Kem Ormond’s vegetable garden: Beetroot - how to grow it

Beetroot is very versatile and well worth the effort to grow. Photo / Unsplash/ Emma Jane Hobden

Kem Ormond is a features writer for NZME community newspapers and The Country. She’s also a keen gardener. This week, she’s singing the praises of beetroot.

OPINION

Beetroot, is another of those vegetables you either hate or love, but how can you have a Kiwi burger without beetroot?

I have had various successes with growing beetroot, but over the last few years, I have learnt a lot about growing this very versatile vegetable and how to have a bumper crop.

If there was a beetroot king, I have met the person who deserves to wear the crown; or maybe the t-shirt.

His beetroot grows huge, does not get a woody centre, and is not fibrous.

It is silky and great for bottling.

Beetroot is wonderful roasted, and juiced, small leaves work well in salads; you can make delicious beetroot chutney or soup, or beetroot crisps. Plus, it can be bottled.

Planting beetroot

Beetroot and its leaves can both be used in salads. Photo / Unsplash / Monika Grabkowska

Yes, you can grow seedlings but as the beetroot seed is large you can easily plant straight into the ground.

Do not plant them too deep, 10-15mm below ground level is fine.

I do not soak my seeds, but I know of others who soak seeds overnight in warm water.

This is said to speed up the germination process.

I am in the Lower North Island where October is the best time to start your planting.

Beetroot needs to have well-drained soil and they like their food, so soil preparation is essential.

So as not to get gardener’s-back, my vegetable beds are all raised which also raises the soil temperature.

Plenty of well-dug-in compost or winter greens dug in earlier on is perfect.

I also like to rotate my beetroot patches every year as they seem to like a change of scenery.

This is one vegetable that seems to grow relatively disease-free.

Now, depending how large you want your beetroot to grow does determine how far apart you plant your seed.

As I am after the big ones, I plant the seeds 5cm apart and usually do four rows with a 30cm space between rows.

You need to be able to get your hoe down each row easily.

I plant a few seeds in an old egg carton, just in case I lose a few seedlings at the start.

If I don’t use them, they go on the sales table at the gardening club.

Come December, I usually thin and include baby beets (thinnings) in most of my meals. No wastage here! I need that extra space to grow my big beetroot.

Beetroot watering

Raw or bottled beetroot can be used in a salad. Photo / Pexels / Laura Alessia

Beetroot does not like dry soil; this will result in low yields and a woody flavour if left to dry out.

Make sure they are kept moist but don’t overwater them.

February is when I harvest my main crop of beetroot.

This involves various friends coming around with their jars, vinegar and sugar and joining in with the beetroot bottling as well.

It is a hot job in the height of summer, so a well-deserved cold drink at the end of the bottling is appreciated.

I love seeing friends leaving with their jars of beetroot.

When deciding what type of beetroot seed to grow, you first need to decide what you are going to use your beetroot for.

While Detroit Dark Red is my choice, growing Rainbow Mix will mean you have lovely, coloured beets to add to a salad.

Cylindra will make bottling easier, Baby Beets are a choice for roasting and then there are the bigger beets like Super King or Bull’s Blood.

So, if you have not had a lot of luck growing beetroot, don’t give up, maybe you just need to tweak a few things you are doing, and this summer reap the benefits.