What did you do in the garden today?

[dirkandlorie]

Let’s see, I took pains to make sure the pH was above 6, changed the variety, fertilized with a general purpose fertilizer prior to planting, painstakingly space the seeds to limit the need to thin, succession planted, and thinned as needed. Still, although I do get a harvest, the beets tend to be both small in size and harvest. I’ll plant anywhere from 40 to 50 row feet and get about enough harvest for roughly six or seven pint jars of processed beets. I fight them every single year.

This time of year I start digging trenches in my garden beds, A couple feet at a time. I dump all my kitchen scraps in the trench with a handful or two of shredded leaves and fill it in with the soil from the next area. I keep doing it all winter long even if the ground is covered with snow or frozen. By planting time in the spring I have really good soil down deep for planting those beets, and anything else for that matter. The other thing I do that's specifically for beets is add a teaspoon of borax to a couple gallon waterer and water the planting hole before planting seed. I've never had my soil tested, so don't know if I'm deficient in boron, but know that beets love it. I grow the Ruby Queen variety, and they have grown really well here for me. My seeds are over ten years old now, so thinking of trying a new variety this spring. I don't know, sometimes its best to stick with the tried and true. Hope there's something in here that helps you with your quest for bigger, better beets. If not, sorry for wasting your time.

 

[jerryse]

AM rain. Wet cloudy day. Indoors today. No sunshine until Saturday.