To achieve a bountiful and sweet harvest of table beets, it’s essential to focus on nourishing the soil with the right organic fertilizers and follow a few crucial tips. Here’s how you can ensure your beets grow large and delicious every year.
Soil and Planting Tips:
- Soil Preparation:
- Beets thrive in well-fed soil enriched with organic matter. Avoid using fresh animal manure as it promotes leafy growth over root development. Aim for a soil pH between 6.5 and 7.5 for optimal growth. If the soil is too acidic, improve it by adding wood ash, eggshells, or by sowing lupine.
- For alkaline soils, use peat, chicken droppings, or a complex fertilizer containing sulfates, superphosphates, hydrophosphates, and ammonium. Alternatively, sowing mustard can also help adjust the pH balance.
- Thinning:
- Beets sown too densely will produce smaller roots. Once the first shoots emerge, thin them out, leaving plants spaced 15-20 cm apart. This spacing allows each beet to grow to its full potential without competition for nutrients.
- Watering and Fertilizing:
- Regular watering is crucial for a good harvest. To enhance the sweetness of the beets, use a special solution. 2-3 weeks after thinning, mix 400 grams of wood ash with 1 tablespoon of rock salt in a bucket of water. Apply this mixture to the beet crops to provide essential nutrients and improve root development.
- If the soil lacks boron, which is vital for sweet beets, add a boron-containing fertilizer. Dissolve 10 grams of boric acid powder in 10 liters of water and use this solution to water your plants.
By following these practices and using the suggested solutions, you’ll ensure your beets are both large and sweet, making your harvest a highlight of the season. Happy gardening!
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