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Beetroot queries…

EscapetothegardenEscapetothegarden Posts: 188
in Fruit & veg
Hello!

I am growing some beetroot.  



I put three seeds in one pot.

I just have a couple of questions!

1) I read that each seed will produce a few seedlings. However, they don’t seem to be doing this! In the photo above, it shows one seed possibly doing this but this is not happening to any of the others.

2) I have bought a rectangular planter to transfer the seeds into when I need to keep them outdoors.  When is the best time to do this? Are the seedlings too small at the moment?

Thank you!
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Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I usually sow 2 or 3 seeds in a small pot much like you have done.
    Sometimes I get multiple seedlings from a single seed (I forget the right name but each capsule may contain several seeds.)
    I wait until they growing quite well - about 2-3",  then plant each potful in the ground leaving about 9-10" between each group.
    They hate root disturbance, so it's better to plant the whole potful and not attempt to separate them.
    It's usually easier to sow them direct into the ground, as long as you can keep the pigeons away!

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • EscapetothegardenEscapetothegarden Posts: 188
    Thank you @Pete.8 will wait a little longer till planting out…

    I think my planter will not be wide enough if that is the spacing required 😑

    Unfortunately don’t have ground space.
  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    As always you learn something on this forum. Never knew that about beetroot seeds. Do other seeds do the same?
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Don't worry too much about the space you have. Plant them closer and harvest them earlier.
    If you sow more seed in a month, by the time you harvest the 1st lot you'll be able to plant out the 2nd lot. Just add some goodness to the soil between crops.
    I've only just sown my 1st batch.

    I recall spinach does the same re. the seeds and maybe chard
    Each 'seed' out of the packet may contain up to 3 (I think) actual seeds .

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • war garden 572war garden 572 Posts: 664
    it is seed pod or cluster which has several seeds.
    not true seed.
    that why before plant  break open clusters and
     sow the seed individually. 
  • MikeOxgreenMikeOxgreen Posts: 812
    Plant them out now, i'm on my second sowing of beets, they're pretty hardy so you're a bit later than you could be. Sink the whole pot in as it is. When they swell pull off the biggest to use then leave the smaller ones to grow.
    My method (which is neither wrong, nor right) is to put one pod per module and be happy with whatever comes up. If it's a single then fine, if it's multiple then that's fine too.
    Don't forget to enjoy the leaves, they're delicious.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited June 2023
    The development of Monogerm sugar beet seed was a big advance for farmers … i remember it’s introduction during my childhood … it meant that many hours of painstaking and backbreaking work ‘singling’ fields full of sugar beet would no longer be necessary. 

    It is explained here

    https://www.agweek.com/monogerm-sugarbeet-seed#:~:text=As a result of Savitsky’s%20stellar%20work%2C%20the,in%20the%20second%20decade%20of%20the%2021st%20century.

    Before long the same techniques were being employed to produce monogerm seeds of other beet varieties such as beetroot. 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • EscapetothegardenEscapetothegarden Posts: 188
    Thank you for your suggestions @MikeOxgreen! I am tempted to plant in my planters now as the weather seemed to be stabalising.

    I have bought another pack of seeds - should I plant straight into planters or leave them to germinate in my mini greenhouse?

    Thanks!
  • EscapetothegardenEscapetothegarden Posts: 188
    Thank you @Pete.8 I would have wanted to harvest them when they were on the smaller side anyway.

    Looking forward to tasting the leaves! Never tried them before 🙂
  • muckyhandsmikemuckyhandsmike Posts: 239
    Fwiw I sowed mine straight into a raised bed outside over 5 weeks ago and they are doing ok. I have had to reseed the row a bit though. That said it’s my first time with beetroot so I await developments with interest.
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