Beets not producing beets?

arla 11/27/2011, 8:44 pm

Pulled my first beet tonight (my calculator told me it was time, and well, I've got no idea what to look for so I just pulled one up) didn't seem to have any "beet" to speak of, just roots, and the beet greens, but no actual beet.

Do I just need to wait longer? Or could something else have caused this? I'm kind of at a loss at this point.

boffer 11/27/2011, 8:57 pm

I can only offer moral support. Beets have been a staple that I could count on to grow well in my climate so I would have enough to last through winter. This year they were a dud. Other folks had trouble too; we don't have a clue as to why!

Remember that the 'time to harvest' number on the seed package is just a big ballpark number. But if it's been a couple months since you planted your beet seeds, and you aren't seeing anything that resembles a baby beet, eat all the beet leaves if you like them, and then start over.

plantoid 11/27/2011, 9:42 pm

Here in the UK I've occasionally had similar problems in the past

I think over the years those problems were cause by one or all of the following :- too close sowings , not enough water or poor nutrition .

I've usually left the beets in place if I'd not immediate plans and snipped off a leaf or two off each plant leaving the plant to swell up if at all it chose to do so .. just make sure it is an outer leaf you snip not the growing inner crown ones

arla 11/27/2011, 10:20 pm

Well, guess I'll leave them for a while, it was beginning of October when I planted, but the seeds where a few years old, so it's possible that's an issue (although I'd not expect it to be) we also had a unseasonably warm spell, so maybe that didn't help, I'll try again next year when it's time to plant beets again (leave the rest in for about a month, don't think I wanted to plant any of the december SF Bay Area plants, January was my next planting month, and if they haven't done anything by then).

Chopper 11/27/2011, 11:49 pm

I have planted beets every month. Some, even in the same bed, do better than others for no apparent reason. I use the same seed - a couple of years old - and have yet to find a pattern. Beets are pretty hardy so as long as you do not get a hard freeze, just let them be. I expect you will get decent beets eventually. I have found they take a long time - but not as long as carrots.

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