[tali]

Which is the best type to have and how big should you let them grow? are they better in lightly fetilised soil or manured soil??? any help will be gratefully aprecciated x

[WG.]

I am a big fan of Boltardy since they give a wonderful deep red globe.  Perfect for pickling, roasting or boiled and served with white sauce.

I've never found them to get stringy even when large.

Also tried Cylindra last year which was fine - nothing wrong with it.  Maybe a little more prone to bolting

[clive f]

Hi Tali i alway's grow boltardy and let them grow to about tenis ball size , No fresh manure or the root's will fork

[muntjac]

stick to bolthardy . sow a succesion every 3 weeks . if you take a row as the norm for your bett start at one side of the plot and put 2 sticks in iether side .run a sowing line down to them . select 3 ft and sow enough seed in that bit  about 20 seeds is good then mark another row out about 2 inches from the first  so you have 2 parralel lines .now stagger the seed in that 2 nd row  about 15 seeds . cover and leave to come on there will be enough growing room for all those seeds and you dont have to do any thinning .WHICH I TOTALLLY DISAGREE WITH AS A WASTE OF SEED N FOOD   . leave the rest for 3 weeks  pick when just above golf ball size . and this wil take you right through the season , and it takes the same amount of space up , if your plot is narrow sow just the one row but 2 inches apart   boil what you want to save  there are a few ways to save and preserve it , in the autumn you can dig them up and put them in loose compost to store in a cool but not frosty shed

[WG.]

A WASTE OF SEED

I transplant the thinnings.  They do just fine.

[muntjac]

a lot of people dont thats what makes me x .i saw blooming monty do that just pick loads out n dump em  :x  :evil:  :evil: nif you sow them properly then you dont need to thin any seed. if its small like onion seed use a bit wet flipping cotton  and a big piece of card or paper to spread em out, make loads litle cotton buds to pick up each seed and stick the lot in the soil

[GrannieAnnie]

My boltardy always do well, and last year so did the Detroit Globe I got

[WG.]

nif you sow them properly then you dont need to thin any seed. if its small like onion seed use a bit wet flipping cotton  and a big piece of card or paper to spread em out, make loads litle cotton buds to pick up each seed and stick the lot in the soil

Missed this bit first time around.  So are you saying you split the multi-germ varieties of beetroot to give individual seeds?   Love the wet cottonwool idea - presumably you can do that with many different types of seed?

[muntjac]

i just stick em in mate .they all come or none .
An easy root vegetable to grow, Beetroot is not fussy about soil but wants the best  sunny spot. they will / should   do greatplanted with carrots, cucumbers, lettuces, onions, the entire brassica family and most beansdont put em near runners though if you stick em near fennel it brings in other bugs to eat the bad ones

[muntjac]

yeh the wet cotton wool ( damp end ) werks great for small stuff .you can also use an artists brush for cell planting

[Ann]

quote: in the autumn you can dig them up and put them in loose compost to store in a cool but not frosty shed

I have always used pickling vinegar in the past but will try this method this year as I am not particularly keen on pickling them

[ziggywigs]

I plant boltardy and harvest as necessary i try to sow thinly and pull baby beets which are nice and this leaves room for the others to grow bigger.

[muntjac]

boil em clean the skin off and vacuuum seal them in packs  and leave in freese .i did see them dried out some time back overseas .looked like purple crisps they would be dumped in soups n stews etc

[ziggywigs]

Hi Munty how do you vacuumpack them? Do you need special equipment?

[muntjac]

you need a sealer and a straw suck out the air and roll the top seal with a heater seal ,not sure the correct name for it