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Archive for beets

Create a teepee of pole beans for the summer

May 7, 2012 · Filed under BEANS, beets, carrots, general, pole beans · Tagged bean teepee, bean trellis, Green bean, pole beans, vegetable gardening

On Sunday, Caleb and Elodie and I created a bean teepee in one the beds where pole beans will grow. I wanted to make it large enough that a person (even an adult) could sit inside it this summer when it is covered with bean plants. I can’t wait to experience what it will be like.

Here is the pole bean teepee I had last year but it was completely closed so this year we left an opening in the tee-pee to get in and out.

I had some really tall poles so we could get the height and width needed to make it large enough. I got the poles from my friend, Tuko, who had them on an arbor at her house and was taking it down. That was many years ago and I’ve saved them all this time for something special and I think I found that special project. I’m hoping that my neighbor’s grandson, Aiden will go in it later this summer.

So today in the wind, I went out and planted some seeds before this supposed rain comes. I planted beets and carrots on both sides and then I covered them with row cover (for now) so the seeds wouldn’t blow away and stay wet longer when I water them. The row cover helps the seeds stay in place! Later after the plants come up I will take off the sheets!

Growing Beets

April 13, 2011 · Filed under beets, general · Tagged growing beets, how to grow beets, spring crops, vegetable gardening

Detroit Red Beet/ photo courtesy of seedsavers.org

Just like with Swiss chard, now is the time to plant beets. Beets (or sugarbeet) take around 60 days from seed to maturity and should be given a spot in the garden where it can have time to grow because it takes some time to mature. You should plant them now in the spring and if you replant them in fall you can let them overwinter. It is a biennial that we grow as an annual to harvest the root. For more flavorful beets, grow them in cool conditions.There are many different types and coloring of beets from Golden, Bulls Blood Red, Chiogga, Detroit Red, Early Wonder and Cylindra to name a few. Bulls Blood Red is grown mostly for it’s beautiful red leaves that many people use in their salad greens.

I have to confess. Until a few years ago, I wasn’t a big beet fan. Perhaps it was because my mom gave us pickled beets or tasteless cooked beets from a can while I was a child (sorry mom). In her defense, we lived in a desert and back then it was hard to get fresh anything. So I wasn’t very enthusiastic about growing them. Then two things happen to change my mind about beets.

THING #1: One day a friend had me over for lunch and put roasted beets in with a lettuce salad and I was hooked. Beets get really sweet when roasted in an oven on low heat. They sorta get caramelized and are little nuggets of sweet.

THING#2: Two friends from Australia who are vegetarians came over for dinner one night and grated a raw beet and carrot on top of a lettuce salad. It was so bright and colorful and the raw beet had a wonderful flavor. We sprinkled feta cheese and sunflower seeds on it and dressed it with a balsamic vinaigrette. I loved it.

Growing Instructions:

-Beets like alkaline soil-ph between 6.7 to 7 which is great around here. They like a lot of organic material added to the soil. They require consistent moisture levels but can tolerate soils that are low in fertility.

-Beets can be started inside if you like or direct seed in early spring.

-Plant seeds every 1 inch, thinning to about every 4 inches after they are 4-5 inches tall to give them room to grow. Snip off the cuttings instead of pulling them to not disturb the remaining roots.

-For best flavor, beets like direct light and cool growing conditions which is perfect for a spring crop and fall crop. Put straw around base of plant in summer to keep roots cooler if you still have them.

-When harvesting, cut off the tops to within one inch and keep in refrigerator.

Plant peas, spinach, and arugula on St. Patrick’s Day

March 17, 2011 · Filed under arugula, asparagus, beets, carrots, chard, COLD FRAME gardening, FRUIT, general, LETTUCE/GREENS, mesclun, peas, spinach, strawberries · Tagged lettuce, peas, vegetable garden, vegetable gardening

Today is ST. PATRICK’S DAY- TIME TO PLANT PEAS, SPINACH AND ARUGULA. I always plant them right around now and use the holiday as a reminder. I stayed home today to recoup after putting Butch down. Getting my hands in the soil is always grounding for me. Lots of things to do right now regarding gardening. Here are some of the things I did today.

COLDFRAME-I inspected the rabbit damage to see if the spinach seedlings are salvageable. All but one of them are starting to grow back from the crown which were undamaged. I planted seeds of the following in the coldframe:

SPINACH-Bloomsdale-45 days in the other half of the coldframe.

CHARD-I didn’t know (or remember) that chard is a biennial (meaning two years) but spends it’s second year mostly growing to produce seed which is why they never seem to produce as big of leaves the second year. I will pull them and plant more chard seeds-white variety.

OUTSIDE RAISED BED-Checked the outside raised beds by the house. Last fall I I dug some old horse manure into one of them and it looks great. I planted the following seeds and covered them with row cover to keep the rabbits from them:

PEAS-Dwarf Grey peas and Oregon Sugar Pod II-60 days

SPINACH-Bloomsdale-45 days and a giant variety of spinach (there I go again!) called Monstrueux de Viroflay-50 days

BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE-Yugoslavian Red-40 days

MESCLUN-Provencal mix-40 days

CILANTRO

CUTTING LETTUCE-a new super red variety of called Sea of Red-40 days

ROMAINE-Paris Island Cos-68 days

ARUGULA-Apollo-30 days

IN THE SECOND RAISED BED- Took out the last of the carrots from fall that overwintered. They should be extra sweet! The garlic I bought at SF Farmers Market last fall is coming up in it. Lightly dug in some Yum-Yum Mix in the remainder of the bed as I’m going to plant more carrots, beets and shallots which are heavy feeders and need some extra fertilizer especially if you are putting them back in the same area. I will plant:

CARROTS- Purple Haze and Danvers

BEETS-Detroit Dark Red-60 days, Bulls Red Beet-50 days and Early Wonder beet-48 days

DUTCH SHALLOTS-picked up some Dutch Red Shallots while I wait for the French shallots to arrive. Should be a good taste test at harvest time.

MAIN GARDEN-I hooked up the hose and watered the strawberries and the asparagus. Underneath the layer of dried leaves in the strawberry bed I see new leaves starting to grow from the crowns. The asparagus is either dead from our very cold winter or they haven’t started growing yet, we will see..

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