[Beetroot queen]

even though my name is beetroot queen I dont have a clue, I just love the finished product in a sandwich. They have about 8-10 leaves per plant and were really squashed I have re-planted half but I am not sure about spacing, I just need to get them in, and as we only have half a plot so far I didnt have much space to pop them.

Do they need anything special, do they need to be netted, when do I know they are ready, pics would be fab if you have them (  a picture says a thousand words) 

[Ropster]

I would say about 2 to 3 inches apart depending how big you want them to grow, start picking whan golf ball sized, pick every other one to allow those left to get bigger

[Lee G]

No need to net them either, just pop 'em in the ground and wait.......

[DD.]

Root veg don't like a lot of transplantation, more so when large plants. These sound quite big, so I'd keep my fingers well crossed!

[Beetroot queen]

Root veg don't like a lot of transplantation, more so when large plants. These sound quite big, so I'd keep my fingers well crossed!

The roots were tiny, just leaves really, they were free so it hasnt hurt to try

Thanks for the help 

[gillie]

"Root veg don't like a lot of transplantation"

I am worried about the current vogue for growing root veg in modules and planting them out.  I did it with some beetroot, they sulked dreadfully and some have died.  I now realise that the roots had come out of the bottom of the modules and everytime I moved them I did some damage.  It was also almost impossible to get the plugs out without doing further damage.

In future all my beetroot are going to be sown straight into the ground.

Cheers,

Gillie

[mashauk]

I soaked mine (by accident) for 2 days (was meant to be overnight) and they had sprouted and have come up much quicker than the ones I planted straight in the ground.

[Bombers]

"Root veg don't like a lot of transplantation"

I am worried about the current vogue for growing root veg in modules and planting them out.  I did it with some beetroot, they sulked dreadfully and some have died.  I now realise that the roots had come out of the bottom of the modules and everytime I moved them I did some damage.  It was also almost impossible to get the plugs out without doing further damage.

In future all my beetroot are going to be sown straight into the ground.

Cheers,

Gillie

Best way IMHO. Then thin them out to 2-3" as and when big enough. I've just sown another short row BQ. Plenty of time yet.

Picky as requested.

[janeheritage]

I grew my beetlets in seed trays and planted them out. Most of them are fine but one or two have resented it and grown into spirals, not golf balls  .

If I'm going to sow them indoors again I'd do it in Jiffys or peat pots to minimise the disturbance.

Agree about the spacing by the way!

[Kristen]

I am worried about the current vogue for growing root veg in modules and planting them out.   

I grow pretty much everything in seed trays / pots and plant out.  Our soil is heavy clay and doesn't have much goodness (yet! I'm working on that!) which is part of the reason, the other part is to control how many I have - a row of lettuces just goes to waste, and if I have no lettuces for a month - which used to happen when I sow a drill and then we didn't have decent growing weather - we wind up buying them instead.

Quite a lot of things I start in 1/4 seed trays, and then pot-on. For plants going straight into the ground I use 9cm / 3.5" pots - I find they are a bit more suitable than 3" pots if something needs to be held a bit before planting out. For things that I will pot-on, such as Tomatoes and Cucumbers, I use 3" pots initially

I've been growing beetroot that way for three years and, touch wood!, none have bolted or been entered for the weird-vegetable show category!

However, I'm not sure I would risk it from very small modules.

Parsnips and the like I've grown for the first time this year in Richy's Paper Pots, which went "whole" into the ground when the plants were tiny.

Carrots I'm trying in large pots (I did a few in paper pots but its a bit high-labour-content per carrot produced for me!)

Everything else is raised a few-at-a-time in pots.  4 to 6 pots of lettuce per sowing, twice a month or thereabouts, most other things (Cauli's etc.) I sow once a month as I figure they will "hold" from first harvest, to last harvest, for about a month.

[Christine]

It's all a case of what works for you isn't it? But the more you can sow straight into the ground the less work you have to do.

I'm one for adding fertiliser before planting anyway so if there isn't much goodness in your soil you are doing the best that you can. You can use whichever one suits you and which the plants like (there's some good advice in John's pages on the different fertilisers and what they are good for).

I know that it takes time to build up the soil fertility but it won't be any better for starting everything off in seed trays. Preparation as I go is my motto. Root crops Igo straight in and things like calabrese, cabbage, purple sprouting broccoli, peas, beans, marrows and courgettes I have found do better that way.

[BobandJack]

Almost all  my beetroot (and chard) straight into the ground got eaten by something, sowed a few more but nothing came up so I've got some module sown seedlings to go in this weekend to replace them, root disturbance or not