[alwayshopeful]

I don't have an allotment, just a good sized garden plot, so am trying to utilise every last bit of space.

Can I grow beetroot amongst summer cabbage and calabrese?  Am hoping beetroot won't grow too large and be ready before cabbages abd calabrese need the space 

Sorry if sound a bit stoopid, but quite new to this gardening lark, and last two years have been non starters to say the least.  Hope this year will be betta 

[iwantanallotment]

I'm not sure that beetroot are fast enough growing to be ready before your brassicas, but I stand to be corrected 
Maybe radishes would be better or small lettuces?

[Kristen]

Can you raise (or buy I suppose) some plants in 3" pots?

You could get a months growth (from sow to plant out) on Beetroot before you planted it out - that way they might harvest soon enough to not be in the way.

[alwayshopeful]

I have already started the beetroot off in pots.  It is not big enough to be planted out fully yet, but was hoping to do so with cabages and brassicas, as unfortunately not got a lot of room left, especially once the peas go in!!

[andtiggertoo]

I'm in same boat, i thought they might be a catch crop, and was going to interplant them in my spuds, but was reminded by those in the know on here that I'd run into problems with earthing spuds up !( But I am following the spuds up with leeks that I have started off in root trainers. They can stay there until final planting, others are using cat trays which are also deep enough to allow quite a bit of growth)

Next plan was to interplant the beetroot in my brassica bed, and i think i will have to put them there as i also have them in pots and they are about an inch tall now ( and i have lots of them !)

I realise that they do take a bit longer than i actually thought but i have globe varieties which according to Dr Hessayan take 11 weeks, which is lot less time than my kale which takes 30 weeks to mature, my red cabbage which takes 20 plus weeks. The calabrese takes 12 weeks so I'll not put any in with that.

I hope this will work, though i have no previous experiance, so am winging it a bit.

Hope you find a space for them, if you can't squeeze them in anywhere maybe try them in pots ? Not sure how they would do but if you've already sowed them there nothing to lose.

[Jay Dubya]

Hi, the idea of catch crops is that you put a fast growing crop in with a slow growing one so you harvest it before the other is mature, it won't work if the crops mature at the same time they will take each others land.

[Stripey_cat]

Beetroot will be OK so long as you pull them as soon as the cabbages need the space (ie before they start to touch leaves), even if they're still tiny.  You'll, at best, only get baby beet, but that's what you want for summer crops anyway.  You can do the same with carrots sown now (pull them as pencil-thick salad sorts), spring onions, cut and come again seedling salads (rocket is good!), and the ubiquitous radish.