It will be useful for beginning gardeners to learn how to thin out beets in order to get a good harvest of large and tasty root vegetables. This vegetable can be grown either without seedlings or in seedlings. Therefore, the strong seedlings remaining after breaking through should not be thrown away - they can be used as seedlings. Most often, beets are planted after the first thinning, but if necessary, grown seedlings with 4-5 leaves can also be used.
Features of sowing and growing beets
Beet seeds they germinate at a temperature of +4 °C, but there is no need to rush into planting, since seedlings and grown plants do not tolerate frost well. The vegetable shows the highest germination at +10 °C. The seed sowing rate is 17-20 g per 10 m². Planting depth is 2.5-3 cm. When planted deeply, germination rate decreases and the growth rate of the plant slows down due to lack of oxygen in the soil.
Beet seeds are infructescences or clusters of fruits, connected by 3-5 pieces into dense balls. Each infructescence can produce 2-4 full-fledged sprouts, which leads to thickening of seedlings. If excess shoots are not removed in time, the root vegetables will grow small, deformed and tasteless. The seedlings remaining after thinning can be planted in free places.
If you want to get a harvest of large root crops, then you need to thin out the plantings at least twice. Moreover, the thinned distances should be 3-4 cm during the first procedure and 8-10 cm during the second breakthrough.
How to thin beets?
An important agrotechnical technique for all root crops, especially beets, is thinning. You need to know how to properly break through plants. The size of the harvest will depend on the timeliness and quality of the procedure. To create an optimal feeding area for each plant, it is necessary to thin out the seedlings 2-3, and sometimes 4 times.
As soon as the first permanent leaf appears, you can begin thinning the plantings. Sometimes the first breakthrough has to be done at the cotyledon leaf stage. Do not question the necessity of the procedure; friendly germination is, of course, good, but in dense plantings the plants will oppress each other. It will not be possible to grow full-fledged root crops in such conditions.
It is advisable to carry out thinning on a cloudy day or in the evening. The soil should be moist, so the day before the procedure, the plants are watered generously. Before thinning, the row spacing is loosened. The strongest plant is left in each nest, and the rest are removed.
In order not to damage the desired seedlings, you should not uproot the plants; it is better to pinch the sprout close to the ground. For convenience, you can use tweezers or scissors. If after breaking through there are strong seedlings left, then you should not throw them away. Beets can be transplanted into prepared furrows or into places where they have not sprouted.
Second procedure
Under favorable conditions, the plants grow well; as a rule, 2-3 weeks after the first breakthrough, the beets manage to grow 5-6 leaves, and the root crop reaches 3-4 cm in diameter. You can begin the second thinning procedure. The largest plants that have reached bunch ripeness, as well as poorly developed specimens, are removed. The distance between the remaining plants should be at least 6-8 cm.
The third thinning is carried out when the root crops reach 4-5 cm in diameter and can already be used for food. At this time, the final density of the standing is formed. To prevent the root crop from overgrowing, the interval between plants after cutting should be no more than 10-15 cm. The vegetable grower always has a choice - either grow it by seed, or plant it with seedlings, so that later there is no need to thin out.
Subsequent breakthroughs are repeated selective harvesting.
Replanting beets during thinning
After the first thinning, many strong plants remain that can be used as seedlings. It has been noticed that planted beets take root well and form larger root crops than those planted with seeds in a permanent place.
If there are no additional beds for planting plants, you can find a place for seedlings between cucumbers, sweet peppers, dill, and other vegetables (except beans). You can also root root vegetable seedlings on the sides of strawberry beds. These plants get along well with each other.
It is advisable to transplant beets during thinning in rainy, cloudy weather, which will ensure better survival rate. The vegetable reacts very sensitively to even minor damage to the root, so you need to remove it from the ground using a narrow garden spatula. Then carefully place it in the prepared hole, avoiding bends and creases, otherwise the root crop will grow deformed.
If the root is too long, it is better to shorten it by one third. Before planting, you can dip the roots of the seedlings in a mixture of mullein and clay for good survival. All foliage is removed from mature seedlings, leaving one central sprout. After replanting, it is advisable to shade the plants by sticking small branches of maple or another tree with large foliage next to them.
Many experienced vegetable growers do not immediately plant beets in a permanent place, but plant them only in seedlings. The advantage of this method is that there is no need for thinning and large root crops are obtained.
How to plant beets without thinning?
To get a productive and sweet root crop, beets are thinned in open ground 2 or even 3 times per season. If it is not possible to root the plants, you can immediately plant the fruits at a distance of 7-10 cm from each other. Beetroot seeds are large, so this is not so difficult to do.
Many gardeners place beet seeds in advance on paper strips covered with paste. During planting, the tapes are embedded in the furrows to a depth of no more than 2-3 cm and lightly sprinkled with earth. The disadvantage of this method is that some of the seeds may die and seedlings will be uneven. Therefore, you need to have a small plot of plants in stock for seedlings, so that you have something to replace the dead seedlings.
Advice from an experienced gardener
Beets are demanding on soil fertility and do not tolerate shade. There are a number of other conditions on the fulfillment of which the quality of the harvest will depend, so it will be useful to listen to the simple recommendations of experienced gardeners:
- If you want to get a good harvest of large root crops, then you need to grow only regionalized varieties of domestic selection on your plot.
- Before sowing, you need to treat the beet seeds in a weak solution of manganese or ash (2 tablespoons per 1 liter of water). Then wrap it in a damp cloth and put it in a warm place until the sprouts hatch.
- Root vegetables that are too large are poorly stored, accumulate more nitrates, and often have poor taste. To get medium-sized beetroot, it is necessary to reduce the distance between rows to 18-20 cm, and in rows to 8-10 cm.
- Experienced gardeners do not want to waste time dealing with thickened beet seedlings; it is much easier to grow high-quality root crops with seedlings.
- Beets do not develop well in acidic soils, so it will be useful to water them with ash water twice a season (1 glass of ash per bucket of water). You can dust the row spacing with dry ash (followed by loosening the soil).
- Wood ash is also a good pest repellent.
- To increase the sugar content, beets are watered with lightly salted water twice a season (1 tablespoon of salt without top per 1 liter of water). The first watering is carried out during the root crop period, the second - a month before harvesting.
Even a novice summer resident can grow an unpretentious and tasty root vegetable. By putting into practice the useful advice of experienced gardeners, you can get a significant increase in your harvest.
