Where Are All My Beets? - Garden Quickie Episode 73

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

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[@AJWGBFX]

I had problems with beets in my early gardening career. They would get to be huge luscious plants, showing off all summer, then dying off or going to seed in autumn. I eventually figured out I was mollycoddling them - over watering and feeding them - their refusal to start forming a root caused me to give them more. I think I killed them with kindness! LoL 🤣

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Yup, not at all uncommon with both beets and carrots! Glad you figured it out! :-)

[@demenACE]

The beet greens are our favorite foods. I prefer the greens! Tasty and healthy for you.

[@erichaskell]

Last year our seasonal temperature variations caused/allowed our beets to go right to seed, skipping the bulb. I planted in April. Maybe this year.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Dang Eric! They didn't mess around!

[@sn232]

I have had a single beet growing for years in an "Earthbox" and each Spring it comes back and provides terrific beet greens throughout the summer for salads. Yes it flowers, but I just cut them off and keep using the greens. I never disturb the beet (which looks quite large). For some reason it has been a perennial for me :)

[@cooki47]

That's what my beets looked like after seeding them in the spring. Just skinny little roots. I got a few small beets but was quite disappointed!!

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

@@cooki47 that's tough. Do you think they were too close together?

[@SpiceyKy]

Winter huh? So busy worrying about stuff bolting in the heat that I would've never guessed. Thx for the info.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Right?? The exact opposite situation! They get us from both sides Spicey! LOL

[@ralphrutherford2583]

This guy is laying down some old school beats

[@Rumade]

I had the exact same experience with radishes this year. Only 2 actual radishes, the rest were so skinny as to be useless. I brought the leaves to the restaurant I work at to become garnishes hahah

[@ml.5377]

Have you ever sowed following a moon gardening calendar? I have had arugula babies bolt plantedbduring waning moon and no radishes when planted during waxing moon. In the Andes we follow planting techniques that are ancestral and learning about that has helped on dealing with plants. Just a suggestion. We have "heladas", but during the dry season our nights are at or below zero and our days super hot, still we grow all year long.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Can't say that I have M L...sounds interesting!

[@tesswagner895]

I've had the same problem as Eric with spring planted seed. It's been this way for 5 years running, all greens and no beet. We do love the greens so no lost there. I've tried different areas of the garden with the same results.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

That is strange Tess. Have you tried to delay the planting a bit. Maybe plant early summer instead?

[@tesswagner895]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms It is strange because I use to grow really nice beets. I've planted in April covered with Reemay, May after frost, June, with moon cycles. The only thing I can think of is it doesn't like being planted with lettuce. I intercrop some things, lettuce and beets are one or they share a bed, one on one end. It's a real puzzle. Fertilizer isn't any different. My garden is on vacation this year. So I'm enjoying everyone else's. 😁

[@attilathehun1107]

I have a similar experience with radishes. Just weird.

[@Steve197201]

So what's the solution, then? To plant in the spring?

[@myrustygarden]

Lots of leaves no bulbs 🌧🌧🥶 hopefully soon 🌞🌞🌞

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Fingers crossed!

[@annwithaplan9766]

Interesting. Good to know for sure! Thanks.

[@theraayato5346]

Loved this, thanks for the info. at lest you can harvest the leafs :) pretty good sauted or in pestos, stems are crunchy delicious too.

[@Edda2612]

Thanks, now I know why I have had only flowers/seeds fron my radish 💡. At least radish flowers are really pretty 😊

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

They DO have pretty flowers don't they!

[@woutmoerman711]

Radish flowers and young seed pods are edible!

[@JadyLester]

Ah! I guess I started them a bit too early. But we had kind of a false spring in the pnw, as often happens. My other source said it was because they were getting too hot.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Beets are far less forgiving for timing than carrots...it can be annoying!

[@AnyKeyLady]

OMG! This was totally not what i was expecting in this video! How very interesting. Have you been harvesting the leaves at least? Will you let them re seed? What are your plans? I didn't even know that they did this. I think i am growing Detroit's too and was wondering why they don't get very big. I had a poor first harvest last year. A lot didn't germinate and i wasn't sure when they were ready. Trying again this year with the last of the seeds. The spinaches are sheltering them from the hot dry windy weather in the UK this year. Is there a set number of days to harvest? Really feel for you and would be wilding if i saw this happen. Would love an update video on this on what you chose to do. Thanks for sharing this. Best wishes from London, UK.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Hey, thanks for watching! I did get a few leaves, more so when I realized what was going on, ha ha! I'll harvest the seeds soon and get a mid-summer crop of something in there....not sure what yet...but something! :-)

[@AnyKeyLady]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms If there isn't anything beneath the soil, there is always carrots and parsnips. They might like the shade too. I should FINALLY be getting my pearl oyster mushroom spawn tomorrow. I already mulched my asparagus with straw and dampened it down. Another water when it arrives. Going to spread it out around the crowns and then add another layer of straw. Also, going to set up a cardboard box indoors for long term rotation. The outside test is just an experiment to see if it works in the position and climate in summer. We bought a straw bale 15 - 20 kg to feed it and sorted and cut it down to size. Hubby loves his lawn but teaching him about chop and drop as we have heavy clay soil. He already got compliments about it. Our fur daughter sadly passed away in Dec 2019 aged 14 and because of disease, she couldn't walk far to go to the loo on the gravel. The grass wasn't in great shape. One year it was so dry massive deep cracks appeared in the lawn. At least 2ft and we are near a stream that leads to the Thames River! Reluctantly, i got him to go around with a fork to make holes and i sprinkled some blood, fish and bone. I hadn't heard of perlite or vermiculite then. The last mow in Autumn i remind him to not put the back tray on and let it fall. We also did No Mow May so the wild flowers helped with the wildlife. I have previously dug up some buttercups and used them as a border to a Jamine and Wisteria. Not all weeds are weeds.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

@@AnyKeyLady that's sounds so transformative! Amazing stuff, truly!

[@AnyKeyLady]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms I am just learning from the greats like you and think positively! Succession and "keep on keeping on". (Death Stranding Moto). We can do this!

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

@@AnyKeyLady ha ha I just played that! Love me some Norman!

[@nitrousblast1]

I guess i missed something, i plant beets in the spring and get beets before winter sets in. I’ve never waited 2 years for beets.

[@cindys.w.8566]

Great TIP!!!

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Thanks Cindy! :-)

[@ambert.3792]

are you going to do full vids again?

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

I do at least a full video every week. Last week's was TWENTY minutes long, LOL!

[@ambert.3792]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms thanks for the reply. i have been getting shown mostly only shorts and quickies, but always appreciate your longer info vids. im all caught up now. 🌱

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

@@ambert.3792 Me too! It's always more work, but I like the longer ones because they aren't rushed! :-)

[@jeffboelter1409]

Our weather has been controlled for 30 years or more. It's finally ended. Going to take time to learn mother nature again.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Yeah, hopefully it can...

[@pennyp4187]

Oh no I just ripped up all my beets that I planted in the spring 2022 thinking I did something wrong because of slow growth. I thought maybe the heat got to them already here in North Carolina. Oh well a lesson learned.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Oh no Penny...! All of them?

[@pennyp4187]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms yes unfortunately… question…can you eat the green part of the beets? I gave them all to the chickens…

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

@@pennyp4187 oh yes Penny... It's delicious. Raw or cooked. It's essentially Swiss Chard. Same thing

[@joyceduesel7966]

This is my second year trying for beets. We put fertizer down and made sure the bed was loose. Very small beets. Plants them in March is is now June and hot. Is 3 months not enough time?

[@virallyoutube]

❤

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

:-)

[@Joseph_Dredd]

It's garlic picking time! Woo hoo One question - some of them (the elephant garlic) have started producing seed pods at the top - Should I harvest them all now? And how to store? Hanging in a dark dry place right? Cheers

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Hey Joseph, I always cut the seed pods off of any Garlic as early as possible. They are a drain on the plant. And yes, store in a dry, breezy place to cure the Garlic! :-)

[@Joseph_Dredd]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms Cheers. They turned up on my elephant garlic. Just sliced n diced, cut them all off. Looking for a dry and breezy place to hand them. :)

[@mudpiemudpie785]

I've never successfully grown beets. I have the same problem with radishes. I've conquered more tricky plants, but I can't seem to get beets and radishes to bulb. I planted mine in early spring.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

That is very strange with the radishes because they are such fast growers they can avoid this problem. Too much nitrogen in the soil maybe?

[@mudpiemudpie785]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms That's what I thought, too, but this year I used spent potting soil, and still got the same results. Still, I'm not giving up. I will get nice radishes and beets one of these times. I know with the radishes, we went from 60 degrees to 92 degrees for a few days and many of the radishes bolted. All my spinach bolted as well. I put the lettuce and parsley in partial shade and they made it through the heat spell ok.

[@socloseagain4298]

Dudee! Same thing happened to my radishes this year! And I planted them in March?! What is going on?! 😕😕😕😕

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

No way! That sucks. Usually Radishes are safe from early bolting because they grow so dang fast. But with the crazy weather, you just never know.

[@socloseagain4298]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms 😥😥

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

@@socloseagain4298 we'll figure it out....!

[@victoriajohnson3034]

Are carrots and radishes biannual?

[@VaultDwellerGal]

He got the beets He got the beets He got the beets Yeah, he got the beets

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

:-)

[@mommajscountrygardening]

I want to know where mine are 2.

[@jimmcdowell9017]

Jeff, I never liked beets. Why? Beets me, but keep on truckin’

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Ha ha Jim! Honestly though, try them shredded, raw, in salads or wraps.....game changer!

[@kevinrowbotham545]

So are you saying your fall beets have never over-wintered in the bed before?

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

I've overwintered Beets a TON of times.....the issue is when they don't bulb up BEFORE the real cold hits.....because after that, they stop root formation and go into reproductive mode. So with this bed, I was about a month late. That's it. :-(

[@kevinrowbotham545]

Ahhh, OK. That makes sense. Something that would never work for us here as our winters are too severe!

[@jacquelinebaxter6420]

So far I don't have any beets just leaves

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

As long as they don't bolt and go to flower Jacqueline, you'll be ok.

[@rachelstark2391]

Greetings, What about Boron deficiency? Cheers, Rach 🍷

[@timothyshanley1132]

Wow I didn't know beets were binaural, I've been waiting for them to get bigger, so I won't harvest till next year like my garlic?

[@lilal3753]

Jeff. I'm confused. Why would you plant them in September? Did you mean to have them go to seed this year?

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

I plant beets MULTIPLE times a year. I've planted them in August for fantastic harvests before. They can take the cold. They taste better after a freeze. In the case of this bed, it was just a couple weeks too late and we had early freezes that stopped taproot formation. Its not like I massively missed the window.....I'll plant for a fall harvest again this year like I do every year...except I'll do it in August this time.

[@lilal3753]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms Thank you so much for replying. My beets didn't produce this year either and I planted them this spring.

[@your_belief_vs_everything]

I usually plant them near my watermelons, not to eat but as pest control. I did notice that they never formed a bulb but my chickens ate all the greens so no wasted effort.

[@mirisagedondamindasampath5307]

👍

[@anapaulacrawford5837]

Wow , wow . I can't manage to grow them at all . I can grow carrots even the most difficult tiny seed .. but beats!? Nope ..

[@The_Crow_Flies]

well at least you will get more seeds out of the deal.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Exactly! Not a total loss..... :-)

[@maryhmedina779]

What do you do with them then? Do you pluck them out? Do you leave them alone? Or would you just eat the stems?

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Nothing Mary. Except collect the seeds. I'm going to let them go all the way to seeds and collect a bunch, then clear the bed. Treat it like it was just a cover crop. :-(

[@maryhmedina779]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms well can you eat the stems also?

[@maryhmedina779]

Another question, regarding the seeds do you cut them off when green or when dry.

[@tesswagner895]

@@maryhmedina779 The stems at this point get stringy and tough except at seed level. I've had this problem for the last 5 years. I pull the leaves off and eat those and if it hasn't formed hard seeds, just flowers, we eat those too.😁

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

@@maryhmedina779 I would assume they are edible.....but these guys a like tree trunks now. Not ideal, but if it was that or go hungry, I'm sure they could be eaten...

[@ChristineGrizzard-df1nh]

My beets aren't producing beets and ive babied them. I use heirlooms

[@KathySarich]

On the upside, you’ve got lots of seeds there? Lol!

[@jimcrelm9478]

TL;DW: Beets can bolt. Good explanation of bolting for those who don't know but for the rest of us well I want 3 minutes of my life back (well 1 minute not going to lie) no offense. A better title could have helped.

[@roth1351]

not understanding a beet plant is biannual however we pull the plant to get the beet, what am I missing here?

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Definitely not a biannual.....that would mean it flowers twice a year. Its a BIENNIAL....big difference. The point is, even just a single month here and there you can miss the crop. I plant beets 4x a year. If miss that last window by even a couple weeks, I'll miss the tap root. Not everyone is a master gardener and knows that. So when you plant beets and don't get the full nice taproot...timing is usually the key. Darn things, LOL!

[@bonnieriecke5199]

Save your seeds

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Always do...

[@cod4346]

did not help

[@sowertosow]

Acts 2:38 KJV Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter 3:18 KJV But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. John 3:16 KJV For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 14:6 KJV Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Romans 10:9 KJV That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Acts 2:21 KJV And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

[@doowopshopgal]

So does that mean I’m supposed to leave those planted in the ground because I pluck them all out since they were not growing 🫣🫣🫣