Growing beet and its features

Beetroot is a very useful vegetable, the root of which is preserved year-round in excellent condition and is suitable for food even after long-term storage. Beet growing does not have such special requirements, because the culture is sufficiently resistant to droughts and is not demanding on the soil. But there are some nuances.

First of all, you need to properly prepare the soil. To do this, the place of the proposed planting should be dug up, about 3 kg of superphosphate and about 2 kg of ash or potassium sulfate added to it. In spring, the soil needs to be dig through again, but it is already shallow. Everyone who is going to do it on his or her own plot or dacha should know how to grow beets.

The time of sowing beets is mid-May. There are several features of planting beets, with respect to which the cultivation of beets becomes simple and correct. For example, you should know that this culture requires a sufficient amount of light. But to the soil, it is undemanding and grows well even in saline areas. Also, beetroot does not tolerate overmoistening, it immediately begins to rot and gets an unpleasant taste.

Growing beets in the countryside requires the right choice of the cultivar. Most gardeners choose cylindrical varieties that have the property of sticking out of the ground.

There are also requirements for temperature conditions. So, the average temperature for seeds to germinate is about 11 degrees. If the temperature reaches 4 degrees, the seeds do not germinate, but they do not perish. Roots transfer the temperature to 1 degree below zero, and shoots - to minus 3 degrees. If the temperature reaches a lower level, the fruit freezes and then rot. The optimum mark on the thermometer for normal growth and development of culture is 23 degrees.

It should be remembered that growing beets at the initial stage requires special control of moisture access. This is due to the fact that when the fluid is insufficiently saturated with pulp, the beet pulp coarsens, the leaves become smaller and dry before the due date. Adult plants are more drought-resistant. However, excessive fluid intake and increased soil acidity adversely affect the growth and development of beets. Therefore, it is not worthwhile planting this culture on boggy and acidic soils.

It is important to know that a large number of fertilizers, especially mineral fertilizers, adversely affect the state of the root crop. Beets are very good at accumulating nitrates, so it's better to fertilize with humus.

Sowing can be done in two stages: either in early spring, then the harvest should be expected early, or in summer, so that the beetroot is suitable for winter storage. Sowing is better at a depth of about 11-13 cm. If the sowing period is missed or you just want to accelerate the growth of the seeds, it is better to wet them before planting.

Growing beets in the country is most often not carried out separately from other crops. It, as a rule, plays the role of a sealant for cucumber, potatoes or carrots. And very well it grows with carrots, because in this case there is an improvement in taste and quality of both crops.

Because beet seeds are a kind of copulation, growing beets implies a timely breakthrough, which takes place when the first real leaf appeared. Leave only the most viable plants. When the second and third thinning occurs, you need not forget to feed the plants. In the future you just need to weed and loosen the soil. Water should only be when the weather is very dry.

Harvesting takes place in late autumn, before frosts. When it starts, you need to clean the beets from the ground and leaves. And if the root crop has been damaged, it will be stored much worse. It should be avoided.