Beet

A plant of the family of Mari. The nearest relatives of beets are spinach and quinoa. Initially, beets were grown in Persia in the form of chard-beet leaves more than 2000 years ago. Then there was a beet with a primitive root, and only from the end of the Middle Ages it began to grow as a root vegetable. On the useful properties of beets, see here.

Two varieties of beets are currently cultivated: root and leafy - chard. Among sugar beet roots, the main role is played by sugar - the main supplier of sugar in our country.

What does a beetroot like? It is more thermophilic than other root crops. You can sow it only in the soil, warmed up to 8 degrees. She loves fertile soil, light loam or sandy loam. When sowing or planting seedlings, the soil must be deeply digged( by 40 cm).Prefers soil with a neutral reaction. On acidic soils, the foliage blushes, the leaves are small, the root is formed small, hard and not tasty. Beetroot is resistant to chlorine, so it can be fed with potassium chloride. It is also resistant to lime, so it can be poured with lime milk during the growth and development period, if the soil is acid( 1 glass of lime per 10 liters of water).Let's remember that beets like calcium, potassium, sodium and boron. These elements should be present in her nutritional diet.

What does not love beets? The introduction of fresh manure( the root crop can rot), acid and waterlogged soils, a strong cooling in the initial period of growth, dense clay or loam.

Selection of variety

Now there are many imported beet hybrids. Personally, I prefer to grow them, because they are early, contain a lot of sugars, they have a dark color of the root, do not get sick, quickly boil. Domestic early varieties( up to 100 days): Gibovska flat, Siberian flat, Egyptian flat, hybrids of Bona F1, Vodan F1( the earliest beet grows in just 95 days), Pronto F1.Average maturity( up to 120 days) - varieties of Red Ball, Cold-resistant, Incomparable, Early Miracle, Bordeaux, Hav, Mulatta, Monocle, hybrids Pablo F1, Bora F1, Red Kgaud F1.Later - Donna, Matrona, Cylinder, Rocket F1( root cylindrical shape, like Cylinders), Teenage and Patrick( also one-rooted beet).

Chardless beet leaves do not form root crops, but give a large rosette of leaves, which are used to make salads or botvigny. Mangold grows very quickly. That it does not bloom, it must be constantly "undressed", that is, remove the marginal leaves. For a family of 3-4 people it is enough to plant only 4 plants, if they are not torn and not cut, but "undressed."

Mangold is a smart plant with a large, lush, rose-growing rosette of leaves. Slightly twisted around the edges or pimply leaves, depending on the variety, are colored dark green or yellow-green, or have a reddish tinge. This makes it possible to widely use chard for decorative and vegetable beds. Mangold equally does not like waterlogging the soil and drought. Cultivate chard as a regular beetroot.

Features of growing

Beets are sown about 2 weeks after carrots. Pre-beet seeds can not be soaked, it rises quickly( about 5-7 days after sowing).In the first growth period, the beet needs moisture, but from the moment of rooting it can not be watered at all, since the beet's sucking central hair can penetrate into the soil to a very large depth( up to 4 m), and there moisture is always there. Beetroot prefers good light, but like all plants with a red color of the leaves, it is tolerated with a small shadow. Beetroot likes to grow along the edge of the ridges. A very good combination of cauliflower, kohlrabi, celery, planted in the center of the ridge, and beet planted along the edge.

When sowing in the soil or on seedlings immediately after the emergence of seedlings, as soon as the cotyledons turn around, the first thinning should be done, cutting off excess plants with scissors. Shoots are left at a distance of 1 -2 cm from each other. If the plants grow right in the soil at the stage of 2-3 true leaves, they can be planted, leaving two plants near the edge of the bed. The distance between each pair should be at least 10 cm.

Watch the weather forecast carefully. If the beet gets to an early age, not only for freezing, but just for lower temperatures( 4 degrees or less), it can, without tying root, go into flower. However, lower temperatures are not the only reason for the beetroot to bloom, this can happen even with increased dryness and heat in the initial period of growth.

Beetroot easily transfers transplant. When transplanting, she should shorten the rootlet by one-third of its length - this will speed up the binding of root vegetables. If you want to get root crops of the same size and not too large, limit the area of ​​nutrition, that is, seed the beets according to the scheme of 10 x 10 cm. In the Northwest, it is recommended to plant the beet for seeding only through seedlings, due to too long spring frosts.

Beetroot is a great fan of "eating".Her agronomist is 52, and the balance is 38: 14: 48, that is, she is a lover of potassium, so regularly, about once every 2 weeks, should be fed with a solution of any potash fertilizer, as it is resistant to chlorine. Usually 3 tbsp. Spoon fertilizer for 10 liters of water. For each plant should be poured under the root of at least 2 glasses. Can potassium permanganate be used as a potassium fertilizer? Only in extreme cases and in very small doses( in the form of a light pink solution of potassium permanganate), because it strongly acidifies the soil, and the beet does not like it( it immediately blushes the leaves).

It is especially important to comply with this rule in the Northwest, where the soil contains an excessive amount of manganese, and this element in excess can cause poisoning and death of the plant. Manganese in potassium permanganate( potassium permanganate) is abundant, but potassium itself is small. So this is more a top dressing manganese, but not potassium.

If the growth of leaves slows down or they are shallow, then we should give a single top dressing with infusion of weeds and even manure. Do not put it under the beets or feed it unnecessarily with nitrogen fertilizing, because beets like to store nitrogen for future use in the form of nitrates, and this is useless to you. The indicator of excess nitrogen content is white concentric rings on the root crop. It is better not to use this beet for food. In addition, excess nitrogen leads to the appearance of black spots in the root crop. Beets love sodium. Since there is enough sodium in the soils of the Northwest, it can only be supplemented once a season with sodium humate or give it a single top dressing with table salt( 1 glass per 10 liters of water).But in other regions, sodium top dressing should be given at least 2-3 times.

Beets need micronutrients, especially in boron. Boron( 2 grams per 10 liters of water), and even better, "Uniflorom-micro", beets should be fed 1-2 times per season, after tying the root crop. With a lack of boron, the root can be hollow.

It is better to plant beets on AVA fertilizer. When transplanting the seedlings, 4-5 pellets of fertilizer( or an incomplete teaspoon of AVA powder) are applied directly to the root system under the root system and do not feed it any more all summer except for weed infestation, and even then only if the tops are not good enoughgrows or is too light. The experiments showed that the beet root is obtained approximately 1.5 times more than when it is regularly fed by azofovskaya or kemira( 3 tablespoons per 10 liters of water, spending a glass under the plant, every 2 weeks).

When harvesting beets, carefully, without damage, remove root crops. The water should be cut off, leaving a stump 2-3 cm long, and the root is left as it was pulled. Roots of beets are not cut. Then it is well kept.

Beets are stored almost until the summer in the cellar. Leave it to winter in the soil can not, it will rot. In the boiled beet, all its beneficial properties are retained, but only for 3-4 hours, so it is not recommended to boil beets for future use. Beets can be sour like cabbage, pickled, dried in a drying unit, but can not be frozen.

Diseases and problems

If you grow beets through seedlings, pay attention to timely thinning and hilling of plants. Very often beets because of the thickening of the crops begin to stretch the subclavian knee, it dries up, and immediately appears a fungal disease of the root shoots, resembling a black stem, - the stem at the bottom withers. To prevent the disease, crops should be watered with a solution of "Fitosporin" immediately, as soon as emergence, and most importantly, in time to thin out and puncture them.

In wet and cool weather, the beetroot may get peronosporous( downy mildew).Helps watering the leaves with a solution of "Phytosporin".

Less common is a viral disease - a mosaic of leaves. In this case, nothing helps, the crop falls sharply.

The main pest of beets is spring and, especially, summer flies. During the flowering of cherries in spring and during the flight of the butterfly butterflies, in the middle of summer, the beets should be poured directly on top of the leaves with a solution of table salt( 1 glass per bucket of water).Beets like sodium, it is resistant to chlorine, but vegetable flies do not like it.

Attacks beets and beets. Do not fight it with chemicals. It is best to use the biopreparation "Fitoverm", after spraying which beets and tops can be used in writing 2 days after treatment.