Some interesting beet data - seeds vs seedlings
 

I planted 5 varieties of beets -

Touchstone Gold
Burpee's Golden
Ruby Queen
Red Cloud
Albino

15 seeds of each in 4 inch pots (so I had 5 pots of beet seedlings).

Today I potted them up and got to assess the reality of beet seeds producing multiple seedlings.

So from 15 seeds, I ended up transplanting:

19 seedlings of Touchstone Gold
26 seedlings of Burpee Golden
32 seedlings of Ruby Queen
23 seedlings of Red Cloud

and

27 seedlings of Albino....

So you can expect an approximate 2:1 ratio (well, a bit less on average) of seedlings per seeds.

And - once again, I've found that the supposedly low germination Burpee's Golden Beet germinated just fine if you plant them indoors and transplant to the garden later on. The low germination seems to happen if you direct seed into cool soil

Just a bit of data for you all to chew on! We like the beets...we LOVE the beet greens! The beets were transplanted to 50 cell plug flats - once they size up and my rows are ready, I will transplant them to about 3-4 inches apart - this results in really pretty, well formed beets.

I too planted my beet seed in some small pots and they sprouted like crazy.
This is my first year to try raising my own beets. The thought of having some homemade
Pickled beets in the pantry is making me hungry.

How big do you let them get before you pot them up?

They are pretty forgiving at any size - most were just getting the first true leaves, but the rest were just showing cotyledons.

One thing I noticed about Forono, one of the cylindrical varieties, is that you can have two seedlings right next to each other from the same "seed," which is actually a berry, of course, and they'll get along just fine, they just split up the territory more or less 50-50. No doubt the same would apply to Cylindra, which I haven't grown.

Having said that much, I still prefer Tall Top Early Wonder. Like Craig, I like the roots, but I [I]adore[/I] the greens.

i had always heard that you could not transplant them. then i read that you could and i found out that i could. next time i will try the dense planting method. it is good to know that never is not always never. jon

That's the thing with having a scientific approach to all this - always test things out for yourself. There are so many urban legends/folklores around gardening that it pays to do the experiments.

[QUOTE=nctomatoman;258989]They are pretty forgiving at any size - most were just getting the first true leaves, but the rest were just showing cotyledons.[/QUOTE]


How do you think/would you have any thoughts on transplanting directly into the garden bed early season with a row cover to provide a little protection?

I think the issue with direct transplant is going to be the challenge of adjusting in heavy soil with nearly certain weed competition and very uneven weather. The very young, just separated seedlings certainly benefit from being pampered in optimum conditions while they develop a nice healthy root system.

Then again, I just love the whole process of transplanting - I find it very therapeutic!

Thanks Craig. If I try it will be in a raised bed. Maybe just for a lark...

[QUOTE=nctomatoman;258971]

And - once again, I've found that the supposedly low germination Burpee's Golden Beet germinated just fine if you plant them indoors and transplant to the garden later on. The low germination seems to happen if you direct seed into cool soil
QUOTE]

Interesting you would find this outcome, I planted my Kentucky wonder pole beans without soaking in a peat pellet, outdoors and everyone of them came up and much stronger than what I tried last year. Last year I soaked them prior to direct seeding and everyone of them died quickly. I have planted all of the seedlings from the peat pellets this year and only one looks like it won't make it and I think this is because it never seemed to develop any first leaves on it. :D

P.S. I was laughed at because I had not direct sewn the beans, lol. Now who's laughing, he he....:))

George, I direct-sowed some beets on 1/5, and they're up and growing under a cloche. It was just an experiment, because I'd never heard of wintersowing until last year. Why not? Seeds are relatively cheap. But I'm going to seed some in the house this weekend to see how they do in comparison. Will they surpass the others already outside? Only time will tell.
I also planted peas 3 weeks ago, and there's no sign of them yet.
I will be starting some indoors this weekend, too. Beans, too, later on. "It's only seeds."

What looks like one beet seed is actually a cluster of several seeds, so it still takes one beet seed to grow one plant.

"Each big beet seed cluster is actually composed of 3 or 4 smaller seeds which often all germinate in a clump, so planting beets at the proper spacing of at least an inch apart, and then thinning them early, is critical to having a good harvest of shapely mature roots."

Mark, did you see my data? from 15 seeds I ended up with nearly twice as many good plants. So by pre-sprouting and thinning, you can get twice the potential beets.

I saw your data, but if you are counting a seed from a packet of beet seeds as one seed, it is not one seed. One seed from a packet of beet seeds is actually a cluster of 3 to 4 beet seeds.

Did you split the beet seed you took from the beet seed packet down into 3 or 4 seeds before you planted them?

Ah, you are being specific. Valid point - so let's say that I planted 15 entities that were in the beet variety packets and ended up with nearly twice the seedlings as entities.

Hello all beet lovers,

Encouraged by folks who have sowed beets inside to transplant outside later, I went ahead and tried it. I now have approx. 18 cells each of Crosby's Egyptian (red) and Touchstone Gold.

Some cells have more than one plant. So it sounds like it's not too difficult to separate the little plants further, as I transplant them, rather than thin them.

I'm in N.H. where I can't count on frost free nights until probably 2nd or 3rd week in May. My beetlings have 2 true leaves (plus seed leaves); would it be better to transplant them into larger pots inside? or would it be safe to transplant them into a raised bed cold frame?

We've been without rain for probably 3 weeks, but in May we usually get a lot of rain, so cold wet soils can be a problem for little plants. Beets planted right in the soil have usually required re-seeding 2 or 3 times.

thanks in advance, Richard

Would this type of method (sowing indoors and then transplanting outside) also work on sugar beets? I have seeds but don't know how to handle them. never grown beets before either...
I'd be very grateful for any further info (I've red the thread)...

Craig:

Do you have to harden Beets off before planing in the ground?

Thanks.

Oh no! Please don't get me started on beets. Tomato, pepper and melon obsession is enough. I love beets but only the beetroot. I am not one who eats the leaves of any of those kind of plants. Detroit Red is about the only beet we like, so please stop with the beet thread or I will really go crazy thinking of all those varieties I need to try.

Aw, c'mon, Paul!

You have [I]enough[/I] crazy obsessive thoughts to keep you awake at night,
or give you dreams of fitting just a few more into the limited space you have,
or make you wonder what is the perfect combination of amendments, soil, moisture, sun, and temperature
to get the perfect crop from the most varieties you can find to buy and trade?

Really? :twisted:


j ;)

Has anybody tried this with carrots? I'm about to try it anyway, I think. I've got four different kinds of beets and three different kinds of carrots to try and I always get such poor germination for both when I direct seed.

[QUOTE=PaulF;267567]Oh no! Please don't get me started on beets. Tomato, pepper and melon obsession is enough. I love beets but only the beetroot. I am not one who eats the leaves of any of those kind of plants. Detroit Red is about the only beet we like, so please stop with the beet thread or I will really go crazy thinking of all those varieties I need to try.[/QUOTE]

Whaaat, you don't like beet greens?? I love 'em, but so do the leaf miners, and it is always a battle. I think I will have to cover them this year in hopes of getting a few leaves before they get them all. I am also leaving last years Swiss chard to tempt them.

Maybe I will try starting a few pots inside, too - but I am running out of places to put seedling pots. The peas I started today got to go into the garden shed to sprout..... :)

Oh double darn it! I haven't even thought about the beets. And the carrots!?! Aaaargh!!! I need to go back through the seed packs again. Ten to one, there are at least three or four other things I've forgotten.

Man, where did I put that last bag of potting soil? (grumble,grumble)

You people are going to be the death of me! (Or keep me alive forever, I haven't decided yet.:twisted: )

Aww. We all know that as long as the tomatoes are in, it's all good. Whatever else you missed for the Spring, you can move to the Fall. Though usually, I'm really tired of seeds and watching baby plants so that when July comes along, and I should be starting a Fall crop, I procrastinate until it's too late.

[QUOTE]I love beets but only the beetroot. I am not one who eats the leaves of any of those kind of plants.[/QUOTE]

If you eat Swiss chard, you're already eating beet greens. "A beet without the beet," as the saying goes. Me, I'd rather eat beet greens or Swiss chard than spinach.

One thing to keep in mind about the species [I]Beta vulgaris, [/I]whether it's beetroot, Swiss chard, sugar beets, mangels, whatever: this is one of the closest things we have to a true year-round crop. Tolerates warm and even scorchingly hot weather about as well as it does cold weather. You can[I] almost[/I] plant it any ol' time you feel like it. It does tend to grow best in the moderate weather of spring and fall, however.

If you have Lamb's quarters growing wild, it's not all that much of a trick to domesticate it via seed-saving, and that's another great spinach substitute. I'll bet it would transplant easily when very young, say about four to six inches tall, but I've never actually tried it, so I don't know for sure.

All spinach family members, including spinach itself, are high in oxalic acid, and should be eaten in moderation. I presume that doesn't preclude "several times a week, if desired," as long as it's not way too much at one time.

My mother-in-law was the queen of greens. One of the first visits to my future wife's home she went out into the yard to collect the ingredients for a "special" side dish for the evening meal. The collection included dandelion, nettles, lambs quarter, beet leaves and a couple more I can't remember. Because I was in love with both my wife to be, but also thought the world of her mother, I choked down a "mess 'o greens". Vowing not to throw up at the dinner table I ate as much as I could. As a young kid I hated all cooked green stuff (including asparagus and peas) and that has continued for the last sixty years. Somes likes greens, I hates 'em.

The like or dislike of greens could be one of those genetic taste things - I think Cilantro tastes like soapy water, my wife and daughter craves it. My wife and I think the cabbage family is very sweet tasting - many find them as bitter. All due to each of our genetic make up....there is a gene for the cabbage family tasting horribly bitter - if one finds that, they have the gene from both parents - if slightly bitter only one.

Fascinating!

I like the flavor of beet greens far better than chard - more tender, a sweeter taste to my palate - but I love them all. We've started eating loads of collards and kale - all depends upon how you prepare them, in my view. We do Collards with sesame oil, ginger, garlic, hot pepper flakes and pineapple and use them as a bed for grilled fish. yum!

Had the Bull's Blood beets a few years ago in a lettuce mix. I didn't even know they were beets until the roots started to poke up through the soil. What a great surprise! Both the greens and the beets were really tasty.

This year I also have the Detroit Red so, hopefully it isn't too late to get them going.

[QUOTE=nctomatoman;267987]The like or dislike of greens could be one of those genetic taste things - I think Cilantro tastes like soapy water, my wife and daughter craves it. My wife and I think the cabbage family is very sweet tasting - many find them as bitter. All due to each of our genetic make up....there is a gene for the cabbage family tasting horribly bitter - if one finds that, they have the gene from both parents - if slightly bitter only one.

Fascinating!

I like the flavor of beet greens far better than chard - more tender, a sweeter taste to my palate - but I love them all. We've started eating loads of collards and kale - all depends upon how you prepare them, in my view. We do Collards with sesame oil, ginger, garlic, hot pepper flakes and pineapple and use them as a bed for grilled fish. yum![/QUOTE]
Very fascinating! I haven't tried beet greens. I find chard taste a bit like " dirt" but continue to grow it because it's the only green other than malabar, new Zealand and amaranth that I can get to survive through summer in AZ. I do like it in smaller quantities, usually in a soup or omelette. Mainly, it's so darn pretty in the garden that I plant a lot as a foliage backdrop and feed extras to the chickens.
I'll have to try beets instead, since I really love pickled and roasted beets as well. I've actually not tried growing them yet. I just noticed one of my chards was growing a "beet"!
My husband and I really prefer spinach, kale or cabbage but it just won't grow in the heat. I need to give collards another try. I think it may handle a better part of the year here, at least in the shade. Sometimes kale will hang on but it gets bitter when the weather heats up.