Planting beets with seeds in open ground in spring: terms and rules for sowing. How to grow good beets: planting, watering, feeding beets Where to sow beets

Exist different ways beet sowing. The two planting options are seeds and seedlings. Suitable time may be spring or autumn, the main observance correct timing. carried out in the period of 1-2 decades of May, when the soil becomes completely warmed up.

If seeds are found in insufficiently warmed soil, seedlings will begin to shoot and good harvest will not be received.

The autumn period can also be chosen for planting beet seeds, usually the end of October or November, depending on the region. Landing is carried out in the event of an air temperature of -4 degrees. should not be carried out too soon, as seeds awakened from warmth may die.

Often beets are planted in seedlings. In this case, the seeds are planted at home. Also, landing is done inside a greenhouse or greenhouse.

Seedlings are sown when the first days of April come and a month later they are placed in open ground. The seedling method of planting beets provides early harvest and saving seeds, since the sprouts remaining after thinning are also suitable for planting.

What does it depend on?

The sowing time for beets is determined by the climate conditions of the region where you live. The optimal time for planting a vegetable is when the last frosts are gone. The sowing time is also affected by whether you are going to cover the crops with foil.

Sowing time also determines the beet variety. Generally, early varieties should be sown earlier, and late ones should be planted later. When planting late varieties too soon, coarser root crops will form.

Sowing dates for seedlings and planting in open ground in spring - what's the difference?

You can often hear advice to plant beets in the early spring, in March. However, it does not tolerate frost very well, you should keep this in mind. In the Ural, Siberian areas, it will be necessary to plant beets in open ground one way or another when mid-May comes. When seedlings are grown at home for a long time, they stretch out and future yields decrease. This means that for planting seedlings in the garden, it is more correct to sow it in April, in the early days or in the middle.

The appearance of 2-3 true leaves means that the seedlings are ready for open ground. It is important to prevent overgrowth of seedlings. If the roots are supported on the bottom of the box, the shape of the root crops may turn out to be incorrect.

Planting seedlings in the garden occurs when the soil is warmed up to no less than +10 degrees (usually this is mid-May).

When to sow seeds?

The best thing

Beetroot is a heat-loving vegetable, so it is planted in the ground, which is warmed up to + 5-10 degrees. The timing of planting beets varies depending on the climate. For example, in southern regions(Krasnodar, Kuban) beets are planted in March-April. At the same time, in the regions of the Moscow region, it occurs in the early to mid-May days, and in the Siberian and Ural regions, this is the period of the second half of May.

It is forbidden to sow beets except when the soil is warmed up at a depth of 10 cm (in spring), or otherwise in autumn for winter planting in late-early October-November.

What happens if work is done outside normal hours?

If you sow beets for seedlings before mid-April under weather conditions that do not allow planting on the garden, then the seedlings will stretch.

Briefly about how to grow a vegetable

Read more about what can be planted after beets, next to the crop and what predecessors are suitable for it, read.

With the right growing place, beets do not require top dressing.

We offer you to watch a video on how to properly grow beets:

The time the beets are planted is the most important factor in caring for them. In the open ground and in the fall. Seedlings are planted when one and a half months remain before transplanting into open ground conditions.

At a temperature of +5 degrees, the seeds begin to germinate and withstand short-term cooling down to -2 degrees. But freezing should be avoided, as this leads to the flowering of plants.

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In the preparation of borscht, “fur coat” and “vinaigrette” salads, one cannot do without beets. Therefore, the beds flaunt with this not the most popular, but necessary culture in the economy on almost every one. If you do not have many years of experience in growing this root vegetable, but you plan to do it, you have come to the right place. Today we'll talk about how to plant beet seeds V open ground.

We prepare a plot of open ground for planting beets

If you do not want to bother with growing beet seedlings, you can safely plant the seeds directly in open ground. By the way, this is exactly what most summer residents do. However, it would be wrong to arrange beds on any free piece of land. A place for beets must meet two basic requirements:

1. Free access sun rays . Do not plant beets near trees, bushes, sunflowers, corn - anything that can cast a shadow on them.

2. good drainage. Do not plant beets in places where moisture stagnation occurs. If there is no other place to go, try fixing poor drainage by adding sand, sawdust, or compost to the soil. If the site is in a lowland, correct the situation by pouring earth on it in the uplands.

Choose a well-lit and well-drained area of ​​open ground

The next thing to consider when choosing a site for planting beets is crop rotation. It can be planted in its original place only after 4 years. It also grows poorly after cabbage. good predecessors beets are considered cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin, potatoes and greens. Feel free to plant this crop in the spring at the place where green manure grew.

The area of ​​open ground selected for planting beets must be properly prepared. In autumn, dig it up with the addition organic fertilizer(excluding fresh manure). In the spring, loosen the soil and add mineral fertilizers to it. Suitable ammonium nitrate, superphosphate and potassium chloride.

Beets love fertilized soil

We plant beets in open ground on time and correctly

Beets for quick consumption are planted in April or May, when the earth warms up to 10ºС, and for winter storage - in the first half of June. Beets can be planted in open ground in autumn, but only until the first frost - in October.

If you want to improve seed germination, do not skip preparations. Soak them in a growth stimulator solution, strictly following the instructions. Suitable for this purpose is a solution that is prepared from 1 liter of warm water and 1 tbsp. l. wood ash. Seeds must be kept in it for a day.

The next stage is the swelling of the seeds. They should be placed between layers of wet cloth, cotton wool or napkins for three days. During this time, maintain the same humidity. During this time, the planting material activates its internal forces and becomes fully suitable for planting.

Swollen seeds germinate better

If you want the rows of beets to be even, stick sticks at the two extreme points of each of them and pull a thread between them. It will serve as a ruler under which you will make even furrows. Deepen them by 2-3 cm. Suitable furrows can be made using a long board.

Depth of furrows - 3-4 cm

Keep a distance of 40-45 cm between adjacent rows. The places where the beet seed will fall must be carefully watered. Beet seeds are large enough that you can easily lower them into the groove at a distance of 10 cm from each other. By planting them more often, you will create the need for subsequent thinning of young shoots.

Frequently sown seeds will need to be thinned out

Now you know exactly how to plant beets with seeds in the open field. You will definitely cope with this simple task. You will easily find information on how to care for your beets from planting to harvest. Even those who have been farming for the first year can grow this culture.

Watch a useful video: rules for planting beets in open ground

Beetroot or, as it is popularly called, beetroot is a valuable and tasty product that is in demand by domestic consumers. In this regard, it is not surprising that almost all gardeners prefer to grow this crop on their plots.

Despite the fact that the vegetable has been known for more than one century, for last years in connection with certain achievements in the field of soil science, agrochemistry and other related crops, the technology of its cultivation has undergone certain changes. When it is better to plant beets and what to pay especially close attention to when growing them, we will try to find out.

Beets are included in the usual diet of many Russians.

Before looking for an answer to the question of when it is worth starting to plant beets, a number of other equally significant issues should be resolved.

Location selection

Sowing beets should begin with choosing the right place where the crop will grow safely and be able to give a good harvest.

It is recommended to plant a crop such as table beets in areas where there is no shortage of sunlight and heat. Due to this optimal location for beds - the south side of the site, not shaded by trees or shrubs.

Since beets are very fond of water, they will need to be watered almost every day. In order not to experience difficulties in the process of watering, planting beets should be done near a water source.

The place for planting beets must be sunny

Often, beets are planted with other crops: cucumbers or, for example, beans. In no case should beets be sown in the place where cabbage used to grow. It is recommended to change the beet bed every year. If the crop is constantly planted in the same area, the land will be depleted, and the risk of infection of the plant with diseases and pests will increase significantly.

Soil preparation

To grow a decent beet crop, root crops should be sown in loose, neutral soil. At the same time, the digging of the beds should be carried out in advance: before winter, after harvesting. Clods of earth should not be broken when digging - this way more moisture will accumulate inside the soil. If the soil is acidic, it should be limed. For this purpose, wood ash or dolomite flour is evenly distributed throughout the area intended for the subsequent cultivation of beets in open ground. If beets are planted on loam, superphosphate can be added during autumn digging.

Important! When preparing the soil for planting beets, in no case is it allowed to use fresh manure. It contains a large amount of nitrogen, which is transferred to the root crop and accumulates in it in the form of nitrates.

Proper soil preparation will allow you to successfully grow a crop for next year and get an excellent harvest.

Preparation before sowing is carried out already in the spring, just a few days before the seed is in the ground. Usually limited to loosening the soil. If desired, it is additionally allowed to cut grooves.

Seed preparation

Sowing beets in open ground in the spring, among other things, implies seedbed preparation the seeds themselves.

It is better to buy granular beet seeds

Currently on sale you can easily find a wide range of planting material that does not require pre-sowing treatment. We are talking about the so-called pelleted seeds, in which growth stimulants and protective agents have already been added. Such seeds are allowed to be sown in the soil immediately after purchase.

If you take simple seeds for planting, they will need to be subjected to some additional procedures.

The easiest method to prepare seeds is to soak them in warm water with stimulants for several days. The most important – do not forget to dry them thoroughly just before sowing. Otherwise, they will stick together, and when the seedlings germinate, they will need to be thinned out very much.

Landing time

The question of when it is better to plant beets does not have a definite answer. Even if you type a query in the browser search line, like “when it is worth planting beets in open ground with seeds or planting beets in the spring and sowing, when to sow, how to plant correctly”, there will be no specific recommendations.

Generally speaking, the culture is allowed to be planted in two terms: in early spring and almost in summer.

Early sowing ensures fast emergence. Early-ripening varieties should be used for this planting. Early sowing will not be very suitable for regions with a cold and wet spring. So, for example, if you sow beets in the Moscow region too early, firstly, it will sprout too early, and secondly, it will most likely go into shooting. On such plants, root crops grow very small and unsuitable for food.

So for middle lane In Russia, the most favorable period when it is better to sow beets is May (its end) or even the beginning of June.

When to plant beets

Important! Many gardeners plant beets at the same time as potatoes when the soil temperature is at least 10 degrees.

Autumn sowing of beets is also allowed. But in this case, you need to use only special cold-resistant varieties that are not prone to flowering. autumn planting has its undoubted advantages:

• the seeds have time to partially swell during the period of pre-spring thaws;
• during the winter, the seeds have time to harden;
• have time to ascend earlier;
• form a stronger and healthier root system.

There is also a big minus of pre-winter landing. Root crops grown in this way are not suitable for long-term storage.

Some gardeners, when calculating planting time, use moon calendar- it allows you to choose the most favorable date for the landing work.

Seeding technique

Having figured out when to plant beets, it's time to learn how to do it right. Sowing beets is possible in four ways.

lowercase

At the landing site, rows are cut with a depth of three to five centimeters at a distance from one another from 20 to 30 centimeters. Furrows are carefully watered with water using a watering can, from which the sprayer is removed in advance. Jet watering allows not only to water the ground more efficiently, but also to compact it. The secret is that the seeds in this case will be located at the same depth and will sprout at the same time. We plant seeds with an interval of 3-4 cm.

Row seeding method

On the landing strip

Landing tape - the most simple and convenient way landing. A special strip (tape) for planting in specialized gardening stores can be sold with seeds already fixed. But if desired, the landing tape is easy to make yourself. To do this, drops of a starch-based paste are applied to a strip of toilet paper and beet seedlings are attached to them. Such a landing scheme can save a lot of time. All that is required for planting is to shed a furrow with water, lay a tape on it and sprinkle it well with earth.

Tape

This method involves combining several rows with an interval between lines of about 15 cm into one wider tape. Between the tapes, do not forget to leave a gap of about 40 cm to simplify the care of the crop (in particular, watering and weeding).

When to plant beets

seedlings

Seeds for seedlings should be sown no later than mid-April. It is recommended to use individual containers or peat pots. Transplantation into open ground is done when the plant has several leaves. Seedlings should be planted in such a way that the average distance between plants is about 15 cm.

Sowing beets is easy

Important! A few days before planting, it is recommended to take the seedlings outside and place them in the shade to harden young plants.

This method of planting allows you to save seeds due to the absence of the need for thinning crops.

Important! You can save space when landing in other ways. For example, you can plant different vegetables on the same bed. Beets coexist well with legumes, radishes and onions.

How to take care of plantings

Despite the fact that beets – not the most fastidious root crop, it requires some care. At the same time, the list of manipulations that should be performed with the crop does not differ, depending on the region in which the planting was carried out: whether it be the Kuban, the Moscow Region or, for example, the Urals, the algorithm of actions for obtaining a good harvest is approximately identical.

thinning

One seed crop gives 2-4 sprouts. In this regard, thinning is one of the most significant moments in agricultural technology. In total, this procedure is performed three times during the season:

1. The first time the plants should be thinned out immediately after emergence. This is usually done when the first leaves appear on the shoot. This time the plants are left quite thickly - about 2 cm apart. In parallel with this, weeds are removed, and row spacing is loosened;
2. The next thinning is recommended to be done about a month after the first. The interval between plantings is increased to 8 cm, leaving the strongest specimens. At this time, the head of the root crop begins to form, so it will be useful to carry out prevention from diseases. Alternatively, you can use Kazim or any other fungicide of medium toxicity;
3. The last time the beets are thinned out at the stage of appearance of root crops. The distance between plants should be 15 centimeters.

Watering

Watering for beets is especially important, especially at the initial stage of vegetation. The entire first month after planting, the crop should be watered, regardless of weather conditions, at least once a week, and later on as the soil dries up. Stop watering about a month before harvest. If this is not done, the root crop will lie badly. It will not be superfluous to mulch the planting. Straw, last year's foliage, peat, etc. can be used as mulch.

Watering beetroot

Cleaning

Selective harvesting of beets begins in mid-summer. By this time, individual specimens have time to grow to a decent state. Young vegetables are allowed to be processed and eaten along with the tops.

Mass harvesting of crops from the garden is usually done in mid-September. It is very important to have time to harvest before the first frost. In addition, if the beets are overexposed in the ground, they will coarsen, and pronounced rings will appear in its pulp, which will negatively affect its taste characteristics.

After harvesting, it's time to think about what to plant in the beet garden next year. To replenish soil reserves in organic matter, it is preferable to plan for planting those plants that accept fertilizer with manure. We are talking about corn, pumpkin, zucchini. Beets should be returned to their original place no earlier than three years later.

What to do for a good yield

To get a normal harvest, one full-fledged top dressing is enough.

To get a good beet harvest, you need to make a certain amount of effort.

But if, despite this, the plants do not develop quickly enough, it is recommended to repeat the procedure. To do this, you can use mineral fertilizers, which include nitrogen.

Important! To prevent oversaturation of the plant with nitrates, nitrogen, like potassium, can be applied with herbal infusions. To obtain the latter, freshly cut grass is poured into the container in equal proportions and poured into it. warm water. The composition should be insisted within a week. The resulting funds are used at the next watering of the plant.

The presence of trace elements in the soil has a certain effect on the quality of the crop. To stimulate the growth of the beet head and increase its sugar content, you can use Makbor fertilizer, which includes calcium, magnesium and boron. If we talk about folk remedies, simple table salt is best suited here at the rate of 1 tablespoon per ten-liter bucket.

It does not take much effort to get an excellent beet harvest. The most important – know when and how to plant beets correctly, and follow all the recommendations exactly.

Beetroot was brought to Rus' from Byzantium in the 10th century. In ancient times, this plant was highly valued for its healing properties, so, for example, Hippocrates used it to treat infectious and skin diseases. Currently, beets have firmly entered our diet, in addition, there are many recipes traditional medicine in which this useful root crop has found application.

It is difficult to find a summer resident who does not grow table beets on his site, and there is a simple explanation for this. Not only is it a very useful vegetable, as mentioned above, it is also easy to grow, as it is an extremely unpretentious plant. But, despite this, in order to get an excellent harvest, some rules should be followed. Let's figure out how to plant beets (sowing, seedlings, features, care), we will try to talk about all this in this article.

Sowing dates

To begin with, let's decide when to sow beets in open ground. This healthy vegetable can be sown in the spring, or before winter.

To obtain an early harvest, sowing is carried out in the fall, at the beginning of November, or under a film at the end of April, and those beets that are intended for long-term storage are sown in May, after the 10th, but no later than May 20th. If the seeds are sown too early, in cold soil, root crops may not grow, instead flower stalks form. After the first sprouts appear, the film can be removed (beet seedlings tolerate frosts down to -2 ° C).

Choice of landing site

A bed for planting is best prepared in the fall. First of all, it should be dug up on a spade bayonet, and loosened well. It is advisable to add half a bucket per m 2 of rotted compost or humus to the soil (fresh manure is not recommended). If it is large, it is recommended to add lime or chalk when digging at the rate of 1 glass per m 2 (you can’t add it in the spring, this can cause root diseases such as scab). Before sowing, you should fertilize the soil, such a mixture will do: 10-12 teaspoons of boric acid, 1 teaspoon of magnesium sulfate, about 2 cups of ash and a tablet of microelements (all this per m 2). Chlorine-containing fertilizers should not be applied for planting, but magnesium loves very much. Growing beets in open ground sandy soil requires the application of peat, turf land and humus to the site (1 bucket per m 2). A full bucket of peat and coarse river sand are added to the clay soil with the addition of two liters of stale sawdust, which should be treated with a solution of urea beforehand.

Seed preparation

How to plant beets with seeds in open ground, you ask? So, before sowing, the seeds should first be prepared for planting. To do this, it is advisable to soak them in a solution of baking soda or ash (half a teaspoon per 0.5 liter of water) for a day, then rinse, wrap in a damp cloth and keep in this form at a temperature of at least 25 0 C for two days. This technique allows you to get friendly shoots a week after sowing.

Sowing

How and when to plant beets? Landing is carried out, as mentioned above, in spring or autumn. So, if you plant beets in the fall, then the seeding rate will be 3 g per m 2, the seeds are laid to a depth of about 4 cm, they are covered with mulch on top.

How to plant beets with seeds in the ground and seedlings in the spring? Seeds are sown in rows at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other, in grooves to a depth of 2.5-3 cm. hot water, lay out the seeds in them at a distance of 2-3 cm from one another, then they are slightly pressed into the ground and mulched. Most beet seeds are multi-sprouted, that is, 2-4 sprouts appear from one seed, therefore, 5-6 days after the shoots have appeared, the first thinning is carried out, in which the plants are left at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other. The second thinning is done after the formation of 5-6 leaves, leaving a distance between root crops of 8-10 cm.

We looked at how to plant beets with seeds in open ground, but in the spring some gardeners prefer to plant this vegetable with seedlings, so let's talk about how to do it right.

A month before planting beets in a permanent place, seedlings are sown in a specially prepared substrate according to a 4 x 4 cm scheme. This method of cultivation allows you to get a crop 3 weeks earlier than usual. It is not necessary to dive seedlings before planting in the ground. The required temperature for growing is 15-20 o C. Seedlings are best grown beets with oval root crops. Transplanting it to a permanent place begins when the plant forms 3-4 leaves. Before this, the seedling container is properly spilled with water, after which the plant is dug up with a special spatula. In order for the beets to take root better, before planting, the root of the sprout is shortened by about 1/4 part. After that, the seedlings are well watered. Plants are planted at a distance of 8-10 cm from one another.

Further care for the beets consists in timely loosening, weeding, fertilizing and watering.

Care

So, when to sow beets in open ground, we figured out, now let's talk about how to care for it.

Beet seeds, as mentioned above, sprout slowly, therefore, approximately 3-4 days after sowing, it is recommended to slightly loosen the soil on the ridge with a spring rake, this will ensure friendly shoots. Real deep loosening is carried out for the first time 4 days after friendly shoots have appeared. In general, beets are very responsive to loosening, so do not forget to loosen the soil after rain or watering, but after the leaves have closed, loosening should be stopped.

This vegetable does not like darkening, so do not forget to weed weeds in time, this is especially true in the phase of root crops. By the way, in August, beets require another thinning, when weeding, remove excess root crops, the distance between plants should be 15-20 cm. After weeding and thinning, be sure to spud the plants and mulch the soil.

Many summer residents pick leaves on beets to make summer soups and salads. It is strictly forbidden to do this, the yield will be much lower. Do not forget to water the beets in a timely manner, with a lack of moisture, the roots become woody. For better maturation, watering is stopped 4-5 weeks before

Beet diseases

An excess of nitrogen in the soil can lead to the formation of voids inside the root crops, with a lack of boron, core rot can develop. Appearance yellow spots on the leaves indicates a lack of potassium, the redness of the tops indicates a lack of sodium and an increased acidity of the soil.

Beets are affected by diseases such as false rust, phomosis, leaf spot. The pests of this root crop are root beetle, beet aphid, nematode, flea, fly, root aphid, smooth dead beetle. With these diseases and pests, folk remedies, proven for centuries, will help to cope.

Cleaning and storage of beets

Beets are harvested before the onset of frost, that is, no later than mid-September, in general, the growing season of the root crop (depending on the variety) ranges from 50 to 80 days. Before storage, cut the leaves at a distance of about 3 cm from the root crop. Beets are stored in boxes, sprinkled with sand, at a temperature of 1-3 0 C.

"Bordeaux 237", "Pablo", "Podzimnaya A-474", "Cold-resistant", "Renova", "Griboyedovskaya flat A-473", "Egyptian flat", "Pushkinskaya flat K-18", "Incomparable A-46 ", "Single-growth".

Well, that’s all, you now know when to sow beets in open ground, which seeds to prefer, how to care for them and how to store them.

Have a good harvest!

Plant beet (lat. Beta) belongs to the genus one-, two- and perennial herbaceous plants of the Amaranth family, although not so long ago, beets, which in Ukraine are called beetroot, and beetroot in Belarus, were classified as part of the Marevy family. The main representative of the genus is the common beet, which has three varieties: table beet, fodder beet and sugar beet. The beetroot vegetable grows on all continents except Antarctica. The progenitor of cultivated plant species, wild beets were used both for food and as a medicinal plant in ancient Babylon. The most interesting thing is that at first only leaves were eaten, and beet roots were used for medicinal purposes.

The ancient Greeks sacrificed beets to Apollo, as one of the most valuable plants for them. Cultural forms of root beets appeared only at the beginning of our era, and in the X-XI centuries they were already cultivated in Kievan Rus. Fodder beets were brought to XVI century in Germany, and sugar beet breeding began in 1747, when it turned out that sugar contained in cane was also found in beets. Today, beet sugar is used more frequently than cane sugar in many countries. beetroot (Beta vulgaris) has become an essential crop known to be rich in essential antioxidants, potassium and folic acid.

Planting and caring for beets

• Landing: sowing seeds in the ground is carried out before winter or in spring, when the air warms up to 8-10 ˚C. Early varieties are sown for seedlings in April, and seedlings are transplanted into the ground three months later - in early or mid-May.
• Lighting: bright sunlight.
• The soil: peat bogs, loams, medium loamy chernozems of neutral or slightly alkaline reaction. Do not grow carrots in soil that has been made with fresh manure or compost.
• Predecessors: Undesirable: Carrots, beets, chard, potatoes, all types of cabbage and other cruciferous crops. Good: grains and legumes, eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers.
• Watering: regular (3-4 times per season), as soon as the topsoil dries out, in dry weather - plentiful. The best way is sprinkling. Water consumption per 1 m² of land - 20-30 liters. Stop watering three weeks before harvest.
• Top dressing: after the first thinning - with a solution of bird droppings (1:12) or mullein (1:18), spending 12 liters of fertilizer for every 10 m² of land. When the beet tops close, ash is scattered over the beds at the rate of 1 glass per 1.5 m², after which the site must be watered.
• Reproduction: seed.
• Pests: mining and beet flies, aphids, scoops, flea beetles and shield-beetles.
• Diseases: red rot (or felt disease), fusarium (or brown rot), root beetle, peronosporosis, cercosporosis, phomosis.

Read more about growing beets below.

Beet plant - description

Beet root, the so-called root crop, is juicy, thick and fleshy. In most varieties, when growing in the ground, it is not completely immersed in the ground, but slightly protrudes above the surface. In the first year of growth, beets, like carrots, develop only a rosette of large, bare, ovoid, basal leaves on long petioles, as well as a root crop.

Sometimes by the end of the first year, but usually on the second, an upright, highly branched, faceted stem appears from the middle of the rosette, reaching from half a meter to a meter in height, with small alternate, almost sessile leaves, in the axils of which bunches of small, dim, also sessile flowers appear, composed in complex spikes. The beet fruit is a compressed one-seeded plant.

Diverse beneficial features beets, due to the presence of organic acids, iron and fiber in the roots. Because of this, beets are often used in diets to treat hypertension, kidney stones, diabetes, scurvy, and other conditions. Big healing power has fresh beet juice.

Growing beets from seeds

Sowing beet seeds

Growing beets in open ground involves sowing seeds both in seedlings and in seedlings. Despite the fact that the beet culture is cold-resistant, it should be sown in open ground no earlier than the air warms up to 6-8 ºC, however, the full development of the plant begins only when the temperature rises to 16 ºC. In addition, if early sown seedlings fall under frost, they will shoot themselves instead of growing root crops. To stimulate germination, beet seeds are soaked for a day in cold water or for half an hour in warm (35 ºC).

Seeds are buried in the ground to a depth of 2-3 cm, and the distance between rows is observed depending on the variety - from 7 cm if you grow small beets for canning, and up to 30-35 cm if you need large root crops. The distance between specimens in a row in the first case is 5-6 cm, and in the second - up to 10 cm.

Since in many beet varieties the seeds are collected in seedlings of 2-3 pieces, the sprouts appear in a heap and require thinning at an early stage of development, in the phase of formation of the first pair of true leaves. As a result of the procedure, the distance between shoots should be 3-4 cm. Removed shoots are transplanted to another place: at this stage of development, they easily take root.

Simultaneously with the first thinning, the site is weeded, and then mulched with fine organic matter - sawdust, for example.

The second thinning is carried out when the seedlings acquire two pairs of leaves, and the root crop reaches a diameter of 1.5 cm - the interval between seedlings after the second thinning should be 6-10 cm. Thinning with simultaneous weeding is carried out after watering or rain in cloudy weather.

Growing beet seedlings

Seedlings grow early varieties of beets, which are rich in vitamin C and carotene, as well as betanin, calcium, iron, phosphorus and other biologically active substances. Young beets are as valuable an early vegetable as radishes, lettuce, green onion. Choose flowering-resistant beet varieties for growing seedlings - K-249, Polar flat, Cold-resistant 19.

The cultivation of beet seedlings begins three weeks before its planting in open ground with pre-sowing seed treatment. The seed for disinfection is soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, then the seeds are kept for 2-3 days in a humid environment for pecking, and finally they are laid out in a box on a damp, light soil pickled with Phytosporin to avoid black leg disease, lightly sprinkled with the same substrate and placed in greenhouse.

Caring for beetroot seedlings is no different than caring for any other seedlings - it needs slightly moist soil, constant temperature and daily airing.

Picking beet seedlings

How to dive beet seedlings, and when to do it? Picking is carried out according to the same principle, with the same signs and with the same interval as when thinning seedlings in open ground. Seedlings dive only once, but if you sowed the seeds not in a box, but in cups, then you can not dive seedlings, but plant them in open ground right in cups.

Planting beets in open ground

When to plant beets in the ground

Planting beets in the ground is carried out from mid-May at the stage of development of seedlings 4-5 leaves. Required condition- soil warmed up to 8-10 ºC at a depth of 8-10 cm, which is possible only if the place under the beets is well lit by the sun.

Soil for beets

Before planting beets, you need to choose a site for it and prepare the soil on it. Most of all, beets love fertile loose soils - peat bogs, medium loamy chernozems of slightly alkaline or neutral reaction - the pH should be at least 5 and not higher than 8 units. In acidic or too alkaline soil, beets get sick. Do not plant beets on soils that have been filled with fresh manure or compost: at least 3 years must pass before beets can be grown in such areas.

You can plant beets in areas where onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, cereals, eggplants, peppers and legumes grew before it, chard, carrots, all types of beets, potatoes, rapeseed and any cabbage are undesirable for beets.

In early spring, for digging, 20-30 g of ammonium sulphate, 15-20 g of ammonium nitrate, 10-15 g of potassium chloride and 30-40 g of superphosphate per 1 m² are added to the site. If the soil on the site is not fertile, then add 2-3 kg of humus per unit area, and to neutralize acidic soil, add half a kilo-kilogram of fluffy lime per 1 m².

How to plant beets in open ground

The size of the beet root depends on the planting density: the larger the gap between the seedlings, the larger the beet root will be. But too large root vegetables are inconvenient to use, in addition, they accumulate more nitrates in themselves and are not as tasty as medium-sized root vegetables. To get juicy, sweet root crops, seedlings are planted in rows on a cloudy day at a distance of 4-5 cm from each other, the row spacing should be about 25 cm. When transplanting, the central root of the seedling is shortened by a third of the length.

After transplanting into open ground, seedlings are watered with a solution of humate for early rooting and protected from the sun with non-woven material, erected over the beds along the entire length of the arc, so that the shelter laid on them does not damage fragile seedlings. After the young beet is accepted, gets stronger, and its root crop acquires a diameter of one and a half centimeters, it will be possible to thin out the seedlings to an interval of 8-10 cm between them, and by July, when the leaves of the tops almost close, the shelter is removed, and the site is mulched for protection. beets from weeds and conservation of moisture in the soil.

Planting beets before winter

Winter beets are planted in late October or early November. On a pre-dug and fertilized site, grooves are made at a distance of 15-20 cm, into which seeds are scattered at the rate of 2-3 g per m², or as described in the section on sowing beet seeds in open ground. The seeds are closed up to a depth of 3-4 cm. Planting beets in the fall involves mandatory mulching of the site for the winter with humus or peat.

Beet care

How to grow beets

Growing beet care requires removal from the site weed grass, regular watering and loosening of row spacings. If you have mulched the beds, then you will have to weed, loosen the soil and water the beets much less often. Loosening of row spacing to a depth of 4-6 cm is necessary for the destruction of the soil crust, which makes it difficult to aerate root crops. The crust is especially harmful to plants during the development of the first two pairs of leaves, since it is at this time that the root molt occurs, which retards the growth of the plant and makes it more demanding on growing conditions.

Beet processing

Weeds can drown out young plants, which grow very slowly until 4-5 leaves appear, so their timely removal is a very important condition for caring for beets. Before germination, weed control is carried out by spraying the area with tractor kerosene at the rate of 35-50 g of kerosene per m². And when the seedlings have 2-3 pairs of leaves, the plot is treated from weeds with a solution of sodium nitrate. Then, when the beet comes into force, the weeds will not be able to harm it.

Watering the beets

Beets normally tolerate a short drought, but if you need a high-quality and rich harvest, watering the beds with beets should be regular, and this is especially important just in hot, dry weather. You need to water the beets as soon as the topsoil dries out, it is advisable to do this in the evening, and The best way watering - sprinkling, because with this method, the leaves of the plant are refreshed and washed. If there is no mulch on the site, the next day after watering, it is necessary to loosen the row-spacing to a depth of 4 cm.

To increase the sugar content of root crops, before watering the beets, dissolve a tablespoon of kitchen salt in a bucket of water for watering. Too frequent and abundant watering is just as harmful to beets as insufficient moisture, as it is the cause of fungal diseases. On average, beets are watered 3-4 times per season, the water rate per 1 m² is 2-3 buckets. Two to three weeks before harvesting, watering is completely stopped - this measure also helps to increase the amount of sugar in root crops, and also improves their keeping quality.

Beet top dressing

Beets are very fond of organics, and from mineral fertilizers cracks and voids can form in root crops. How to fertilize beets in this case? At the beginning of growth, after the first thinning, it needs nitrogen fertilizers, which can be used as a solution of bird droppings in a consistency of 1:12 or mullein (1:8) at the rate of 12 liters of liquid fertilizer per 10 m². It is most convenient to make grooves at a distance of 5 cm from the seedlings and spill them with a fertilizer solution. When the tops of the rows close, it's time to apply potash fertilizers, which can be sprinkled on the beds with wood ash at the rate of 1 cup per 1.5 m², followed by watering the site.

A number of advantages has foliar top dressing of beets:

• Firstly, nutrients applied to the leaves are absorbed faster than with root dressing;
• secondly, the assimilation of nutrition is more complete, since, once in the soil, some substances sometimes take on a form that is inaccessible to plants;
• thirdly, foliar fertilization of beets can be carried out even when it is no longer possible to fertilize the soil without the risk of harming root crops;
• Fourth, the foliar application method allows fertilizers to be distributed evenly, which reduces the risk of overdose or accumulation of substances.

So that the beets do not lack molybdenum, boron and copper, these elements are fed precisely by top dressing on the leaves, just like milk of lime (200 g of lime per bucket of water), which nourishes root crops with potassium. Spraying the tops with a saline solution at the rate of 60 g of non-iodized salt per 10 liters of water nourishes the root crops with sodium and protects against the white butterfly and summer fly.

Pests and diseases of beets

Of the diseases, beets are most often affected by phomosis, cercosporosis, peronosporosis, root beetle and rot. To find out what beets are sick with, you need to know the symptoms possible diseases, and only a correct diagnosis will help you decide how and how to process beets in order to save the crop.

fomoz arises, as a rule, from a lack of boron in the soil - that is why it is so important foliar top dressing beet micronutrients. It manifests itself fungal disease brown or yellowish concentric spots on the lower leaves of the rosette, then black dots appear on them. As a result, dry rot of the heart develops - inside the root tissue becomes dark brown. Contribute to the development of the disease frequent prolonged rains, fogs, high humidity. If you find phomosis on plants, immediately apply root dressing with borax at the rate of 3 g per m² and spray the leaves with a solution of boric acid (half a spoonful per 10 liters of water). Incorporate next year boric acid at the rate of 3 g per m².

cercosporosis, or spotting, can destroy up to 70% of the beet crop by infecting the leaves of the plant, because of which they die off, and, consequently, the quality and keeping quality of root crops deteriorate. If you find small light spots outlined by a reddish border on the upper side of the leaves, and a light gray coating on the lower side, add potassium chloride to the soil as a top dressing. As a preventive measure, treat the seeds before sowing with Agat-25 in accordance with the instructions, and spray the soil with a fungicide before planting.

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