How to grow early and main crop beetroot and interplant into them too

[@hightrees2592]

Hi Steve I have just planted beetroot seeds directly into the soil first time ever, compost and farm yard manure in the mix, hope they turn out grand. Variety used Suttons Boltardy. Take Care Thanks. Emmet

[@SteveRichards]

They should be fine, the main reason to sow in modules - like I do - is to allow me to get four crops/year from each bed : All the best - Steve

[@seanirishterrier6588]

I’m looking for a new red one, Boltardy has been very poor lately, a few youtube gardeners (incl Charles Dowding) say it’s bad quality seed. My favourite golden beetroot has to be Touchstone Gold from Real Seeds.

[@SteveRichards]

Pablo does seem a good alternative

[@Anita6687]

Your beetroot look lovely. I really struggle with beetroot. The last two years I’ve tried they have been no good at all, not even an edible size , they didn’t grow. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I tried growing them In a trough and a vegepod. Do you think it might be worth starting some more off to grow in my greenhouse, with plenty of room between like you have in your polytunnel?. Watched your late June tour of your back garden and it looks lovely.

[@SteveRichards]

Beetroot need damp, well drained soil, a low nitrogen fertiliser like blood fish and bone and wamth, so a greenhouse with the doors open, in early spring is fine, May is ideal outside, April with fleece : All the best - Steve

[@markshaw5835]

I haven't planted any beetroot for a few years, never had much luck with it, I would like to try again, might try next year though. Great video

[@SteveRichards]

Beetroot is such a wonderful crop Mark, give it a try, start it in May and it's hard to go wrong ! : All the best - Steve

[@markshaw5835]

@@SteveRichards I'll get some seeds and try my luck then.

[@LickorishAllsorts]

I love beetroot, so does every field vole for several hundred metres around.

[@SteveRichards]

That’s a shame!

[@sandram1503]

Beetroot is one of my favourites, last year harvests were great but really struggling with them this year. I am assuming it is the change in compost. Thanks Steve and take care

[@SteveRichards]

Changing compost is always a risk : All the best - Steve

[@sandram1503]

@@SteveRichards Moving away from peat but not found an affordable decent alternative yet. Enjoy your week.

[@plot1895]

Once again brilliant information. I’ve got beetroot growing and some ready to plant out. I never managed to grow them at home because there isn’t enough sun in my garden. My onions are really mixed. Some are bulbing up really well and others are falling over. I only got my allotment in November so I’m not worrying too much, there could be a whole host of reasons. I’ll just learn for next year. Mares tail and bindweed doing well! 🤣

[@SteveRichards]

It is amazing to me how many allotments have marestail and bindweed, hopefully you don't have ground elder too! : All the best - Steve

[@soiltosoulfarm]

Hey Steve. Always love your videos. Could I ask how much water you give your beetroot and other crops in the polytunnel during hot weather?

[@SteveRichards]

A lot! About a 10 litre watering can/m2 every 3 days : all the best - Steve

[@sjh85]

When did you plant your early beets in the tunnel Steve? Thanks!

[@SteveRichards]

Sowed: 17-Jan | Planted: 10-Feb

[@davidshinn6501]

Hi Steve, Because I was going away in early May I direct sowed Bulls Blood,Chioggia and Albina outside on 10 April ,covered them with Thermacrop and hoped for the best.Very good germination and now under debris netting along with rows of chard and carrots to protect against marauding sparrows and root flies.Albina is new to me but might turn out to be sugar beet? I adapted your storage method to overwinter my beets and carrot using clean damp but poor quality peat free compost in large pots in my cool dry shed.Works a treat thanks.

[@SteveRichards]

Pleased to hear that storage worked for you David! I think it's better for beets than carrots, carrots always taste better to me when they have their leaves in the light. Root flies are my nemesis! : All the best - Steve

[@bokchoi5081]

I've grown Blankoma and of course, Boltardy with good success. But sadly i'm the only one in my family who eats it! I like to slice it, brush it with oil and salt and roast it in the oven as chips/crisps mixed with parsnips and carrots, chard stalks are good to eat this way too but they reduce down a lot if you slice them too small.

[@SteveRichards]

I've been moving away from Boltardy in favour of some of the newer varieties that seem more consistent, we have a few family members who don't like red beets, but almost everyone likes golden beets so I grow a lot of those : All the best - Steve

[@bokchoi5081]

@@SteveRichards I'll give it a try.

[@SteveRichards]

Also the leaves on golden beets are particularly nice

[@bokchoi5081]

@@SteveRichards Ok, burpees golden are on order, i'll probably sow them next weekend when I do the beans. Thanks Steve.

[@growingstuffs]

I love carrot and beetroot grated together and mixed with a dressing of olive oil and red wine vinegar.

[@nehamumtaz2597]

Informative as always I find it so interesting how you're able to plan out your season so effectively, this is my first year with my allotment and I'm having lots of trouble with mares tail, bindweed and comfrey popping up all over the place! I'm contemplating using heavy duty black membrane everywhere (the kind that isn't woven so weed seeds don't germinate on top of it) - even under my raised beds - do you think this will affect drainage as I don't want to create a soggy microclimate - have you had any trouble with drainage in your raised beds that have the membrane underneath?

[@SteveRichards]

I've got better over the years, it does take a bit of practice, the successional sowing guides in my ebook help a lot. I'm not sure I understand how you are going to use a membrane that isn't woven? Where is the water going to drain? Also in my experience marestail will push through anything, it definitely pushes through a double layer of woven fabric. I'd recommend you focus your attention on beds that don't like weeding and try to eliminate marestail from those, either by raising, or a triple layer of woven fabric, beds like those for carrots, parsnips, most other crops tolerate regular weeding just fine. Marestial will just grow underneath your fabric and push it up : All the best - Steve

[@AJWGBFX]

Hi Steve, your beetroot look great. I really like the Burpees Golden, but of course, that is the one I have most difficulty growing! Do you find any difference in growing method compared to Boltardy or Cylindra? Do you grow beets in the polytunnel throughout summer? Happy sowing, growing and harvesting

[@SteveRichards]

The golden beetroot seem a lot 'weaker' than the red, they like it warmer and less windy, but they are worth it. I seed mine about 6 weeks later than the red ones. I normally grow them outside in summer, but I had a few spare burpees golden, so I popped those in the tunnel, they have a good deep tap root so they do ok in the heat. I think Boldor might do better for me than Burpees Golden, but I will know better this year as I'm growing them side by side : All the best - Steve

[@AJWGBFX]

@@SteveRichards thanks for the info Steve - I'll try to find somewhere more sheltered, maybe inside an uncovered low tunnel. I do start them later than the Boltardys, but couldn't swear to dates - I admit to an abundance of optimism as to the abilities of my crops to defy the season and weather, but I'm using your timings to try and restrain myself 😂

[@55dragman]

Beetroot..a valuable crop to grow.....your way of producing them for as much of the year as possible is impressive steve.I've tried storing them over winter in the past but failed badly,so i'll after read your e book.I have one question regarding the rust on your garlic.I have a long bed with approx.120 garlic planted last autumn...a quarter is elephant garlic,3/4 normal garlic and this year the normal garlic is covered in rust already.I think year on year it's getting worse.....so is it a worsening problem with your gardens and do you have any theories or remedies.(the elephant garlic is untouched so probably the answer is to just grow that!!!)

[@SteveRichards]

Hi Andy, diversity is my approach, the garlic on my plot has a lot of rust - which I'm ignoring - but the garlic at home and on Debbie's plot is fine. The Elephant garlic is fine too, but it's no substitute for true garlic : All the best - Steve

[@growingstuffs]

Increased spacing can help reduce rust because of the better air flow. My garlic in the front garden, spaced 6 inches apart and 6 inches between rows (square foot garden style) has been hit badly by rust but the stuff in the back garden which are planted further apart (interplanted with strawberries or only in a single row around the edges of a bed) are barely affected. We were getting rust in April, which is the earliest I've seen it.

[@SteveRichards]

Hi Simon, I think airflow is a myth, I have the same density at home and on the allotment, no rust at home, plenty at the plot. The ones at home are next to a wall, which does dramatically reduce airflow. When you look at the space between the plants it's hard to imagine any impact on airflow with 6" between each stem : All the best - Steve

[@growingstuffs]

@@SteveRichards The warmth of the wall (and my patio) could dry the foliage off quicker too.

[@55dragman]

@@growingstuffs ...i've planted the garlic at the same spacings every year but the rust doesn't stay the same, it gets worse every year...but i'm not short of space on my 2 allotments so this autumn i'll spread them out and not grow in one large block....thanks for your reply.

[@dn744]

I had a compost issue. New 1 is 100% better. Found the other got waterlogged ahhhh, Root rotting

[@SteveRichards]

Oh no, finding a good seed starting compost is so important! : All the best - Steve

[@ronaldandsusanshaws-growing]

👍👍👍

[@SteveRichards]

Have any of your onions bolted due to the mild spring Ronald, about 80% of mine have

[@ronaldandsusanshaws-growing]

@@SteveRichards Hi Steve, None of my Toughball have bolted but I would say like you 80% of my Red and Raidar have bolted, the red ones were sets I save from last year, my Toughball are doing really well, Take care.