Tag: beetroot

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Beetroot

One of the easiest crops I have ever grown is beetroot. As they take up very little space and require a very shallow depth of soil for root development, I found these left over cavity blocks quite useful for sowing the seeds.

The varyingly named beets or beetroot are a variety of the Beta vulgaris [chenopodiaceae] and it is, you may or may not be surprised to know] the swollen root that we actually eat.

The books suggest a sowing time from about March to July and a cropping period from around June to October, but I have in the past stretched this a lot further past those boundaries. The basis of the recommended times is generally based on low temperatures causing them to bolt. I have personally found that using a bolthardy variety, suitable placing and maybe some covering has seen me through and I generally sow and harvest when I feel it’s the right time.

As you can gather I also pay zero attention to recommended spacings and seed depths. For those who want to know [?] the recommended pH for growing beetroots in 5.9. Once again this is ideal world scenario and as you can also gather I’ve never bought a pH soil testing kit in my life.

Either or if gardening is all about having a go…. then you wont go too far wrong with these guys and you can always leave a comment if you’re stuck.

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Growing Your Own [Seeds] On A Budget


I spoke with Philip Voice on Fridays SodShow about how growing your own, although often sold with the attached tagline ‘and save yourself money’, it can sometimes prove more expensive than actually buying the finished product in the most expensive supermarket.

To this an email came in quite promptly after asking, in short, that I prove my worth, so to speak. Fair enough and I agree rightly so, I should give both sides of the tale.

As the video very simply explains these are just you average builders cavity blocks. I’ve decided to grow beetroot in mine. I planted two seeds in each. One for the slug, one for me. What more can I say….

Any questions thoughts or comments… simply leave a comment below.

also: This post may also prove of interest for growing more delicate seeds

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Home Grown Beets

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I grew these beetroots from seed about two months ago and as you can gather from the empty pot I simply cropped them as they were required. They are probably one of the easiest things ever to grow and develop fairly quickly.

I chose to sow them in plug cells first and then pot them on. The ones I grew are the Boltardy variety. That said, I’m not intended on being a commercial beetroot farmer any time soon – my advice, if you can’t find this variety, simply pick up a packet of whatever is available and work away. The boltardy ones however tend not to wish to bolt [the production of flower and therefore seed too soon] as fast and also have a really good flavour.

I never paid much attention to the sowing calender guides on the back of the packets. I also applied the one for the slug one for me rule here. After that, I chose as you see to do mine in pots, mainly so I could put them by the back door of the kitchen.

Not much else to to it…. and of course any questions, just pop a comment in below.