This tasty vegetable can produce in early spring and late fall BEETS ARE TREATS

By Hugh G. EARNHART

OSU Ext. master gardener volunteer

The beet is the cultivated form of the plant Beta vulgaris, which grows wild on the coasts of Africa and Asia, as far as India.

In the 1500s, Europeans used beet roots as a winter vegetable because of its ability to grow in cooler climates and it stored well.

In 1747, a German chemist discovered the process to extract sucrose from certain types of beet roots, and today, about half of our domestic sugar comes from the sugar beet.

The garden beet has been cultivated from early times as a salad plant and for general use as a table vegetable.

The varieties most generally grown have long taper, carrot-shaped roots, the round flesh of which is a uniform deep red color, and the leaves, a brownish red.

Beets can be grown in practically all types of soil, but soil which is crumbly or light textured with a ph 5.8-7.0 and well-drained gives the best results.

Roots like to maneuver through the soil easily and they do not like wet feet.

Rake level the soil and broadcast some 5-10-5 fertilizer over the beet plot, then rake it into the soil.

They are notorious consumers of potash.

Beets like onion, broccoli, lettuce, kohlrabi and cabbage as neighbors in the garden. They do not like beans, tomatoes, corn and weeds.

Beets can be an early crop in the spring and a late one in the fall.

Along with the good neighbor vegetables, plant the beets as soon as the frost is out of the ground, inches apart and seeds sown three to an inch apart. Cover with Ω-inch of soil; firm; and germination will occur in 10-14 days.

Thinning should be done when the plants are 2 inches high. These early thinnings are delicious as greens in a salad.

When the beet roots are about 1 º inches in diameter, pull every other one. These beets are big enough to eat and those that are left behind will have room to develop even more.

Beets need shallow cultivation until about half-grown, hand-weeding until leaves are large enough to shade the ground and inhibit weed growth.

Harvesting should begin in 50-60 days when beets are 1.5-3 inches in diameter. Size depends on the variety.

Store in a cool place until used. If left in the ground beyond maturity, they will start to deteriorate in 10-14 days.

Bambi and Peter Cottontail liked beet tops. A row of beets can be wiped out in a short time.

Under the ground, voles gnaw on the beetroot and stunts growth.

A fungal disease called cercospora may appear during days of high humidity and excessive temperatures. Drip water will help to control this disease.

Visit http://go.osu.edu/beets to learn more about growing beets in your garden.