Thanks for the input on starting beets indoors, Nice to know all the inside info for when its time to set them outdoors.

[QUOTE=Jetstar;755629]Thanks for the input on starting beets indoors, Nice to know all the inside info for when its time to set them outdoors.[/QUOTE]

Glad you appreciate it also, hope we haven't hijacked the thread too much

Its all good, I've learned so much can be learned from others.

Charles Dowding starts his beets as transplants, I have always direct sowed mine. Think he has some videos of his method on youtube for those interested.

As with many transplants how much are beets set back by transplanting compared to direct sowing? In my area beets grow so fast I would guess the direct sown would catch up to the transplants in a short time. Unless you just like to fiddle with the transplant process I don't see an advantage.

A few years back, I did some beet transplants in micro blocks, trying to get them germinated sooner than the cold spring soil can. Just sprouted and transplanted, then put a plastic tunnel over top. The plants stayed as 1-2" tops for quite a while. I also direct sowed a control group at the time of transplant. When the sown seed finally sprouted, it quickly overtook the transplants instead of loitering at that 2" stage. But...the spacing was much nicer on the transplants and didn't need thinning. I may well try that again this year.



On a different note, someone at the comm garden buys beet transplants...big ones, and plants them in late April. Last year, they froze in mid May with that late freeze, so they bought replacements.