beet seedlings

I have never grown beets before, does anyone know what the seedling are like? do they have red stems?
Heather

My experience is yes, Heather. Ever grown chard? They're beets selected for their greens. So beet greens should look similar, at least mine do.

Thanks Turtles!

Yes I also grow chard, have some rainbow chard plants in back, and I am waiting for the kale to sprout. Last year I grew some rainbow chard that got to be about two and one half feet. I left it out over the winter to see if it will re-seed like the Medusa Peppers.

Heather Y.

unless you have any variety of golden beet...in that case the stem will be yellow instead of red ;)

But yeah beet and chard seedlings practically look identical

And some chard is golden!

beets pictorial...

Enjoy...

Linda

Thanks Linda they are beauties!
Mine are tinier than the smallest ones of yours, just the little red stems show, not that nice definition of the true leaf.
YET.
:-)
Heather Y.

Thanks, Heather,
I start mine indoors under fluorescent lights. Crazy, yeah, but I'm a garden (only) control freak when it comes to where I want to place a seedling. And, I cannot stand to snip a perfectly good seedling. And, most importantly, my pill bug population does not give a seedling a fighting chance, so they need to go outside with a little heft to wage war. I once caught a pill bug hanging off a tiny seedling leaf, and had to laugh. It looked so much like King Kong hanging off the Empire State Building, that seedling was so little, LOLOL!

They transplant VERY easily, if you don't disturb the root ball. I start 1-2 seeds in 6-ounce yogurt cups. When it's time to transplant (about the size of those at the top, in Pic #3 above), I just turn the cup over in my hand, and place the whole root ball (gently) into the planting hole, at roughly the same depth, or just a wee bit deeper, if necessary. They look like death warmed over when they go in, but, they perk up without any transplant shock.

I have yet to lose a transplanted beet seedling!

Hugs!

Linda

This message was edited May 5, 2015 4:54 PM

Gardeners are so the epitome of Optimist! Go Heather go!

Linda that's an hilarious image!

This message was edited May 5, 2015 2:55 PM

YAY, Heather!

Post pics!

I will post pics soon. Thanks for the reassurance _Everybody_ Now I feel as if i have a chance . Locally there is a windblown weed with little red stems, but now I feel sure some of the little guys in that one planter where I planted beet seeds are really beets!

Linda never lost a patient, I mean transplant!

I have to admit I will now never look at a pillbug the same way again.
And when I train into mid-town where a certain landmark building is, I don't think I will be looking at the ESB in quite the same way again.

Grinning all over the Five Boroughs Of NYC,

Heather

LOLOLOL!

here come the pics.


Beets I think, 1-2

Carrots, I think, 3

Heather,

►Your beets in pic 1-2 are super fantastically healthy!! They're just too close together. You'll have to snip some heads off to thin them out to at least 3-4" apart. They need space to make a proper root ball. Use snips, scissors, or a pair of tiny manicure scissors -- don't pull them up.

OR,

►You could try digging straight down and lifting a whole clump from below, capturing as much of the root soil as possible, without disturbing them too much. Carefully, pull them apart, and try to set some individually. I'd set them in as deep as the ones in pic #2 seem to be setting. That's why I start mine in the yogurt cups. When I transplant, I don't have to break up the root ball...

►I'm not sure pic #3 is carrots...

►Finally, how big is that container around? It may be too small for the beets and the carrots together. It may be too small for the beets, alone...Keep in mind the root balls will get 3-4" in diameter (or larger -- picking them at less than 4" diameter is best), and the leaves will be big, too...

Thanks for the updates. Hope these suggestions help!

Linda

Hey Linda thanks for writing back.

I am not sure those guys are carrots either - it is where I planted the carrots.
They are in a separate container (pot) from the beets, each about 6" in diameter

I was going to transplant the beets and the carrots all along. I was thinking of thinning
with the carrots - transplant the little plants in chunks of leaf, dirt and tiny root system and
weed out the smallest ones once they get going. So use a manicure scissors and cut the leaves off?
I have tried digging straight down and it is time taking delicate work and really aggravating!
Yes I would do it anyhow most years but I am under some time pressure to get the garden ready to live without me for a week while I go on holiday.

thanks again Heather

Use the scissors to cut the heads off...you'll in effect kill the seedlings that are just too close.

Same with the carrots...

Next time, sow the seeds farther apart.

Making seed tapes could help, too. Dots of Elmer's Glue or some other water soluble glue on a layer of TP, and drop a seed onto the glue. Then, when they dry, you can place the TP sheets where you want them, already spaced. Cover lightly with sand or potting mix. No snipping..

Thanks again to everyone for the great advice on seedlings, I have since harvested and
eaten the results and they were sweet and the greens were delicious and the roots were
just much too small!

Can anyone recommend a beet seed that gives a nice BIG edible root? I have to get it SOON,
the Autumn Crop window is closing.

best
HeatherY

If the roots arent big enough I leave them in the ground longer.

Okay, what do you grow?

I can't remember ATM. Detroit something rings a bell. Our weather isn't consistently one temp so sometimes they take months to mature but I've grown enough to make pickled beets.

Hopefully somebody else will give advice. I just don't pay attention to the DTM I just pull them when they look big enough. Our growing conditions are way different.

Detroit Dark Red and Bull's Blood for me. Chioggia, too.

What Lisa said. Leave them in until they get bigger. They can take some cold, too. Build a PVC hoop over your bed or cluster your pots together and cover them over.

Where are your pics? Did you eat them, LOL??

yup, I ate em!

HeatherY,
Check this out! The use of a broken tool handle as a depth divot is brilliant!!! I have just such a handle, and will be putting colored bands on mine as depth finders, LOL!

We were right about transplanting beets, too!

Hugs!

Going home to soak my beet seeds!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7Memy-2VYQ&index=11&list=PL34B206141E2FEACF

If you use a zip tie to mark the depth, you can also cut off the zip tie, leaving a long end.
Want to plant 4" on center? Leave the zip tie 4" long.
It won't mark the soil, but you can eyeball it and move the dibble over to that spot.

Diana_K,
Totally brilliant!!!

Chards & Beetroot are the same family, HOWEVER, chards are grown as edible greens, Beetroots are grown for these bulb type round edible balls,

Please don't eat the beetroot greenery it's very bitter and is a poisonous part of the plants,

Good luck, Pick the balls when young and tender as they are so sweat either cooked and eaten as a hot veg, or cooked, cooled and sliced and pickled in vinegar of your choice, try not use the flavoured vinegar as you should allow the beetroot bulbs flavour to speak for themselves. store in an airtight jar and use as required.

Kindest regards.
WeeNel.

Chards & Beetroot are the same family, HOWEVER, chards are grown as edible greens, Beetroots are grown for these bulb type round edible balls,

Please don't eat the beetroot greenery it's very bitter and is a poisonous part of the plants,

Good luck, Pick the balls when young and tender as they are so sweat either cooked and eaten as a hot veg, or cooked, cooled and sliced and pickled in vinegar of your choice, try not use the flavoured vinegar as you should allow the beetroot bulbs flavour to speak for themselves. store in an airtight jar and use as required.

Kindest regards.
WeeNel.

Chards & Beetroot are the same family, HOWEVER, chards are grown as edible greens, Beetroots are grown for these bulb type round edible balls,

Please don't eat the beetroot greenery it's very bitter and is a poisonous part of the plants,

Good luck, Pick the balls when young and tender as they are so sweat either cooked and eaten as a hot veg, or cooked, cooled and sliced and pickled in vinegar of your choice, try not use the flavoured vinegar as you should allow the beetroot bulbs flavour to speak for themselves. store in an airtight jar and use as required.

Kindest regards.
WeeNel.

Chards & Beetroot are the same family, HOWEVER, chards are grown as edible greens, Beetroots are grown for these bulb type round edible balls,

Please don't eat the beetroot greenery it's very bitter and is a poisonous part of the plants,

Good luck, Pick the balls when young and tender as they are so sweat either cooked and eaten as a hot veg, or cooked, cooled and sliced and pickled in vinegar of your choice, try not use the flavoured vinegar as you should allow the beetroot bulbs flavour to speak for themselves. store in an airtight jar and use as required.

Kindest regards.
WeeNel.

Why did your reply post 4 times? That's weird.

You tell me please !!!!!, This has been happening since the furore regarding the changes made a couple of weeks ago, I dont know IF it's a problem that has been caused from the tech side of the site, BUT I can assure you 1lisac, I only press send ONCE,
First few times this was noted, I honestly did believe I must have lost the plot somewhere and hit send a second time.
Anyway, I'm getting a little tired of all the stuff, lost forums / threads etc that I'm about to give up on Daves as it has lost it's special friendships, I dont really want to read Threads that date way back to 2011 etc and IF I do, I could always choose to search for them AND find them easily,
before all the changes, anyway, it's all old hat now and pretty much going the exact way I anticipated and mentioned to the people who thought the changes were the best way to go, only they forgot to select techies who had some form of knowledge re gardening, terminology and grouping of plants in the same family.

Anyway, I hope this answers your question re the duplication of my replies, I definitely can assure I dont click the send button more than once. Lets see how often this happens.
kindest regards.
WeeNel.

You tell me please !!!!!, This has been happening since the furore regarding the changes made a couple of weeks ago, I dont know IF it's a problem that has been caused from the tech side of the site, BUT I can assure you 1lisac, I only press send ONCE,
First few times this was noted, I honestly did believe I must have lost the plot somewhere and hit send a second time.
Anyway, I'm getting a little tired of all the stuff, lost forums / threads etc that I'm about to give up on Daves as it has lost it's special friendships, I dont really want to read Threads that date way back to 2011 etc and IF I do, I could always choose to search for them AND find them easily,
before all the changes, anyway, it's all old hat now and pretty much going the exact way I anticipated and mentioned to the people who thought the changes were the best way to go, only they forgot to select techies who had some form of knowledge re gardening, terminology and grouping of plants in the same family.

Anyway, I hope this answers your question re the duplication of my replies, I definitely can assure I dont click the send button more than once. Lets see how often this happens.
kindest regards.
WeeNel.

I KNOW it wasn't on your end. Lol I have noticed it on and off for years but never 4 times. Oh well I think it's funny.

Even your recent reply reposted, a few minutes later. I'm going to point this out to admin.

WeeNel,
I've been eating the beet greens since 2010, when my husband's Aunt first cooked them for me.

She watched me grow and harvest the beets, and almost died when I was about to throw the beet greens away. She told me they could be cooked. So, since she had been a pastry chef in the president's cabinet at Rutgers University for most of her young life, I figured she knew what she was talking about, and I let her cook them. They were delicious, and I've been eating them ever since.

Now, I grow the beets as much for the leafy greens as I do for the bulbs.

I haven't died yet.

They are not bitter.

And, unless I'm a ghost, they are not poisonous, LOL!!!

This message was edited Oct 3, 2015 11:20 PM

We have always eaten the beet greens. Some beets are actually breed to produce greens and not roots that's how they are discribed in the catalogs.

Here is just one of many links that tell how to prepare beet greens http://allrecipes.com/recipe/215506/simple-and-delicious-beet-greens/

Ok,
I've created a monster for myself, once again. So, last Saturday, I soaked all these BEET SEEDS and SPINACH SEEDS in hydrogen peroxide, and, as LIFE would have it, today's the first I could get back to them.

And, of course they've all sprouted little white tails. So, I poured them out on paper towels so they wouldn't rot, and, I'm left with how to plant them, now. Usually, I'd drop them down into individual 6 oz yogurt cups, and they'll do fine. I have more than enough cups, too, LOL!

I'm just thinking of the potting mix involved, just to get them to size to transplant out next month. Deciding to hold them a bit longer, since it's just now starting to cool off, but not by much...and, rain next week.

So, I'm thinking of dropping them down into some old Jiffy peat pellets i have lying around. That way, I could just set the whole pod for transplanting. I'll need to pull the netting off the bottoms though, so the roots don't grow into it...

I'm feeling an experiment coming on. 1/3 in the Jiffy pellets. 1/3 in the yogurt cups. 1/3 directly into the garden...

Ok, it's on then, right after I harvest the SWEETIES, lol!

I would put them all directly in the garden. Those are veggies that I direct sow regularly.

Ok. You've convinced me -- HALF in the garden, and HALF in the Jiffy pellets, just in case, LOL!

At the least, I can stagger the planting of the pellets out in a couple weeks.

Thanks Lisa!

Ya'll have a Godly weekend!