[snow white]

Thought I'd better harvest my beets today and two are absolutley huge.  They would be a good size for swedes!  Shall I throw them out or in your experience will they cook up ok?

Also some of my swede are massive as well,  sitting next to small ones  :blink:,  should I be harvesting them now or should I let them stay in the ground till the  frosts?  Worried they might end up the size of footballsQ   and be tough.

[Fairy Plotmother]

  I came back from a short holiday (4 days) and my beetroot were huge. I picked and cooked about 6lbs and they are fine. Made chutney. I still have plenty more in the ground. I don't know how long they might last before I have to harvest them. Can they be stored uncooked for any length of time?

[maxie]

They could easy be a bit woody,sometimes they have whitish rings on the bigger beetroots,you can see them when you tear the leaves off,i usually throw the biggies on the compost myself.

[Flowertot]

I pulled up some huge ones recently and they made a delicious chutney.

[Sparkyrog]

can be stored in boxes of damp sand or clamps .

[compostqueen]

Modern beets tend to not go woody. I've not found them to be so anyway. I've harvested some fairly big ones today and am roasting them now 

Et voile 

[Sparkyrog]

interesting looks like you cut the leaf off ! I was always told to twist off to prevent bleeding .

[compostqueen]

I hacked it off with a big knife while I was down the garden to try and alleviate mess at the sink.  They should be twisted off but they'll be fine.

[chris172]

Picked a swede today.... that was huge, and theres even bigger ones in there too.  then interspersed with what I would say were 'normal' sized ones for this time of year. All planted at the same time so unsure of whats going on there.

Also noticed the beetroots are getting bigger overnight!  think i'm in need of a good chutney recipe.

[solway cropper]

When did you all sow your swedes to get big ones at this time of year?

I've always grown them as a winter crop and mine are just a mass of leaves.

[Enfield Glen]

Try roast them same as you would potatos. Or how about making crisps?

[ghost61]

Directions to a good beetroot chutney recipe would be appreciated from me too. I am feeling guilty that I have left my beets in for so long, but I have some in the freezer from last year and also enough pickled beetroot to fed an army for a few years in store. Chutney would be a lovely addition.

[ryetek]

When did you all sow your swedes to get big ones at this time of year?

I've always grown them as a winter crop and mine are just a mass of leaves.

Trying not to go too far off-topic but we sew two rows of swedes on 21st May. 1 row was Helenor and they're about the size of a cricket ball as expected. The other row was Tweed F1 and they're literally massive. Every time I see them I'm tempted to harvest one but as you say solway cropper they're a winter crop. In fairness the description did state that they were vigorous (even on poorer soils).

With regards to beetroot we've grown Wodan this year. Some of them have got quite large (but not massive) and they're not woody at all. This is also meant to be a characteristic of this variety.

[RJR_38]

When did you all sow your swedes to get big ones at this time of year?

I've always grown them as a winter crop and mine are just a mass of leaves.

Oh good, so are mine - I was starting to worry!

[maxie]

Them biggies take hours to cook as well get them on the compost heap