperature is +9 degrees and the ambient air temperature is +7 degrees. But active development is observed at an air temperature of +20 degrees. How many days do beets sprout after sowing? The first shoots appear on the 6-8th day.
Beet care is to comply with some rules:
- the beds need to be weeded regularly and weeds should not be allowed to grow;
- carry out regular loosening of the soil to ensure free access of oxygen and nutrients;
- it is recommended to apply fertilizers;
- it is important to set the correct watering regime.
The first loosening is carried out 5 days after the appearance of the first shoots. Initially, the depth of loosening is 3 cm, gradually, as the plant grows, it can be increased to 7 cm.
Top dressing
Top dressing is carried out at least twice during the entire growing season of beet development. Fertilizers help to increase the plant's resistance to diseases and pests.
For the normal development of culture, the following solutions help. When planting seedlings in the ground, it is recommended to add a tablespoon of wood ash per hole.
During the first feeding, you can add nitroammophoska or a mixture of sodium nitrate, superphosphate and potassium chloride. If the soil is deficient in nutrients, you can add a solution of mullein or bird droppings. Urea can be added to the solution. Top dressing with organic solutions is carried out only at an early stage of plant development.
The second fertilization is carried out two weeks after the previous fertilization. Superphosphate or potassium chloride is used. Mineral components can be replaced with wood ash.
It is also useful to carry out foliar feeding. In the stage of formation of 4-5 leaves, you can carry out the treatment with a solution of boric acid or an infusion of wood ash. With a lack of phosphorus, an additional spraying with superphosphate can be carried out (a teaspoon of superphosphate is taken per liter of water).
Proper watering
During the cultivation of the crop, the correct watering regime must be observed. Beets should be watered regularly, but waterlogging should be avoided. An excess of moisture becomes the cause of various diseases and a decrease in the shelf life of the crop. With a lack of moisture, the pulp of the root crop loses its juiciness and becomes rough.
During mass seedlings, caring for beets involves watering up to once a week. During the formation of root crops, the frequency of watering can be increased. Watering is stopped 3-4 weeks before harvesting.
Thinning
If the seedlings were planted in a common container, when two true leaves appear, the beets are picked into separate containers, while the roots of the seedling should not be shortened.
When planting a vegetable with seeds, as soon as the first shoots appear on the surface of the earth, thinning is carried out:
- The first thinning is carried out in the phase of unfolding the first two true leaves. The distance between the shoots is 4 cm. The shoots that have been pulled out can be planted in a new, free place.
- After 2.5 weeks, re-thinning is carried out, leaving a distance between the shoots of 7 cm. By this time, small roots are formed, which can be used for cooking.
Knowing the rules on how to dive beets in the garden, you can get juicy, healthy roots. In addition, it is important to follow the beet planting scheme in your area.
Harvest
If the beets were planted in spring, then the harvest must be harvested before the onset of frost. Harvesting begins in late September or early October. By this time, most of the leaves turn yellow and wither. If the roots freeze, then they will not be stored for a long time and will lose their taste.
After harvesting, the roots are sorted, the tops are cut, leaving hemp up to 1–2 cm. Healthy root crops are dried and stored at a temperature of +3 degrees. You can store the harvest of beets in boxes with sand, peat, sawdust.
