Gardening : Beets Are Easy to Grow and Don’t Attract Pests

Beets are handsome and delicious additions to a vegetable garden. Their brilliant green foliage provides dramatic contrast to their dark-red roots, and freshly pulled beets have a sweetness and tenderness that market beets lack.

Beets are a good choice for the home garden as they are quite easy to grow and are bothered by few insect pests. By growing your own, you can sample some choice beet varieties that are not available at the supermarket.

Although beets are grown primarily for their roots, the tops, or greens as they are called, are very nutritious and an excellent substitute for spinach. Beets are a two-purpose vegetable and the wise gardener utilizes both the greens and the roots.

My favorite beet is an old-fashioned variety called Lutz Green Leaf. It is also sold by some seed firms under the name Winter Keeper. The roots grow larger than other beets and are elongated and rough in appearance, but the flavor is always sweet and tender. The tops of Lutz Green Leaf are a distinctive pale green and are by far the most delicious beet greens I’ve ever eaten.

In addition to Lutz Beets, there is a wide selection of other good-quality beets available to the home gardener. Red as a beet doesn’t always apply. Burpee’s Golden beet is just what it says, gold in color and sweet. Also, it doesn’t bleed when sliced.

Then there is Cylindra, which grows to 8 inches in length, but is only 1 1/2 inches in diameter. It is red and, if you like pickled beets, you’ll find it convenient, for most of the slices are uniform in size.

When planting beets, keep in mind that the root is what counts, and so the soil should be as loose and friable as you can make it. Spade the soil to a depth of at least 1 foot and work in lots of organic materials such as compost and peat moss. Make certain that any manure you add is well aged. Green manure will cause the beets to split.

Raised Beds or Containers

If your soil is very poor, you might consider growing beets in raised beds or containers where you can mix your own soil. Beets are not heavy feeders.

Beets do well in rows, or scatter plant them in individual plots. Don’t try to transplant them, as this will cause misshapen roots. When planting the seeds, follow the directions on the seed packet carefully as to seed depth and spacing.

Each beet seed actually consists of a cluster of two or three seeds that germinate in clumps and need to be thinned to one plant per seed. When the young plants are 2 inches high, it is very important to thin them as outlined on the seed packet instructions.

Beets, other than Lutz beets, should be harvested when they are 2 to 3 inches in diameter. If left in the soil too long, they become tough and woody.

Beets require regular watering and should be irrigated on a weekly basis, or more often if they are grown in containers.

Except for Lutz beets, seeds for most beet varieties mentioned here are available in seed racks at local nurseries and garden centers. Seeds for Lutz beets are available by mail from Burpee Seeds, 300 Park Ave., Warminster, Pa. 18991.

Sidnam has written garden columns and features for The Times since 1975.