[salmonking]

hi all.as the title suggests I need some help with my beetroot.last year I planted some beetroot in one of my beds.2 rows roughly 12ft long.to be honest I didn't get many from them.had lots of them growing but not to any size.the beds were new and had a good dosing of compost a month or so before planting the seeds.now ive read that beetroot don't like lots of manure/compost so ive hung back on that bed this year.also could it be I was too late thinning them out?.this year I planted them 2  weeks ago and they are coming through already.any advice on this and at what stage I should thin them out would be great,thanks   

[Beetroot queen]

I thin mine when they can't move a muscle. I don't believe I wasting beets. I do the same with carrots. I don't waste a single bit. 

[salmonking]

I thin mine when they can't move a muscle. I don't believe I wasting beets. I do the same with carrots. I don't waste a single bit. 

I couldn't of left it too late to thin then as it was roughly the same stage as yours when I did it.

[Enfield Glen]

I start mine off in teh green house so can then spread them out nice and evenly. just need to make sure you water them in well.

[azubah]

I can't grow beetroot to a decent size either. Others on the site grow them to the size of swedes! What's the secret?

[salmonking]

I can't grow beetroot to a decent size either. Others on the site grow them to the size of swedes! What's the secret?

exactly what id like to know!lol

[gavinjconway]

I can't grow beetroot to a decent size either. Others on the site grow them to the size of swedes! What's the secret?

exactly what id like to know!lol

Nothing to it - simples.. throw seed in, wait a few months and pull them out..  http://www.allotment-garden.org/grow-your-own/grow-beetroot.php

[starry]

In my first year I grew them fine but have struggled ever since and I do all that is suggested on here in the growing advice, I have a ph of 7 (is this good or bad for beetroot  :blink:) but shall keep trying ....... 

[willp]

.last year I planted some beetroot in one of my beds.

Last year, a lot of people struggled to grow much of anything at all.

They should be fairly problem free, the only pests I`ve come across being sparrows after young seedlings. I cover them with fleece, pulling it off when they are a few inches tall. They can have an occasional nip then - I prefer having them around to perfect beet leaves.

Keep them moist, weed free etc etc. the usual stuff

I thin as soon as I can physically grab the seedlings as I do with most other stuff that needs it. At this very early stage, I believe that the plants you want to keep do better with as little competition as possible.

Don`t worry about getting them huge - better is more smaller roots. They`ll have a better taste and texture and require less cooking given that you boil them in their skins.

Will

[azubah]

I can't grow beetroot to a decent size either. Others on the site grow them to the size of swedes! What's the secret?

exactly what id like to know!lol

Nothing to it - simples.. throw seed in, wait a few months and pull them out..  http://www.allotment-garden.org/grow-your-own/grow-beetroot.php

That's what I do every year. I would like them 1-2" in diameter. Water would not have been a problem last year! Some years they are reluctant even to germinate, that's why I have tried growing them in modules, but even then they do not get very big.

[nuzuki]

I found beetroot and corgettes grew so easily last year. We have a mixture of compost and soil in a raised bed and watered them every other day. No secret just slow and steady wins the race

[Aidy]

I start mine off in teh green house so can then spread them out nice and evenly. just need to make sure you water them in well.

This is the way I do it too, that way no messing thinning etc and you know the seed has germinated.

[salmonking]

thanks for the replies guys!

[Totty]

I station sow them between 2-3 inches apart, and thin them to one per station (you usually get two or three seedlings per seed). If you want immaculate, good sized beets, I add a little calcified seaweed, and earth up a little over developing beets, this stops the dry corky top.
 I would suggest no manure, lots of compost, so long as it is compost and not half rotted.

Totty

[Wiltshire Worms]

if you want to avoid the thinning out bit completly you can buy  "monogerm" seeds that only grow one plant from each seed. they are big enough to station sow..the variety is Solo  but next year im going back to boltardy.