I am told you must sow beetroot direct into the ground as it does not transplant easily because of the tap root.
The thing is last year i had problems getting it to germinate and had a bad crop so now i have got it to germinate and is doing OK in a small plug size module tray and is ready to go in the ground.
I have done this as someone gave me some that they germinated in a sandwich box and i have been successful in separating them and transplanting into larger plug modules and they are growing OK and will plant them in the allotment as well.
Do you think i will be succesfull ?
Last year I started mine off in a seed tray before I found out you were supposed to put them straight in the ground. So I was very careful when I took them out, using a spoon to remove a good chunk of soil with each seedling. They all survived and I was overrun with beetroots, so I think you will be fine.
This year I sowed beetroot straight in the ground and only a couple are growing. They dont have any slug damage so I think the problem is that the clay soil has dried out too much and they couldnt fight their way through. Will be starting my next lot off in modules!
QuoteI am told you must sow beetroot direct into the ground as it does not transplant easily because of the tap root.
I think this is a bit of an old wives tale.
I think it might/could be the case for 'long' varieties but not round varieties.
For the record I grow mine in cells and plant out before the cells become root bound and I never have any problems.
In fact I planted mine out just the other day, they were still at the 'two leaf' stage.
But in the past I have planted out 'thinnings into gaps in the row and it works quite well.
Once again I am trying to grow beetroot. This time I've left planting them till last week. I'm hoping they'll do better in warm ground. I've had a terrible time with beet for 5 years, everything else grows great.
Quote from: Tee Gee on May 31, 2010, 21:42:45
QuoteI am told you must sow beetroot direct into the ground as it does not transplant easily because of the tap root.
I think this is a bit of an old wives tale.
I think it might/could be the case for 'long' varieties but not round varieties
I agree - in fact the same goes for a lot of 'root' veg where most of the 'root' sits on or near the surface. The best other examples being celeriac and hamburg parsley - and transplanting doesn't trigger early bolting either.
I'm not sure about parsnips or turnips but they are so easy to grow direct in the soil that few people would bother with modules.
I do plugs too. But also germinate in damp tissue.
Grew Boltardy last year in modules, treated it badly and got a good crop. Will treat it better this year and am also trying a monogerm long-root. Hopefully will get another shot of them through too as want to experiment with two techniques, sown early in normal modules or sown late in rootrainers once the sweetcorn is out....
chrisc
Can I still sow beetroot now, or is it too late?
No you will be ok :)
I also start mine off in modules or pots, and all seem fine to me :) The ones already planted out really enjoyed the rain the other day and have put on some good growth :)
well I am pleased to hear I am not the only one who struggles to grow beetroot! It is one of my fave veg but it's a bugger.
This year I have sown (into the ground :( ) Boltardy and Cheltenham Greentop. I really pampered them watering them a lot after sowing and I seem to have better germination this time. I think they are quite greedy of water - this week has been rainy and they have really grown quite amazingly in just a few days.
I ordered a late variety too (Monoruba? ) to have some for late autumn and winter, so I think that I will try to sow some direct and some in modules, as you all suggest, and see if that makes a difference...
Remember 1" deep!
You're not the only one, beetroot is one crop that eludes me too.
I've done it both and either way and the other, pampered and not pampered and only ever get a couple of good'ns.
The most success I ever had, and they were total beauties, was doing it completely wrong. Got given some rather long in the tooth module sown ones by someone, had nowhere to put them, plonked them in between some strawberries which had been planted into some demi-fresh manure with heaps of woodchip still in it and hey presto! Bizarre.
I sowed bolthardy 4 weeks ago direct. I did 5 rows each 3ft long. Spaced each seed 4 inches apart, so I sowed quite a few. Now I have just 18 seedlings. My soil is clay but not too heavy. Everything else grows fine so the soil crusting over isn't the problem. I too will be sowing in seed trays and then transplanting next year.
We live and learn.
Julie
:)
It is not too late to plant some more beetroor. I had a better time with my second batch last year I put it in damp kitchen roll until I saw the first sign of a root. My thrid batch I put in kitchen roll for three days - no root visible and then put it out and it did the best of all.
I think mine is slug caviare this year, but it's the worst year I've had for direct sow germination. I'm thinking of trying sowing in modules and transplanting just to see how it goes. I think I was still direct sowing last year into August for late crops (variety is wodan). We love roasted or foil wrapped oven cooked beetroot.
I sow in modules, then plant out. I transplanted about a fortnight ago and noticed that the young plants have just taken off nicely.
There is no need to thin to one plant per module, because they can quite happily grow closely spaced and push apart as the roots develop. Up to three plants is ok in a module.
Sowing outside also works for me with some losses. I cover the seeds to the depth of the seed. They need quite moist soil to germinate. It takes much longer when the weather is dry.
Beetroots can be sown until late July for an autumn harvest crop. They are not frost hardy, but can have useful late growing time during an Indian Summer, covered with fleece during frosty nights. A double layer of fleece will protect them all winter, which means they can be left in situ, but mice etc will possibly find them and nibble.
might have to give some late summer ones a go then. Thanks for that Galina :)
I treat them like parsnips and pre germinate them, then sow,,no toubles. XX Jeannine
Quote from: Tee Gee on May 31, 2010, 21:42:45
QuoteI am told you must sow beetroot direct into the ground as it does not transplant easily because of the tap root.
I think this is a bit of an old wives tale.
I think it might/could be the case for 'long' varieties but not round varieties.
For the record I grow mine in cells and plant out before the cells become root bound and I never have any problems.
In fact I planted mine out just the other day, they were still at the 'two leaf' stage.
But in the past I have planted out 'thinnings into gaps in the row and it works quite well.
Can you do this with Carrots?
I have pregerminated them but they are very small, I only did it once cos I had loads of old seed and threw the lot in a plastic box to see what happened, then popped the sprouted ones in, they grew fine but they were very overseeded so lots of thinning. Xx Jeannine
Carrots?
Years ago, long before new fangled 'modules' and raised beds; I remember an old boy at the allotments sitting on the ground making rows of holes in the ground with an iron bar. He filled these with fresh compost and planted a carrot seedling in each.
He said it worked just fine.
I can grow anything except Beetroot - I have tried to grow the things for 10 yrs and never had success with them This year I put in Boltardy 2 rows nothing came up, I also put in a row of Detroit two weeks later - nothing again, Two weeks ago I put in Pronto I`m still holding onto my breath. I sow about a inch deep in a trench filled with good sifted loam soil.
I dont want to talk too soon but my beetroot planted later on in late May in their new position seem to be growing!
Interesting thread. I was always told that beetroot is an easy crop to grow and I've not had any success. This year I have a lot of leaves (started off in modules), fingers crossed I get a crop this year.
Beetroot is one of the things that seems to love our soil! You do need to keep the seed damp whilst they are germinating or else you may get very poor germination. I sow a seed cluster every inch and then don't thin the seedlings out. I just pull the baby beets out and let the others fatten up after.
An old chap on our site thins his beetroot & swears the thinnings are ready before the original ones he planted.
In French markets you can buy bunches of beetroot seedlings really cheaply. I bought some and planted them out and had more beetroots that year than every before. It's quite good because you can get the spacing more even, my outdoor grown ones tend to grow in bunches although I thought I was putting the seeds in quite evenly.
this was my first time growing beetrot this year and they were doing really well til the other night, 2 nights in a row a d**n fox has been digging in my raised bed and ruined most of them :(. I keep finding chunks of bread in the holes so im guessing hes burying stuff for later use but really annoyed me. the night before he done the other bed with my courgettes, strawberriess, marrows and carrots in, spent hours sifting about finding all the shoots and replanting them hoping they will survive :-\. Off out to get some chicken wire in a bit and make a frame up to cover the beds with, more expense, i thought this growing your own was supposed to save money, its cost me a fortune so far hahaha.
Quote from: wicksyla on June 04, 2010, 14:41:30
this was my first time growing beetrot this year and they were doing really well til the other night, 2 nights in a row a d**n fox has been digging in my raised bed and ruined most of them :(. I keep finding chunks of bread in the holes so im guessing hes burying stuff for later use but really annoyed me. the night before he done the other bed with my courgettes, strawberriess, marrows and carrots in, spent hours sifting about finding all the shoots and replanting them hoping they will survive :-\. Off out to get some chicken wire in a bit and make a frame up to cover the beds with, more expense, i thought this growing your own was supposed to save money, its cost me a fortune so far hahaha.
This is our first year on the lottie, and we have a fox too (have only ever seen his excrement, one lot of which he did very neatly in a newly planted leek hole!) I didn't know they buried food for later- a bit like dogs and bones, I suppose. I'd love to actually see him rather than just his offerings!
Strange how some people have such problems getting beet to germinate, and for others they grow like weeds!
We have had no problems since we started covering the seed drill with an open textured compost instead of soil. As long as you keep it damp, it gives us excellent germination.
Only wished it worked as well for parsnips - so far its not a good year....
Quote from: bionear2 on June 04, 2010, 22:12:18
We have had no problems since we started covering the seed drill with an open textured compost instead of soil. As long as you keep it damp, it gives us excellent germination.
Only wished it worked as well for parsnips - so far its not a good year....
I've done that with carrots, beetroot, turnip and parsnips, and had good germination in our hard lumpy clay soil. This is my first year growing veg, so I'm really pleased I read that hint somewhere!
Beetroot seeds are very big and when sowing a lot of people find it easy enough to space them properly. In fact at the age of 7 It was my job to sow them in my grandfather's drills two inches appart.
That was nearly half a century ago.
A lot of people start them off in trays and quickly transplant them into neat rows.
The trick with the second method is to do the transplanting quickly.
If the seeds are sown outdoors into rows (drills) the next stage is to pick tiny beetroot and cook them when they are about the size of tiny hen's eggs
Now my main argument with gardeners is that most of them can not cook. They grow but have no idea of the proper size of a vegatable which is ideal for the kitchen
Small beetroot are a lovely vegetable. Overgrown beetroot are only fit for making pickles and chutney.
Learn about cooking before growing.
The two work hand in glove. I was taught by a grandfather who had to grow for the 'War Effort'. What ever grew in your plot you grew for food. Beetroot was an easy crop and a grand other who had to feed a family on rations.
Even though I now live several hundreds of miles away from the ground I was taught to grow on. It is still an easy crop to grow.
Perhaps people are making hard work of their project and trying to grow indoors to get an early start.
Beetroot is happy sewn in May in rows, one inch between each seed.
Then when they get to 'egg size' pick every other one and cook them.
Next wait for the others to mature to the size you want for the recipe you intend to use.
This is my third year growing beetroot on the same plot using exactly the same sown direct method yet terrible germination this year (Ive had bumper crops the first 2 years). Even the old boys at my site who have also worked on allotments since the war have had terrible germination. Im trying some at home for transplanting but will also now try your method bionear2......fingers crossed ;)
Quote from: Melbourne12 on June 04, 2010, 14:28:39
In French markets you can buy bunches of beetroot seedlings really cheaply. I bought some and planted them out and had more beetroots that year than every before. It's quite good because you can get the spacing more even, my outdoor grown ones tend to grow in bunches although I thought I was putting the seeds in quite evenly.
This is because each seed has several beets in it.
I have millions germinating this year for the first time ever. I'm convinced its because I waited till the end of May so the soil was warmer.