Beets me!

What's your favorite and best beet to grow? We have raised flower beds that we're converting to veggies. We love beets. Soil is all compost mixed with sand and gravel about 3 feet down.

Thanks for any input :)

All time favorite is Improved Blood Turnip, Best hybrid tried to date Chicago Red

Thanks! Any secrets on growing? I know you're down south of me. Any special soil amenities?

Sand is good , gravel is not, they will grow all right, but will become misshapen when they have to grow around gravel. They also need high potash, I use wood ashes in the kitchen garden, 5 -10- 15 in the field.

Thanks so much FD - great info.

Beets this spring then! Thank you :)

I bought seeds this year for Chiogga - I figure I'll try them next year. (A staunch anti-beet eater here, but after reading about them in either Organic Gardening or Heirloom Gardener (can't remember which) I figured maybe I should give them another try. Not pickled, though... (shudder)

You mean there is another way to eat them, besides pickled?????

Pardon the wretching noise. (*grin*) I sure hope so!

yup - we like them raw in this salad:

CARROT AND BEET SALAD WITH GINGER VINAIGRETTE

1/4 cup minced shallot
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar (available at Asian markets and
some supermarkets)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon Asian (toasted) sesame oil
Tabasco to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
4 cups finely shredded carrots
4 cups finely shredded peeled raw beets (about 3/4 pound)
spinach leaves, washed thoroughly, for garnish if desired

In a blender purée shallot, ginger, and garlic with rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and Tabasco. With motor running add olive oil in a stream and blend until smooth.
In separate bowls toss carrots with half of the dressing and beets with remaining half. Divide carrot salad and beet salad among 6 plates and garnish with spinach leaves.

Yummmmm :)

I have to say, Asian cooking as in stir frying quickly with sesame oil and garlic is growing on us big time. Just can't seem to find good beets here so we need to grow our own :)

Pickled beets? It's an Amish thing around here but we really like them raw :)

Pickled? Wretching is right...

sliced, steamed, with butter blue cheese!

Pickled everything.... peaches, pears, beans, okra, cabbage, eggs, pigs feet (couldn't supress a giggle there), sausage, onions, cucumber, peppers, etc .... if it's in vinegar I eat it!!! Ya'll jest don't know what ya missin' !!

Oh m'goo'ness!!! I LUV pickled beets, but only fixed the way I fix em!

As for other good ways to deal with them, ya'll should try baking them...the flavor is so much more intense and the color doesn't bleed out (as it does when boiling). Yummy! After baking you can do whatcha want w/them...smother in butter, cut up for salads, etc.

Yummy!

Shoe, I never thought about baking them. Thanks!!!

Personally, I like golden beets. Pleasant flavor, the color doesn't bleed, and the tops are excellent as cooked greens.

Judy...baking is the way to go. My favorite way! Cut the tops off leaving an inch of stem, wash well, and put them in a baking pan with just a tad bit of water (very little if fresh-dug). Cover with foil and bake at 350 til done (usually an hr but test them; time will depend on their size). When cooled enuff to handle slip the skins off. Mighty purty picture you'll have in front of you!

Yuska, glad you mentioned the tops! Seems to me most folks throw them away...can't stand that! They are delish sautee'd/steamed, served with butter on top, a pinch of salt. (Really good with some feta cheese on them!) Oh, and get this...the tops have more nutrition that the roots do! A winning situation!

baking them - really didn't even think about that - sounds great! Thanks again everyone....can't wait til spring :) And the tops! What a bonus vegetable !!

Dea: if you like beet greens, Tall Top Early Wonder is the best combination fro roots and greens. Use to work with a math teacher from New York. Grew them just for her. Never cared for beet greens myself..

Dill, where did you get seeds for 'Improved Blood Turnip'? I Googled around a bit and didn't find a source.

I use to get them from Southern States Cooperative or Wetzels http://www.wetsel.com/GardenCenter.pdf
Wetsel still lists it as Early Blood Turnip essentially the same cultivar. Unfortunately you have to go to one of their garden centers to get it. Southern States no longer lists it. Baker Creek carries one of the original blood turnips (Dewings Early Blood Turnip). I haven't done a comparison. The realy good one was "improved" by Burpee in the late 19th century.

This message was edited Nov 21, 2004 8:02 PM

Detroit Dark Red gets my vote and they make good greens also. I use the ones that I thin out, using small beets and all, cook them up and slaver with butter!

Beets get my vote pickled too!

From the searches I did looking for Early Blood Turnip, it appeares that Detroit Dark Red was developed from it. Detroit Dark Red is a reliable standard that seems to do well about everywhere and can be found on about every seed rack and in about any feed store. I've always had good luck with it, but am going to experiment with others to see what does best in my kneck of the woods.

Developed from it you say......now I'm interested in trying the Early Blood Turnip or related Dewings Early Blood Turnip
Yes, I use them for greens too...YUM!!!

Actually the Detroit is way down on my list of favoites. Grows well, good shape but it gets woody too soon and is never sweet. After the blood turnip comes Crosby's Egyptian and Early Wonder. Even the Lutz taste better to me than the Detroit but of course I am a devotee of hot buttered beets. Also like them sliced like potato chips and dried raw as a snack food. Pickled beets and Harvard beets I only tolerate.

I've had beet chips (also turnip, rutabaga, parsnip and yam) made like regular potato chips-delicious!!!!

Terry, if you don't really like beets, you might give this recipe a try, just once. I've made many a beet convert with it.

Sauté a couple of chopped onions in some olive oil and butter. Meanwhile, slice and grate fresh beets. Zest 2 oranges, saving the whole denuded fruit. Add the shredded beets, zest, and then the juice from the oranges to the pan. Cover and simmer a few minutes until the beets are fork-tender.

Hmmm, thanks Darius - I might have to give it a try.

I also like the idea of trying it raw, shredded in a salad. Somehow that's usually the path of least resistance for me. I first decided I liked raw broccoli and cauliflower, then graduated to cooked versions. I still prefer raw carrots to cooked. Pickled okra, then gumbo, then fried. (Okay, admittedly that last one isn't exactly a healthy food to aspire to - probably better for me in its pickled or stewed form!)

A friend of mine grates them raw and drizzles Italian salad dressing over them. Very refreshing in the summer.

lol - DH was at the store yesterday and bought several bunches of beets. Now of course, he's asking the produce guy which variety they are...guy says, "well, they're beets" :)

Anyhow, we shredded some raw for a salad, roasted some just like y'all said above and we really liked them both ways. The latter were with butter :)

We like beets way more than we thought :) Can't wait to choose seeds !