Planting beets. The importance of timing: when is the best time to plant beets? Choosing a variety of beetroot

It is possible to grow sugar, fodder or table beets not only in the southern and central regions of the country, but even in Siberia and the Urals. The main thing is to know how and when to plant this tasty and healthy vegetable in the open ground, which is often called a beetle among the people. Success in growing a root crop depends on the variety chosen, climatic characteristics, soil characteristics and the availability of sufficient light.

Methods and timing of planting beets

Sowing beet seeds can be done in spring or autumn. Specific landing dates depend on the region and weather conditions. It is advisable to carry out spring sowing work when the snow has already melted, the air warmed up to + 6 + 8 ° С, and the earth still retained moisture and had time to thaw to a depth of 10-15 cm. In the southern regions, the weather allows sowing seeds already in April, in the central regions and the Moscow region favorable conditions fall on the first ten days of the last month of spring.

Autumn sowing is recommended when the soil freezes slightly and the threat of a thaw passes. The return of warm weather is fraught with premature germination of seeds and death of sprouts. The length of our country is so great that it is difficult to name the exact dates of landing. Long-term observations of experienced gardeners can serve as a guide:

Moscow suburbs- from mid-November to early December;

Leningrad region - end of November;

Ural- from October to November;

Siberia- mid-October.

Podzimnogo sowing has several advantages, which allows most summer residents to choose this particular method:

During their stay in cold ground, the seeds undergo natural hardening. Therefore, plants grown in this way have strong immunity, are highly resistant to diseases, insufficient watering and frost.

Since seedlings of beetroot appear much earlier in spring than during spring sowing, the first roots can be harvested already at the beginning of summer.

By planting beets in winter, you will not have to waste your time in the spring, but you can pay more attention to those crops that are impossible to plant in the fall.

Interesting! There is a popular omen according to which the sowing of beets should be carried out after the cherry trees have shed their foliage. You can rely on the centuries-old experience of ancestors and take advantage of the hint of nature.

Choosing a landing site

Any gardening work begins with the choice of a suitable place. The beet plot must meet several criteria:

The root crop prefers long daylight hours and minimal or no shading. It is under the influence of sunlight that intense coloring of vegetables occurs in their characteristic color. Any shading during the day is contraindicated.

The planting bed must be protected from through winds.

It is better to choose a place on the southern or southwestern slope, where the soil warms up faster in spring.

Do not plant beets in lowlands or where groundwater is close to the surface.

It is important to take into account the rules of crop rotation and remember after which crops a useful root crop will grow best. This will increase the yield of the selected variety and prevent massive damage from diseases or insect pests:

You cannot plant beets in the same area for several years in a row, as well as after radish, radish, daikon and any kind of cabbage.

Neutral precursors include carrots, tomatoes and onions.

It is beneficial to plant a root crop after potatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini, green siderates and any winter crops.

Radish, onions, kohlrabi, cucumbers, radishes and beans can be placed in the next garden bed.

Near the beet plantation, the proximity of corn, leeks, potatoes, spinach and celery is undesirable.

Sowing beetroot can be resumed in the same place only after 3-4 years. After harvesting the root crops, the site can be planted with cucumbers, sweet or hot peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, cauliflower or cabbage.

Rice. 1. The famous Bordeaux variety

Presowing soil preparation

The area intended for beets must be prepared in advance:

Apply the required amount of organic and mineral fertilizers - 4-6 kg of rotted manure (fresh manure cannot be used), 60 g of potassium sulfate and 40 g of superphosphate per square meter of land.

If possible, add wood ash, and to neutralize acidic soil - dolomite flour, ground chalk or fluff lime (0.5-1 kg per 1 sq. M.).

Dig to the depth of the shovel and level the surface of the bed with a rake.

Along the way, remove the remnants of previous crops, weeds and rhizomes.

When all the work to improve the fertility and structure of the soil has been completed, you can start cutting furrows, depending on the chosen planting scheme:

One line. Furrows are located at a distance of 40-45 cm from each other.

Two-line. Cut the grooves not one by one, but two at once next to an interval of 25 cm. Leave a distance of 50 cm between the double "lines".

The optimum depth for spring sowing is 2-3 cm, for winter sowing - 3-4 cm.

Rice. 2. One-line scheme of planting beetle

Features of spring and winter beet sowing

The process of planting beets in open ground is simple. The seeds of the root vegetable are quite large, so they are easy to distribute in the grooves one by one. However, the technology of spring and autumn field work is significantly different.

Spring sowing of a beet in the garden

Beet seed stimulation should be done in the following way:

Soak in warm water for a day(+ 35 + 37 ° С) by adding any growth stimulator. Epin, diluted according to the instructions, or hydrogen peroxide at the rate of 1 tbsp is best suited. l. for 0.5 liters of water.

Place the seeds between layers of toilet paper or tissue napkin, moisten abundantly and cover with cling film or a plastic bag.

Sowing work can be carried out when the soil warms up to + 5 ° C. If you hurry up and put the seeds in cold soil, the plant will go into the arrow and will not give the long-awaited harvest.

The prepared planting material must be distributed into pre-watered grooves at a distance of 5-7 cm from each other. If it is planned to grow large root crops, it is advisable to increase the interval to 10 cm. The approximate consumption of seeds is 1.5-2 g per 1 sq. m with spring crops and 2-3 g - with autumn-winter crops. Do not worry if the sowing was carried out more heap - this is easy to fix at the first thinning, without which it is impossible to get high-quality vegetables.

After the beet seeds are sown, the grooves should be sprinkled with a mixture of earth, humus and coarse-grained river sand, lightly tamped with a hand or a wide board so that no air pockets remain in the ground. The final stage of spring planting in a seedless way is watering the beds. Adequate moisture will provide the necessary energy for the germination of the crop.

2-3 plants appear from each beet seed, so young seedlings must be thinned out:

For the first time in the phase of formation of the first leaf, leave a distance between seedlings of 3-4 cm;

The second time after the appearance of the second pair of leaves and the increase in the root crop in diameter up to 1.5 cm, keeping the distance between the plants 8-10 cm.

It is better to thin out the beds with beets on a cloudy morning after the next watering or rain. Excess shoots removed from the site can be planted in another place

Winter sowing of seeds in open ground

When planting a winter beet, the seeds are not soaked: they are sown in dry soil, and after leveling the soil, the beds are not watered. This rule is very important, since any excess moisture can provoke premature germination of beets and their death when frost sets in.

To avoid the risk of losses from freezing, you can increase the consumption of seeds and sow them more closely, and thin out in the spring. It is advisable to mulch the beds for the winter, using any available material: sawdust, peat, humus, pine litter, spruce branches.

In the spring, when the snow melts, the mulching material must be removed from the garden bed, and the bare ground must be covered with transparent film to create a greenhouse effect. When single shoots appear under the polyethylene, the shelter must be removed.

Choosing a variety of beetroot

Getting a good harvest depends not only on adhering to planting dates and proper care. It is very important not to be mistaken when choosing a variety. Vegetable growers recommend giving preference to varieties bred by domestic breeders. Such plants are better adapted to the climate of our country, while foreign varieties may not give the promised yield.

Variety name	Ripening period, days	Root shape	Note
		Rounded or slightly flattened	Resistant to flowering and cercosporosis
		Rounded	Possesses juicy, tasty pulp, high immunity to diseases and bloom
Egyptian flat		Elliptical	It is resistant to drought and flowering, has a high keeping quality. Suitable for autumn and winter cultivation
Red ball		Rounded	Not prone to stemming and flowering. Lower temperatures do not affect yields in the best way.
		Rounded	It has a high yield - up to 6 kg per 1 sq. m. - and medium resistance to shooting
		Rounded	Drought tolerant, considered one of the healthiest varieties
Cylinder		Elongated in length up to 10-16 cm, cylindrical	The variety is characterized by excellent keeping quality, high yield, excellent sweet taste, high content of vitamins and niacin.
		Rounded	Resistant to flowering, fruits do not deteriorate until spring. Beets of this variety can be eaten even raw.
Polar flat K-249		Flat with thickened axial spine	Suitable for cultivation in the northern regions. Not prone to flowering, well transported and stored
Cold resistant 19		Rounded	Juicy, pleasant to the taste, but not able to be stored for a long time
		Cylindrical	Differs in good keeping quality, suitable for long-term storage and canning

When choosing a variety of beets for spring planting, you can give preference to varieties with the best taste or high yield. For winter sowing, it is worth purchasing seeds of early maturing, non-shooting and cold-resistant varieties of beetroot.

Rice. 3. Cylinder sweet beet variety

Growing beets in seedlings

In order for the plants to form a high-quality root crop, it will take a long growing season. When sowing seeds at the end of May or June, it is not always possible to harvest the crop before the onset of frost. And if you plant seedlings within the specified time frame, then the ripening period of vegetables will be significantly reduced.

Therefore, when asked how to plant beets, many experienced summer residents answer that they prefer the seedling method. It is suitable for early vegetable production and can also be used in regions with short summers and cool climates where the soil and air warm up late.

Sowing beets for seedlings in the spring should be carried out 3-4 weeks before the planned planting in open ground:

Soak the seeds for 1-2 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection.

Transfer them to damp gauze or toilet paper soaked in Epin's solution or warm water.

Leave until pecked in a plastic bag.

Pour soil for seedlings into cassettes, plastic cups or boxes, pickle with Fitosporin solution.

Arrange the naklyuvannye seeds 1 piece in a separate cell or glass, when planting in a common container, maintain an interval of 3 cm between seeds and 5-6 cm between the grooves.

Sprinkle the beets with a thin layer of soil and water well.

Seedlings should be provided with at least 10-12 hours of daylight hours, slightly moist soil, a constant moderate temperature without sudden fluctuations and daily ventilation.

You need to dive seedlings only once and then on condition that they are in a common box. The sprouts from the cups can be planted in the open ground when they have formed 4 true leaves.

You need to plant young beets in the garden in warm, cloudy weather, so that the plants can adapt to new conditions. For better acclimatization of seedlings, a few days before transferring to the ground, it is useful to take them out into the open air, increasing the residence time every day. The soil at a depth of 10 cm by the time of planting should warm up to + 8 + 10 ° С.

Important! Before transferring plants to open ground, they must be well watered.

Soil preparation for planting seedlings is carried out in the same way as before sowing seeds: the rules for digging, fertilization rates and the planting scheme are identical. For each sprout, you must first shorten the central root by a third.

Rice. 4. Growing beet seedlings in cassettes

Outdoor beet care

For better rooting, beet seedlings should be immediately watered with a humate solution, and for protection from the sun, an arched shelter should be built from any non-woven material. As the beet grows, when the tops increase and practically close, the shelter can be removed, and the site can be mulched. This measure will keep moisture in the ground and prevent unwanted weed growth. Further care for vegetables consists in regular watering, weeding, loosening the soil and applying fertilizers.

Watering

The culture tolerates short-term drought well, but in order to harvest a generous harvest, it is necessary to take care of sufficient saturation of the soil with moisture. Watering the beds with a beet is necessary as the top layer of the soil dries up. It is better to do this at sunset or in cloudy weather.

Sprinkler irrigation is an effective way of irrigation, so many summer residents use just this option. However, you should not get too carried away with watering, since excess moisture in the soil can provoke fungal diseases.

Estimated water consumption per 1 sq. m is 20-30 liters, the minimum number of waterings per season is 3-4 times.

Advice! To improve the taste of beets, increase its sweetness and keeping quality, it is recommended to water the beds twice with a weak solution of table salt (1-2 tablespoons per bucket of water): the first time in the phase of the initial formation of fruits, the second time 2-3 weeks before the planned harvest harvest.

Weeding and loosening

The next day, after each watering or weather precipitation, the area with the beet should be loosened to a depth of 5-6 cm. This will destroy the integrity of the soil crust, which impedes air exchange and inhibits the growth of vegetables. Along the way, weed sprouts should be removed, which take nutrients from table or fodder vegetables.

Weeds are terrible only for young shoots, and when the leaves of the tops close, the weeds will no longer harm the beet plantations. Some gardeners use tractor kerosene to control weeds. They spray the area with liquid even before the small seedlings appear. At the same time, the consumption of kerosene is small - only 35-50 g per square meter.

Top dressing

For the formation of root crops, you need a sufficient amount of mineral and organic substances that increase soil fertility. During the season, it is necessary to carry out several dressings, the composition of which will depend on the phase of development of vegetables:

After the first thinning of the seedlings, fertilize the beds with beetroot solution (1 liter per 8 liters of water) or poultry droppings (1 liter per 12 liters of water). The approximate consumption of liquid top dressing is 10-12 liters per 10 sq. m. It is necessary to introduce organic matter not under the plants, but into small grooves made at a distance of 5 cm from the plants.

When the tops are closed, the beets must be fed with wood ash - before the next watering, scatter them over the surface of the site at the rate of 1 glass per 1.5 sq. m.

No less useful, experts consider foliar feeding of beets, which is carried out by spraying the leaves. This method helps plants to better assimilate some trace elements, which, when applied by root, turn into a form inaccessible to a garden culture. For foliar feeding, milk of lime diluted at the rate of 200 g of dry lime per 10 liters of water, or saline solution (1-2 tablespoons per bucket of water) is well suited.

Harvesting and storage

Early ripening beet varieties ripen in the middle of summer. By that time, the diameter of root crops usually reaches 5-14 cm. They can be used for preparing first courses, salads and other culinary recipes.

The main sign that the roots are ready for harvest is yellowed and dried tops. Depending on the variety and region of cultivation, the harvest season begins in late August or early autumn. A cool, dry day is best for digging up vegetables:

Dig up the root crops with a pitchfork, trying not to pierce the pulp, clear the clods of earth and cut off the tops, leaving two centimeter petioles. On sandy soils, it is recommended to pull vegetables out by hand.

Sort out the harvest, separate spoiled and damaged specimens. Use them to prepare meals or preparations for the winter.

Put high-quality vegetables to dry in a dry, ventilated room, where the sun's rays do not fall.

After a week, move the beet crop to permanent storage. For these purposes, a cellar or basement with an air temperature of 0 + 2 ° C and a relative humidity of no higher than 90% is suitable. In warmer conditions, the beet will wither, hurt and deteriorate.

It is recommended to place containers with beets (plastic or wooden lattice boxes) at a height of 10-20 cm from the walls and floor surface.

Rice. 5. Harvesting root crops

The main nuances of planting and caring for beets are shown in this video.

The fleshy and juicy beetroot is appreciated not only for its taste. This herb has many beneficial properties. Beets contain a lot of fiber, antioxidants, potassium, iron and organic acids, so nutritionists advise using it to prevent scurvy, diabetes, kidney stones, and hypertension. The red and purple vegetable has been used as food since ancient Babylon. The root crop is very popular now. Beets are grown in almost every summer cottage and garden plot. To get a rich harvest of vegetables by autumn, you need to know when to plant beets for seedlings or in open ground, how to plant and care for beets in the garden.

You can grow a vegetable both in a seedling and a non-seedling way. Beet seedlings are most often planted by residents of Siberia and the northern regions. Also, early varieties of root crops, which are rich in vitamins, are grown by seedlings.

The timing of planting beets depends on the climatic conditions of the region. Beets are planted on seedlings 3 weeks before planting in open ground, that is, in March-April, under film - at the end of April, and in open ground - no later than May 20. Seedlings are planted on the garden bed only after the soil warms up to +10 degrees. If in the southern regions it may already be at the end of April, then in the Urals and Siberia - in May or even at the beginning of June.

When to plant beets for seedlings in 2020:

1. March. The most favorable days are 2, 7, 22, 12, 13, 14, 28. You cannot sow - 7, 8, 9, 24, 25 and 26.
2. April. The best dates are April 10, 28, 29, 30. You can sow seeds from 10 to 20. You cannot plant 8 and 23.

Favorable days for sowing seeds and planting seedlings:

1. May. The best days for sowing: May 4, 5, 20, 25, 26, and for planting seedlings - May 5, 6, 11, 12, 16, 25 and 26.
2. June. Recommended dates for planting seedlings - 1-4, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 22, 23.

You can not engage in sowing and planting:

• May: 7, 22;
• June: 5, 21.

How to plant beet seeds?

Seed treatment

Before sowing, the planting material is recommended to be disinfected in a weak solution of potassium permanganate and soaked in water for a couple of days to disinfect the seeds and stimulate their germination. The seeds will germinate even faster if you keep them in cold water for a day and 30 minutes in warm water with a temperature of +35 degrees.

Seedling soil

Soil for sowing beet seeds for seedlings can be purchased at the store. A special mixture for seedlings or vegetables is suitable. You can prepare the substrate yourself from the following components:

• garden or sod land - 2 parts;
• rotted compost or humus - 2 parts;
• peat - 4 parts;
• sand - 1 part.

Every 10 kg of the resulting soil mixture is fertilized with one glass of wood ash. It is recommended to disinfect the finished soil. To do this, you can steam it for 30 minutes in a water bath or warm it up in the oven. After such treatment, the soil needs to be kept in a bag for a week so that beneficial bacteria form in it.

Growing beet seedlings

Three weeks before planting in the garden, they begin sowing seeds. They are placed in the ground to a depth of 1-1.5 cm, sprinkled with soil, lightly tamped and sprayed with a spray bottle.

Containers with crops are placed in a warm place where the air temperature should be at least +20 degrees. So that the soil does not dry out, and the seeds hatch faster, you can arrange a mini-plate. For this, the crops are covered from above with polyethylene or glass. Every day, the shelter is removed for a few minutes to ventilate the substrate and check its moisture content.

Care for beet seedlings is the same as for other vegetable seedlings. After the seedlings appear, the seedlings are placed in a place where there is good lighting and an air temperature within + 14 ... + 16 degrees.

When two true leaves are formed in plants, they need to be cut out, since 2-3 seedlings are collected in one beet seed. The distance between the bushes needs to be made 3-4 cm. If the vegetable was planted in separate pots, then you can skip the picking, and divide the bushes when transplanting to the garden.

When and how to plant beets in the ground? Seedlings are planted on the garden bed only after the soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm warms up to at least +8 degrees. For this, a sunny area is selected.

Beets can be planted after legumes, peppers, eggplant, grains, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. So that the vegetable is not affected by diseases, it is necessary to observe the crop rotation and not plant it after beets, cabbage, rapeseed, potatoes, carrots.

Plot for planting beets

The soil in the root vegetable bed should be loose and have a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction. Fresh compost and manure cannot be applied under beets. A root crop can be planted on a bed fertilized by them only after 3 years.

When digging the beds, for each square meter, add:

• superphosphate - 40 grams;
• potassium chloride - 15 grams;
• ammonium nitrate - 20 grams;
• sulfuric acid ammonium - 20 grams;
• humus - 2 or 3 kg (if the soil is not fertile);
• fluff lime - 0.5 kg (if the soil has an acidic reaction).

Planting seedlings in open ground

To get large fruits, you need to keep a distance when planting seedlings. The distance between the rows should be about 25 cm, and between the plants - about 5 cm. During planting, the central root of each seedling should be cut by 1/3 of the length. The plant is placed in a hole so deep that the roots do not bend in it, but lie straight. The planted seedlings are sprinkled with earth and watered well. For the first two or even three weeks of planting, it is recommended to protect them from direct sunlight and possible frost, for which they are covered with a special non-woven material.

When the roots take root and grow up, they are thinned out, leaving a distance of 10 cm between the bushes. Experienced gardeners recommend mulching the soil in the garden bed after removing the shelter. The mulch will retain moisture in the soil and prevent weeds from growing.

How to plant beets outdoors?

When growing beets in a seedless way, sowing seeds is done after warm weather with a temperature of at least +6 degrees is established. If you sow the seeds earlier, then the tops will grow, not the fruit.

After processing, the planting material is placed in grooves prepared in advance on the garden bed, the distance between which should be up to 30-35 cm.The distance between the seeds depends on the variety, but they should be at least 7 cm.If the vegetable is grown for conservation, then the planting pattern is 7x6 cm.

Seeds are planted to a depth of 2-3 cm, sprinkled with fertile soil mixture and watered well.

Since 2 or 3 seedlings will grow from one seed, then when the first two leaves appear on the plants, the planting will need to be thinned out so that the distance between the shoots is 3-4 cm.To do this, the excess shoots are carefully pulled out and transplanted to another bed. When two true leaves are formed on the bushes, a second thinning will be needed, in which the distance between the bushes is left at 7-10 cm.

Planting beets before winter

It is necessary to plant a root crop before winter at the end of October. Seeds are sealed to a depth of 3-4 cm in pre-prepared grooves. The distance between the rows should be 15-20 cm. The garden bed must be sprinkled with peat or humus.

Caring for beets is quite simple and consists of the following activities:

1. Watering.
2. Weeding and loosening the soil.
3. Top dressing.
4. Treatment for diseases and pests.

Watering beets

To get a good and high-quality harvest, the roots should be watered regularly. Watering is carried out after the top layer of soil in the garden has dried. It is especially necessary to ensure that the soil does not dry out when the plants are still young, and the weather is dry and warm.

When the roots grow up, they are watered less often, using 2-3 buckets of water per square meter. Waterlogging is also harmful to beets, since plants growing in too moist soil are easily affected by fungal diseases.

To increase the keeping quality of vegetables, watering is stopped two weeks before harvesting.

Weeding and loosening

After watering or rain, the beds are weeded and loosened to a depth of 4 cm. Young plants should be weeded especially often and thoroughly. Otherwise, the weed will grow and "crush" the still immature small sprouts.

Beet feeding

Fertilize the beets several times:

1. After the first thinning with mullein solution (1: 8). For 10 square meters of planting, 12 liters of solution are used. The mullein contains nitrogen, which is very necessary for young plants. You can use a ready-made organic fertilizer that contains nitrogen.
2. Potash fertilizers are applied after the tops of the plants close. A large amount of potassium is present in wood ash. You can simply sprinkle it on the ground and water the garden well. For every one and a half square meters of planting, one glass of ash is used.
3. When growing sugar beets, the sugar content of root crops is increased with a solution from a bucket of water and a tablespoon of salt, which is poured over the plantings three times: when sprouts appear, two weeks after the emergence of shoots and when the sixth leaf appears.
4. At the initial stage, for the development of not only root crops, but also foliage, they use foliar feeding... Beetroot needs such elements as copper, boron and molybdenum, which are part of many fertilizers. They are bred according to the instructions and used to spray the leaves.
5. To saturate the roots with sodium, use a solution of non-iodized salt, which is sprayed with tops (60 grams per 10 liters of water).

Diseases and pests of beets

Preventive measures against diseases and pests are:

• compliance with crop rotation;
• pre-sowing treatment of seeds and soil for seedlings;
• timely weeding;
• destruction of plant residues and digging of beds in the fall;
• timely feeding with microelements.

However, even taking all measures to prevent plants does not always 100 percent protect plantings from pests and diseases.

Of the pests, beets are most often affected by:

• shchitonoski - are removed together with the weeds by hand and destroyed with special insecticidal solutions;
• fleas - are destroyed by dusting the foliage with tobacco dust or ash;
• beet aphid - destroyed by onion infusion or Iskra bio;
• mining and beet flies - you can get rid of them with the help of Karbofos and Spark;
• scoops - are destroyed by special bacterial preparations.

Of the diseases, beets can be affected by felt disease, fusarium, root eater, downy mildew, cercoporosis, photomosis. All these diseases can harm root crops, which leads to a decrease in yield. Diseases caused by bacteria are treated with fungicides. Viral diseases are not cured, so diseased plants are destroyed.

If spots or rotted areas are found on the roots during harvesting, they must be stored separately from healthy specimens.

Harvesting sugar beet

To prepare borscht and other dishes, beets can be dug out throughout the summer. If it is supposed to store vegetables in winter, then the roots are dug up a week after the leaves of the plants turn yellow and dry. By this time, the vegetables will have a diameter of about 7-15 cm. They are first undermined with a pitchfork, and then taken out of the ground by hand.

Roots must be dried before storage, so they are harvested in warm weather, when precipitation is not expected in the coming days. Dried vegetables are cleaned from the ground and their tops are cut off so that a stalk about 2 cm in size remains. Peeled root crops are examined, laying aside damaged and spoiled ones separately.

Selected vegetables need to be dried, for which they are laid out for a week in a room with good ventilation, where there is no sunlight.

Storing beets for the winter

It is recommended to store beets in a room with an air temperature of 0 ... + 2 degrees and a humidity of no more than 90%. Good ventilation is very important for storing beets, therefore it is recommended to use wooden or plastic trellises. Roots placed in containers are powdered with chalk and sprinkled with sand. Vegetable boxes are placed on stands away from the walls. In this case, the lower roots will not fog up and rot.

How to store beets in the cellar? It is very good if potatoes are stored in the cellar, on top of which you can pour beets. The fruits will absorb excess moisture and the potatoes will not get wet. When pouring vegetables into the cellar, you need to take care that rodents do not get into it.

Subject to all storage conditions, it will be possible to feast on a healthy vegetable all winter and spring. And if you sprinkle the roots with sand, then they can survive until the next harvest.

Very useful and common in our gardens and vegetable gardens root vegetable - beets. In order for it to give a good harvest in the spring, it must be sown, taking into account certain conditions.

How to grow beets: infographic

For the important points of growing beets in your country house, see the infographic below ⇓.

How to plant beets correctly: preparing the land

This stage begins in the fall. At this time, all parts of any plants must be removed from the beds. Add organic matter to the soil. Then dig to a depth equal to the height of the shovel. If the soil is depleted, then mineral fertilizers should be added to it. If the soil is highly acidic, add lime.

It is good if beets are planted in the spring where potatoes, peas or cucumbers were grown last year.

The beet bed should not be shaded. Otherwise, the root crops will not have an intense shade. Because it only forms in bright sunlight.

Before planting beets in spring, the soil must be loosened with a rake. Then you can add dolomite flour.

Now the land is ready and you can wait for the moment when to plant beets in the spring. It is necessary to let the soil warm up to 5 ° C. If this is not done, then the seeds will go to the arrow and root crops will not form.

Beets: planting and care

There are two ways to grow beets. The first is planting beet seeds. In order for the seedlings to appear faster, they need to be soaked. This is done in a solution of a growth stimulant or ordinary ash for a day. Then the seeds need to be washed in warm water and wrapped in a dry cloth.

Before planting beets, the soil must be moistened. To do this, draw lines about 4 cm deep in the garden bed.The distance between them is supposed to be done at about 20 cm.Then the grooves watered... After the water has been absorbed, it is possible to plant beets in open ground. Since its seeds are large, they can be put in the ground one by one. There is no need to be afraid that there will be no shoots. Several plants always grow from one such seed. Therefore, the seedlings will still have to be thinned out. Therefore, it is better to plant beets with seeds at once less often, so that later there will be room for it to grow. Thinned shoots can be used to compact other beds. And then the dacha will bring maximum benefit. We can say that when beets are planted, the planting pattern looks like a lattice, at the intersection of which future plants are located.

If you immediately plant beets in open ground, then the planting pattern can also be:

• single-line - seeds are placed in the groove to a depth of 3 - 4 cm, and then sprinkled with earth, 40 - 45 cm are left between the grooves;
• two-line - make two grooves with a distance of 25 cm between them, then a space of 50 cm and again two grooves (lines) into which the seeds are sown.

The time for sowing seeds should be chosen so that the soil still retains moisture from the winter snow. Usually, the planting dates for beets are in the first ten days of May. If spring is late, then this time is shifted by a week.

Caring for them consists in weeding and occasional loosening. During its growth, it is supposed to perform a couple of dressings. First with organic fertilizer, just a little. And then with ash or mineral mixtures without nitrates.

Planting beet seedlings

This method is suitable if you do not want to do thinning. For those who do not understand the question of how to plant beets with seeds, you can grow them with seedlings in a greenhouse. The distance between the grooves is made equal to 5-6 cm, and the seeds are sown 3 cm apart. Planting of seedlings is carried out 1 month before it is planned to move to a permanent place.

When 4 leaves appear on the plant, this serves as a signal that it can be transplanted. This means that the sprouts need to be hardened by arranging the airing of the greenhouse.

Before planting in open ground, it is well watered. I put each sprout in a clay solution with its roots. And they are seated according to the scheme on the site.

When to plant beets

Beets can be planted 2 times a season:

• in spring, when the soil warms up well at a depth of 10 cm, in terms of time it is approximately at the beginning of May;
• in autumn, before winter in late October - early November.

Plus, planting beets in winter in getting an earlier harvest, they can ripen at the end of July.

What can be planted after beets and what can be combined with planting beets

Based on their plant compatibility, you can figure out what to plant after the beets. For example, you can choose cauliflower or cabbage. Also, the answer to the question of what to plant after beets will be a list that contains:

• cucumbers and peppers;
• tomatoes and eggplant;
• potato.

In addition, it is possible to create a mixed bed, where beets will grow from the edge, and inside the cauliflower:

What kind of beets to plant?

You can choose one of the following types:

• dining room;
• stern;
• sugar.

fodder beet sugar beet beetroot

The choice of the type and beet varieties depends on the purpose of its use.

If the dacha is equipped with a room in which livestock is kept, then planting of fodder beets will be required. For her, you need to prepare the ground in advance. Add mineral fertilizers and compost to it. Then dig it up. The seeds need to be sorted out and pickled. If you wish, you can soak it in a stimulant solution. But it is permissible to sow without preliminary seed preparation. The pattern in which it is sown differs from the one described above. Because the roots grow very large. The distance between the grooves should be more than 50 cm. Neighboring shoots in the same row should be placed every 25 cm.

Those who only need it for food will need to plant canteen beets. This variety is especially sensitive to lack of light. Therefore, it is not advisable to place a garden bed with it in the garden, so that it is not shaded by trees. This also explains the increased demand for weeding and thinning.

For lovers, it is possible to plant sugar beets. However, it requires a special soil structure: it is desirable that the site is not peaty and sandy. It is advisable to fertilize this type of beet from sowing to the formation of a root crop. During intensive growth of tops, sugar beets are fed with nitrogen-containing fertilizer. When the time comes for the development of the fetus, she needs potassium chloride and superphosphate.

Every plant needs attention. He needs to choose the right place, the soil, take care of the preparation of the seeds, do not forget to water and feed the plant. Beets are no exception. She, like any culture, needs care. But first you need to deal with its sowing.

When to plant beets outdoors in spring

First, we will find out when and under what temperature conditions to plant beets.

Calendar dates

Beets love warmth, so there is no need to rush to sow it. In addition, young shoots that survived even small ones are likely to shoot themselves. Therefore, the most suitable time for planting in open soil will be the end of April or the beginning of May.

Weather

Seeds germinate even at +7 ° C, but for proper development, it needs about +16 ° C outside. In this case, the earth should warm up to +10 ° С.

Features of the region

Relatively Of Ukraine the situation is this: the further south the region is, the earlier you can start. But it all depends on the temperature of the air and the ground.

Beets in different areas Of Russia lands at different times:

• North Caucasus - 1st decade of April;
• Central Black Earth Region - 3rd decade of April;
• north of the Central Black Earth Region, Non-Black Earth Region, Volga Region, Bashkortostan, Altai, Moscow Region - 1st decade of May.

In the southern regions, due to the warm climate, planting can be done from the end of March. After all, there the earth warms up faster to the desired temperature.

By the way, beets can be planted in autumn (there are special varieties). This option is good for areas with cool, short summers. Planting occurs after the onset of stable frosts, when the ground is covered with a crust. In the Urals, or the best period for this is November. There is no universal advice on how many such sowing should be done. The main thing is not to hold out until the soil "grabs" (this is 3-4 ° C below zero). The farmers noticed that the best reference point is when the cherry completely sheds its leaves.

Important! Please note: beets of autumn planting are not suitable for long-term storage.

Where to plant

This culture loves illuminated areas with fertile, loose soil, without high standing groundwater. A neutral soil (pH around 6-7) is best suited.

It is not recommended to plant beets in shaded areas with waterlogged, acidic, compacted soils.
For better yields, this vegetable is advised plant in a new place every year... It is better to return it to its original place not earlier than after 3-4 years.

Plant beets not advise for, and . And after that, she will feel great. It is also planted for winter wheat,.

For beets good neighbors become carrots,,.

Preparing the land in the fall

The land for spring planting must be prepared in the fall:

• clean the site by removing all debris, weeds, branches, plant residues from it;
• dig up the ground 30 cm deep;
• apply fertilizers - 30-50 g and 50-70 g are needed for 1 m².

In the spring (before sowing), the land will need to be dug up again and added - 30-50 g per 1 m².

Video: autumn tillage

Do I need to pre-soak the seeds

Soaking the seeds is not necessary, but if you want them to germinate faster, then you should still do it.

To do this, take one of these tools:

• 1/4 tsp and 0.5 tsp. or ;
• 1 tsp ;
• 1 tsp baking soda;
• 1 tbsp. l. ...

For any of the funds, 1 liter of warm water is needed. Soak the seeds for a day. Then rinse them, wrap with a damp cloth and store at room temperature for 3-4 days, making sure that the package does not dry out.
If you are planting seeds in the fall, there is no need to soak them.

How to plant beets in spring with seeds

Seeds are buried in the ground shallowly - by 2-3 cm (if - by 3-4 cm).

If you want to get small, for example, for canning, fruits, make aisles at least 7 cm, and leave no more than 6 cm between individual plants.If you need large beets, increase the distance between rows to 30 cm, between plants - to 10 cm.

Video: spring planting of beets

Care features

Watering

In the first 1.5 months after planting, it is impossible for the soil to dry out. Also, young beets like sprinkling in the evenings.

If the summer is not very hot, beets will not cause much concern. After the tops are closed, the moisture between the rows will dry out more slowly, and the vegetable will be able to extract it from the deep layers of the earth on its own. Therefore, she will no longer need watering too often.

Watering stops completely about three weeks before harvest.

Thinning

To provide the sprouts with sufficient area for development, you need thin out twice: in the phase of two true leaves (remember to leave a 3-4 cm gap between the shoots) and in the phase of 3-4 leaves. On average, 10-20 cm remain between the plants.

Important! The removed plants do not have to be thrown away, they can be transplanted to another place - they will take root without any problems and quickly catch up with their fellows. The main thing is to shed the soil well before the procedure, where you will move new shoots, and transplant carefully so as not to damage the roots.

Soil care

The land where beets grow must not only be moistened, but also loosen, because it is impossible for a crust to form on the ground. This is especially important for young shoots.

Loosen gently when the plants are still small, you can use an old fork. Apply this procedure until the tops are closed. Also during loosening by all means.
Remember and about mulch... After the first thinning and weeding, it is advisable to mulch the land next to the young with fine organic material. If you ignore this, you will have to weed and loosen much more often, and water too. At the beginning, the mulch layer should be small - 1-2 cm, but as the plants grow, it should be increased by using coarser mulch, for example, weeds and straw cutting.

Top dressing

Top dressing (nitrogen) occurs after thinning, the next (complex) - after closing the tops.

Nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus are the main ingredients that beets need. It is allowed to replace the mineral fertilizer complexes with ash mixed with a lack of boron, the beets will react with rotting of the core. Has a detrimental effect lack of copper and molybdenum, it is replenished with foliar feeding (in the phase of 10 leaves). Here liquid micronutrient fertilizers are suitable, saturated with boron in organomineral form and manganese in chelated form.

If the beets do not grow well, round yellow marks appear on the tops - these are manifestations lack of potassium and very acidic earth... Here you need special watering: 200 g of fluff lime and 80 g of potassium chloride per 10 liters of water. The funds are enough for 10 running meters (along the line).

If the tops are reddened, this is a sodium deficiency. Sprinkle ash on the beds and sprinkle with salt water (1 tablespoon of salt per 10 liters). Plus, this will increase the sugar content of the vegetable.

Did you know? Beetroot is one of the natural antidepressants and anabolic steroids. Drinking beet juice every day will significantly increase your stamina and reduce fatigue.

Harvesting and storage of crops

When her leaves turned yellow and dried Usually this is the end of August or the first half of September (certainly in dry weather). The fruits are carefully dug in with a shovel or pitchfork, then they are taken out with their hands, shaken off the ground, and the tops are cut off. The petioles should remain no more than 1.5 cm.
If it is not possible to take the beets to a permanent room immediately, dig up the piles in the field and put the fruits sprinkled with earth in 2-3 layers, again filling them with soil on top. But try to move the vegetables to a permanent room as soon as possible.

The most favorable conditions are a room with a temperature of 0-2 ° C and a humidity of 90%. As a rule, cellars are used, where beets are successfully stored next to. It is kept in crates, containers, open plastic bags, or in bulk.

Selected large and medium beets are treated with chalk powder (2 kg per 100 kg of fruit) and laid in layers with tops outside, sprinkled with wet sand, peat, sawdust or shavings 2-3 cm thick.With not very good ventilation, these vegetables are kept in small mounds, and cover with straw on top (to avoid condensation).

Video: storing beets in the sand

Beetroot is a very healthy and dietary vegetable that can be used for making soups and various salads. Any gardener, even a beginner, can grow a delicious root vegetable. The main thing is to make the correct sowing and follow the cultivation techniques.

When is it better to plant beet seeds outdoors in spring in 2019, in what month? First of all, when choosing the time for sowing, you need to focus on the soil temperature - the soil should warm up to 6-8 degrees warm a. To check this, you need to dig a hole about 15 centimeters and insert a thermometer.

Due to different weather and climatic conditions and the time of warming up the earth in different regions of Russia, the timing of spring planting of seeds in open ground is different:

• In the middle lane (Moscow region)- it is optimal to plant a crop in the second decade of May.
• In the South (Krasnodar Territory (Kuban), North Caucasus)- the optimal sowing time is at the beginning of April.
• In Siberia, in the Urals, in the Leningrad region(and in general in the North-West of Russia) - it is better to plant in the second half of May.

By the way! Young shoots of beets can withstand small short-term frosts (up to -1-2 degrees).

You can also choose the most accurate e planting dates for beets according to the lunar calendar 2019:

• Auspicious days:
  • in March - 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30;
  • in April - 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30;
  • in May -1, 2, 3, 4, 12, 13, 14, 21, 22, 23;
  • in June - 9, 10, 11, 18, 19, 20.
• Unfavorable days:
  • in March - 6, 7, 21;
  • in April - 5, 19;
  • in May - 5, 19;
  • in June - 3, 4, 17.

Step-by-step instructions for landinge beets in open ground

It is important to know and follow not only the rules for planting beet seeds in open ground, but also the peculiarities of the preparation and processing of beds and seeds. Let's consider all the stages and steps in more detail.

Seed preparation

Dry root seed can be planted without any problem without any pre-treatment. However, in this case, they will sprout much longer. Therefore, the preparation of beet seeds before spring planting in open ground is only welcome!

As a pre-sowing treatment, you can soak the seeds for eight hours in water(the optimal temperature of the liquid is 30-35 degrees), while you need to change the water after 4 hours, pouring new liquid from a suitable temperature. By the way, for convenience, before you start soaking, you can immerse them in a cloth or gauze bag.

Instead of soaking, you can germinate beet seeds. For germination you need:

1. put the seed on damp gauze, cotton cloth, or even sawdust;
2. wrap them on both sides with a cloth or gauze, or sprinkle with wet sawdust;
3. put a cloth or gauze in a bag, and if you decide to germinate seeds in a container with sawdust, then you need to cover it with glass or film;
4. leave in a warm place (+ 20-22 ° C);
5. check the seeds every day, do not allow the fabric or sawdust to dry out, moisturize in a timely manner, and also monitor whether the seeds have sprouted.
6. after germination of the planting material (as a rule, this happens after two to three days), you need to immediately sow in open ground.

Note! This method of preparing beet seeds, such as germination, is very effective. Firstly, seedlings appear several days faster than when sowing dry seeds. Second, you can immediately identify viable instances during processing.

Site and soil selection

Where is the best place to plant beets in open ground on the site? It is best to plant a vegetable crop in a sunny place, without excessive moisture.... Avoid areas with a high level of groundwater, swampy and excessively waterlogged places.

When choosing a place for planting in spring, one should not forget about crop rotation. After what crops is it best to plant beets in open ground? The best predecessors are: onions, legumes, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes.

By the way! Mixed (joint) plantings can also be made for this culture. What can you plant beets next to? Tomatoes, lettuce, dill, onions, cabbage are good neighbors.

The soil for sowing and growing vegetables must be fertile, loose and nutritious, have neutral acidity.

Note! If you have a high groundwater table in your area or you just want to plant a crop in a lowland, then it is best to plant root crops in high beds.

Garden bed preparation

Preparing the soil and beds for planting beets in spring is the most important stage of the whole event, which cannot be ignored. It is recommended to make it in the fall, if you do not have such an opportunity, then at least 3-4 weeks before the event.

You can prepare the garden bed and soil according to the following scheme:

• You need to dig up the area to a depth of 25-30 cm with humus or compost (a bucket of substance per square meter). You can also use mineral fertilizers such as superphosphate and potassium sulfate (1 tablespoon per square meter).

Important! Fertilization is especially necessary on poor or sandy soil.

• If your dacha or a plot of a private house has clay, heavy soil, then in addition to the above fertilizers, you also need to add peat and sand (half a bucket of each substance per square meter).
• If the soil is too acidic, then it should be deoxidized. You can, for example, add wood ash (200 grams per square meter, and if the soil is clayey - 300 grams).
• Immediately after digging and fertilizing, as well as immediately before planting, you need to level and loosen the area with a rake.

Advice! If you worked the soil in the fall, then in the spring, 3-4 weeks before sowing, it is recommended to dig up the bed again, loosen and level the ground with a rake.

If you started preparation in the spring, then instead of superphosphate and potassium sulfate, you should add a tablespoon of complex mineral fertilizer per square meter, for example, Nitroammofoski.

Beet sowing scheme

Scheme of the correct planting of beet seeds in open ground in spring:

• Make grooves on the bed, their depth is 3-4 centimeters, the distance between the rows is 30 centimeters.
• Water the rows abundantly, let the water soak.
• After that, sow the seeds, it is best to plant them at a distance of 4 centimeters from each other.
• Cover the seeds with soil, compact slightly.
• Once again, water and mulch, for example, with peat, humus with sawdust, the layer thickness is 3-5 centimeters.

Advice! If, according to the weather forecast, a cold snap is expected, then it is recommended to cover the beet bed with agrofibre, but do not forget to remove it as soon as sprouts appear (if sprouts have already appeared, then you can put arcs so that they do not come into contact with the material).

Sowing beets for seedlings

Some gardeners are engaged in growing beets from seed through seedlings at home. This method is relevant for those who want to get an earlier harvest, and at the same time live in colder regions (Moscow region, Leningrad region, Siberia, Ural, etc.).

By the way! In order not to thin out the beets in the future, you can simply plant them first on seedlings, and then plant them in open ground at the optimal distance.

It is necessary to sow beet seeds for seedlings at home about a month before planting in open ground (and the optimal planting time is described above). In this case, you need to choose a sufficiently deep container (it can be either a wide box or individual cups. You can also pre-prepare seeds using the technology described above. You can plant seedlings in a permanent place after the plants have two or three real leaflet.

Planting beet seeds for seedlings at home is correct according to the following scheme:

• Prepare a soil, such as an all-purpose seedling potting mix.
• Spill over the soil with Fitosporin-M for disinfection.
• Fill a deep bowl (about 10 cm) with earth.
• Lightly compact the soil and moisten it with a spray bottle.
• Now you need to plant seeds for seedlings, for this, spread them over the surface of the earth at a distance of 2-3 centimeters.
• Sprinkle with soil on top, layer thickness - 1 cm.
• Moisten again with a spray bottle.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid.

Seedling care and growing rules are standard - you need to remove the shelter after sprouting, regularly moisten the soil, maintaining moderate humidity, and put the plants on the sunniest windowsill.

How to properly care for beets

If you plant beet seeds correctly, then the seedlings will not take long. After germination, you should take care of the plants. The basic rules and stages of caring for beets in the open field after planting:

• One seed of a given culture may have two to four shoots, so it is necessary to carry out thinning... If you do not thin out the plants, then the roots will turn out to be small and frail. The manipulation should be carried out after watering and preferably on a cloudy day. When growing, you should carry out 2 thinning:
  • It is recommended to thin out the first time at a time when the plants have two to four true leaves. It is necessary to pull out the weakest and weakest shoots, as well as plants growing too close. There should be a distance of five centimeters between them.
  • The second thinning is carried out after the plants begin to set root crops. You also need to remove the weakest, frail or sick specimens. Now you should leave the plants at a distance of 15 centimeters from each other.

• First watering after planting is carried out after the first thinning. The frequency of watering is approximately once every 5-7 days, and even more often on dry and hot days. The watering rate is ten liters per square meter. With the growth of the plant, the watering rate increases. It is necessary to constantly maintain a moderate soil moisture, otherwise the root crops will grow unpalatable. Watering stops 10 days before harvest. This culture is moisture-loving, so you need to responsibly treat this element of care.
• If you applied fertilizer to the soil during planting, then you do not need to fertilize the beets. In other cases feeding will be very useful and help to get more harvest (it is especially useful for mid- and late-ripening varieties). It is optimal to feed the beets 2-3 times (if you have fertile and well-fertilized soil, then 2 times is enough).
  • First feeding... You can use, for example, a stock solution of chicken manure or mullein - 1 kilogram per 10 liters of water, leave for 10 days, and then dilute 1 liter of the resulting infusion in 10 liters of water, it is recommended to add 1 gram of boric acid. After feeding, you need to wash the plants with plain water and water them. Also, as the first top dressing, you should use a solution of Nitroammofoska (30 grams) and wood ash (one glass), dissolved in 10 liters of water.
  • Second feeding... It is carried out 14 days after the first, this time it is worth using phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
  • The third feeding of beets... It is produced in the phase of closing the tops between the rows, as well as the second time, using phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

Advice! To get sweeter beets, you can water them with saline two or three times per season (a tablespoon per 10 liters of water).

It is not difficult to plant beets correctly, but it is important to observe all the subtleties and tricks of the event, and then take good care of the plants in the garden.