The oyster mushroom gets its name from its cap which, some say, resembles an oyster. The stem of the oyster mushrooms is perhaps more distinct; it unfurls something like one of those old-time paper lady's fans. The oyster mushroom has...

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Beets and Chard Growing Problems: Troubleshooting

Beets grow best in cool weather. Grow beets in spring and fall in warm summer regions, in summer and late fall in mild summer regions, and in summer and early fall in cool summer regions. For best fresh eating, harvest beats when they are half grown--about six weeks after sowing. Beets will still be good eating when grown to full size.

Thinning beets is important: thin first when roots begin to thicken--the tops will be young and tender and can be served fresh in salads. Keep an eye on maturing roots and thin once more to make sure beets don't grow crowded; crowded beets will not be flavorful.

Swiss chard--chard--is a close relative of the beet. Chard shares many of the growing techniques of beets, and many of the same pest and disease problems.

For beet growing tips see How to Grow Beets or Beet Growing Success Tips at the bottom of this post. For chard growing tips see How to Grow Chard.

Here are common beet growing problems with cures and controls:

Seedlings fail to emerge. Temperatures were too high when beets were planted; seed fail to germinate in hot weather. Mulch planting bed with aged compost. Keep planting bed evenly moist until seedlings emerge.

Seeds rot or seedlings collapse with dark water-soaked stems as soon as they appear. Damping off is a fungus that lives in the soil, particularly where humidity is high. Do not plant in cold, moist soil. Make sure soil is well drained.

Seedlings are eaten or cut off near soil level. Cutworms are gray grubs ½- to ¾-inch long that can be found curled under the soil. They chew stems, roots, and leaves. Place a 3-inch paper collar around the stem of the plant. Keep the garden free of weeds; sprinkle wood ash around base of plants.

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How to Grow Beets

Beets are a cool-weather crop. Sow beets in the garden 2 to 3 weeks before the last average frost date in spring. Continue succession plantings every 3 weeks until temperatures reach 80°F. Beets can again be planted in late summer or early autumn 6 to 8 weeks before the first average frost in autumn. Beets require 45 to 65 days to reach harvest. Grow beets as a winter crop in mild-winter regions.

How to prepare and cook beets: click here.

Description. Beets are biennial plants grown as annuals. They are grown for their swollen, bulb-shaped root and also for their leaves. Beet roots can be red, yellow, or white. A rosette of large leaves sprout from the root.

Yield. Plant 5 to 10 beets per household member.

Site. Grow beets in full sun or partial shade in warm regions. Plant beets in well-worked loose soil rich in organic matter. Be sure to remove all stones and clods from planting beds so as not to impede or split growing roots. Add aged compost to growing beds in advance of planting. Beets grow best where the soil pH is 6.0 to 6.8.

Planting time. Sow beets in the garden 2 to 3 weeks before the last average frost date in spring. Continue succession plantings every 3 weeks until temperatures reach 80°F. Beets can again be planted in late summer or early autumn 6 to 8 weeks before the first average frost in autumn. Beets require 45 to 65 days to reach harvest. Beets can tolerate frost but will go to seed if temperatures are too cold. Grow beets as a winter crop in mild-winter regions. In hot weather, beet roots will become woody.

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Planting Beets

Planting Calendar. Beets grow best in cool weather, in early spring or autumn. Beets grown in cool weather will be sweet and crisp. The temperature during the 55 to 90 days it takes to grow beets should remain below 65ºF (18ºC).

• Spring crop. Sow beet seeds as soon as the soil can be worked in spring, 2 to 3 weeks before the last frost. Beets will germinate in soil as cool as 45ºF (7ºC) but will grow best in soil about 50ºF (10ºC). For successive crops, plant beets every 10 days. Young beet plants can tolerate frost but they will go to seed without making roots if the weather is too cold.

• Autumn and winter crop. Beets can be planted in late summer for an autumn or winter crop. Depending upon variety allow 50 to 90 days for beets to mature before the first freeze. (Look on the seed packet for days to maturity and then count backwards from the estimated first frost date in your area.) Where there is no freeze, plant beets in winter. Once autumn beets have matured, they can be left in the ground for winter harvest as long as the ground does not freeze. Beets can be grown in a cold frame or protected by a plastic tunnel. (More tips on growing cool-season vegetables click here.)

Place. Beets will grow in full sun or light shade.

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Baby Beets and Sugar Snap Peas with Orange Butter

Sweet and smooth baby beets--red, yellow, and orange--added to sugary sugar snap peas tossed with a tangy orange zest dressing and you have a seasonal salad that says Spring! You'll have to search to find someone who doesn't like this salad.

Baby beets and sugar snap peas are just hitting their peak in the garden. If you don't grow these, head to the farmers' market where they will be easy pickin' this time of year.

We had our first supper club meeting of the season this past Saturday evening, so Becky was at the Ferry Building farmers' market about mid-morning to pick up the beets and sugar snaps. These were fresh picked the day before.

Baby beets--about the size of a walnut--are tender, sweet, and juicy--better tasting than large ones. Choose a bunch--6 or 8 will do--all about the same size for even cooking. For this salad, the beets were individually wrapped in foil and roasted in the oven at 400ºF for about 45 minutes and then cooled in advance.

Sugar snap peas--you eat the entire pod, no shelling required--are perfect when the pods have just plumped. You'll want to serve these within a day of harvest to enjoy the pods' natural sweetness. About a half-pound or two cups of sugar peas will do.

Our friends Lonnie and Bruce supplied a navel orange from their backyard tree for our orange zesty dressing. You'll only need a few slivers of zest and a tablespoon of juice, so the sections are sweet snacking while preparing the salad.

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Baby Beets: Steamed, Baked, Pickled

Baby beets are beets harvested just as they have started to round out. Leave these beets until they mature and you can call them table beets.

Baby beets—just about the size of a ping-pong ball—have the most delicate taste and texture. Table beets—as big as your fist—still taste good, but don’t let them grow much larger as their flavor will be sacrificed to size.

Choose baby beets for the crudité platter or for pickling to use as a condiment or salad addition. Opt for table beets if you plan to grate the beets for relish or to add textural interest to a salad or salsa; they’ll be easier to handle.

When it comes to color golden or yellow beets are not as sweet and mild as red beets, but they won’t bleed onto your other ingredients, your work surface or hands.

You can capture the sweetness of baby beets by steaming or baking or pickling.

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Beets

beets

Beets have a sweet, earthy taste. If you bake or roast them in their skins, you can enjoy that flavor at its most intense.

Cook beets only until they just lose their rawness then combine them with meat, fish, grains, fruits, nuts, celeriac, fennel, or bitter greens.

Once tender, beets can be sliced or diced to use in salads, risottos, and vegetable side dishes.

Serve beets warm with a dressing of butter, lemon juice, and seasoning or dress them with orange juice topped with slivers of green onion or glazed with orange marmalade.

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Beets and Beet Roots

beet greens

You should consider beets when you visit the farm market this week. Which means that you should consider beet roots if you are shopping in Europe.

The beet and the beet root are, of course, the same thing. It just happens that Europeans are a bit more accurate in their description since the (usually) red globe called a beet is the root of the plant.

Whether you call it a beet or a beet root, this is peak season: those being harvested now are likely to be just that more delicious than those that follow. Why? Because the sweet flavor of a beet’s root is affected by the speed of the plant’s growth. Beets that are allowed to mature more slowly in cooler soil and weather will be sweeter than those that rush to maturity as the summer and soil grow warmer and warmer.

What should you look for when choosing beets? The root should be smooth and firm. The leaves or tops (which can be served raw as a salad green) should look fresh. Small beets will be young and tender. Large, mature beets can be tough and have a woody texture. Whatever the size, avoid beet roots that are soft and flabby or rough and shriveled.

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