Topic: Just found out what to do with tiny beetroots

[Crystalmoon]

Hi everyone I expect many of you already know this but Ive just found out that the tiny beetroots left straggling can be lifted with their roots & potted into their own pots to provide beet leaves for salad through the colder months. Just trim the original leaves once potted up, keep in a cold frame or under a cloche & there should be fresh leaves soon to be used as cut & come again salad leaves ;)
Im chuffed to have found this out today as only yesterday I was considering composting the very small ones so I can clear the bed for winter crops x jane

[Stevens706]

Thanks for the tip Jane, also next year they will go to seed and they can be collected, I am still using my own seed from 2 years ago.

[grannyjanny]

I have the same problem so thanks for the tip :).

[brown thumb]

good tip thats what i will do with mine instead of just composting them

[artichoke]

That has made me wonder about clearing out self sown chard, of which I have masses which need clearing out for broad beans etc. I suppose the same is true: pot up the roots in a sheltered corner, and pick the fresh young leaves as they develop. I have already thrown TONS of heavy roots onto the compost heap, unfortunately.

[Crystalmoon]

I hadnt thought about collecting the seeds, thats even better news x jane

[galina]

I noticed that tiny beetroot leaves are part of many commercial mixed salad packs and have been using my own since then and also tiny chard leaves.  They are very good cooked too, but for quantity the bigger beetroot tops are more suitable for cooking.  Other 'tops' I use are celery leaves and turnip and kohlrabi leaves. 

It makes good sense to use more of the plants we have grown and not just the roots, especially during the winter months with their sparser harvests.

[Crystalmoon]

Hi Galina, I love turnip tops! I also eat mature swede & beetroot leaves when I lift the roots. I love these so much Im not going to bother growing new chard plants next year (I have some chard that is already 2 years old & still going strong so will see if it survives another winter). x jane

[willsy]

I would just like to say that last year I left my beetroot in the ground and covered them with leaves. I was being lazy and was going to just turn them over in the ground the next year. BUT what a surprise when I came to do just this I found that they had grow to a lovely size so had early beetroot to cook. Maybe the heat from the leaves gave them protection. I am going to try it again this year to see that it was not just a fluck.

[Crystalmoon]

Hi Willsy, I was wondering if you had any problems with flea beetles in the bed you had covered with leaves? I ask because last year I covered some of my raised beds with leaves & other veg cuttings etc to keep down weeds & add matter to the compost but it provided a winter home for flea beetles without me realising & all the crops sown in those beds were destroyed by them but the beds I hadnt covered were virtually flea beetle free. Wish i could do as you have & leave the tiny beetroot in the bed covered with leaves but i wont risk a flea beetle plague again next year x jane

[willsy]

Hi Crystalmoon. Had no problems at all with flea beetle. Going to do the same again this year.