Help with beets, Please!

vanter0109 6/26/2010, 10:44 pm

I recently started my SFG & have gotten everything else to grow except my beets. :O(

I always start from seed & seem to be able to sprout the beets just fine (I use peet pellots). It's only when I put them into the ground they die.

I plant the whole pellot, removing the netting. I carefully fix the soil around the sprouts, making a welling area for the water to pool for the roots. But the plants don't support themselfs & fall to the ground & eventually die. They are so flimsy, am I supposed to tie them up? If so, I really don't see how because they are so skinny.

Everything I read says they are supposed to be sooooo easy to grow, but my thumb just keeps getting blacker with every beet tried!

Chopper 6/26/2010, 11:11 pm

They have been easy but most root veggies don't transplant well. Did you harden them off before planting? I just direct planted and am now on my second go round. You probably still have time to do so.

bonniesherbals 6/26/2010, 11:46 pm

i read that beets don't like to be transplanted at all, just direct sow them. you can do that tomorrow.

milaneyjane 6/27/2010, 2:41 am

I direct sow here in MN in our short growing season. They seem to be one of the easiest to grow!

vanter0109 6/27/2010, 11:46 am

I do have some sprouts left that I will be making my 3rd attempt on, but I will no also direct sow some seeds & see how it goes.

I will keep my fingers crossed. Thank you, and please keep any hints or info coming.

ander217 6/27/2010, 2:21 pm

I always direct sow beets and never have problems except when the rabbits eat them. It's really hot here now so I'm going to wait and sow mine in mid-August for a fall crop so they will be a darker color for canning pickled beets. (Hot weather makes white rings show up in many varieties.)

I've heard that some people roll over their beet seeds with a rolling pin before planting to break up the seed clump into individual seeds. I've never tried that but I think I will try a few seeds and see if they come up okay. It always seems a shame to have to thin so many beet plants that come up from one "group" seed.

vanter0109 6/27/2010, 8:49 pm

Hey, does anyone have a picture of thier beets when they are still young. I'm not really sure how I'm gonna be able to keep them from shriveling up from laying on the ground.

chocolatepop 6/27/2010, 10:10 pm

ill take a picture tomorrow. but i notice that they tend to flop before the radish is developed or if theres been too much rain.

**camprn** 6/27/2010, 10:38 pm

Perhaps it is just to warm to grow beets now at your location.

vanter0109 6/28/2010, 8:49 pm

I thought that maybe it was too hot to grow beets, but after reading that a lot of people are growing them in the same heat index I was thinking that my problem must be me. And so I try on....

Cropper2 7/23/2010, 6:33 pm

I, too, am having a lot of trouble. I planted mine from seed the first of May and just pulled some out, hoping for the best and got the worst! They are tiny and look awful. No idea. I thought that beets were supposed to be easy, so I, as a beginner, gave them a go. What's the deal? Plenty of sun. New Mel's mix. Maybe I should have fed them? Something? HELP!

vanter0109 7/23/2010, 6:46 pm

Urg...I know it's frustrating! I am now on my 4th? try, but I have 3 tiney beet plants now. We will see how they do.

If these die, I may wait until it's cooler.

LaFee 7/23/2010, 6:55 pm

I know this is a smartaleck answer....

but I NEVER have problems with beets.

That's because I can't stand them, wouldn't even think of buying them, and wouldn't grow them if my life depended on it.

Help with beets, Please! 889526

chocolatepop 7/23/2010, 8:59 pm

Im gonna guess heat?

Cropper2 7/24/2010, 7:27 am

Are beets a good fall crop? Should I try them again? It is going to be 100 or so for the next week (for absolutely no good reason), so if heat is a possible issue, I guess I should wait a week or so to replant. Thoughts?

chocolatepop 7/24/2010, 11:09 am

Beets are a great fall crop. You could get them in the ground soon, even with the hot weather I "think" it is the developing root that doesnt like it, not really the germination. Ahh this gardening is hard Sad

Cropper2 7/24/2010, 11:20 am

No kidding. Enough to make a grown person cry!

But I'm to keep trying !!!!

vanter0109 7/24/2010, 2:02 pm

so my 3 little beets are my 4th try...not looking so great right now...we'll see

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Help with beets, Please!

Help with beets, Please!

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Re: Help with beets, Please!

Re: Help with beets, Please!

try again

sowing beets

picture of beets

Re: Help with beets, Please!

Re: Help with beets, Please!

too hot

Re: Help with beets, Please!

try try again....

Re: Help with beets, Please!

Re: Help with beets, Please!

Re: Help with beets, Please!

Re: Help with beets, Please!

Re: Help with beets, Please!

beets, oh so NOT easy

Re: Help with beets, Please!


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