Description of the best varieties of beets, how to collect seeds

When choosing beet seeds, you need to pay attention to the main characteristics. Beet varieties differ in yield, taste, ripening time, and characteristics of cultivation and harvesting. The vegetable stores well, so there is no point in growing it in the cold season. In summer, you can choose seeds of a suitable variety for open ground.

Comparison of different groups of beet varieties according to their qualities

Beetroot is a herbaceous annual or biennial plant. There are 13 types of vegetables, of which only two are grown in culture: the ordinary and the leaf type. All varieties of common beets are divided into three large groups: table, sugar and fodder. According to the ripening period, early, middle and late varieties are distinguished.

Early varieties are grown for consumption in the summer. Their shelf life is no more than 4 months. After the emergence of seedlings, 95 days pass before harvesting a mature harvest. Planting begins either before winter, in early November, or in spring, in late April. The harvest (average fruit weight 350 g) begins to be harvested at the end of June, July or early August.

Middle and late varieties are suitable for winter storage. Varieties for winter storage include: Podzimnyaya, Bordeaux, Incomparable, Cylinder.

Mid-season varieties begin to ripen after 108 days or later. Planting begins in early May. The mature harvest can be harvested at the end of summer. The average weight of the root crop is 450 g. The shelf life of the harvested crop is up to 7 months.

Late varieties begin to be planted in the second half of May. The harvest begins to ripen after 130 days, approximately coinciding with the beginning of September and the end of October. The mass of root vegetables is 500 g, the taste is at the highest level. The shelf life reaches 9 months.

Using different varieties of beets

Early varieties are grown for raw consumption, for adding to various dishes and making juices. Middle and late varieties are most often used for canning and winter storage.

All varieties of table beets are divided into red and white subspecies.The white vegetable tastes like its red relative. The skin and pulp are light in color. The vegetable is added to many dishes where coloring other foods red is undesirable.

Red beet varieties are characterized by the color of the skin and pulp of a red or burgundy hue. Light rings are clearly visible on the cut. The shape of root crops can be round, cylindrical, flat, conical.

Popular table beet varieties include: Mulatka, Bordeaux 237, Bona, Kedri, Tsilindra, Zemlyachka, Red Ball. The taste of these varieties is good, the flesh is juicy and sweet.

Less commonly grown Swiss chard. It does not produce root crops; the tops and leaves are used for food. The color of the leaves can be green, burgundy, purple. The petioles also differ in length, thickness and color.

Sugar and ethanol are made from sugar beets. Root vegetables contain up to 22% sucrose. Root vegetables can weigh up to 3 kg. The skin color is yellow-white, the flesh is white. All varieties are heat-loving and demanding of light, watering and soil composition.

Fodder beet (Timiryazevskaya 19, Roket, Pronto, Slavyanka, Bravo) is grown to produce feed for farm animals. In terms of the presence of nutritional components, it is no different from the table or sugar group. A special feature is the higher content of protein, fiber and coarse fibers. Root crops grow to large sizes.

Beetroot is planted using seeds or seedlings. You can grow beets yourself for seeds. In order to get healthy planting material, you need to know some rules and secrets on how to grow beet seeds.

Early beet varieties spring vitamins

For early beet varieties, fruit ripening time is 95 days.The vegetable crop withstands cold weather and is resistant to diseases. The harvested crop is not stored for long. Popular early beet varieties include: Detroit, Northern Ball, Pablo, Bolivar, Regala.

The root vegetables of the vegetable accumulate many vitamins, minerals and bioflavonoids. The vegetable can be added to many dishes and eaten fresh. In addition to root vegetables, greens are also eaten. It makes tasty and healthy dietary dishes.

Libero

The seeds of the Dutch table variety Libero are considered the best. The variety is high-yielding, resistant to bolting and early ripening of sweet fruits. Harvesting begins 82 days after emergence. The leaves of the plant are green-pink, erect, oval in shape.

Root vegetables are oval-elongated in shape with thin smooth-red skin, weighing 180 g. The inside is tender and juicy, dark red in color without light arcs.

Vinaigrette Marmalade

Vinaigrette Marmeladka is considered a suitable beet variety for the Moscow region. The culture belongs to the early ripening group, characterized by numerous harvests, drought resistance, and uniform ripening of homogeneous fruits. The period from germination to maturity lasts 98 days.

The shape of the root crops is round or flat-round, weight 450 g. The pulp is juicy, high in sugar, dense, dark red in color. The harvested crop is stored for a long time.

Cold resistant 19

One of the best beet varieties for the Urals is Cold-resistant 19. The plant is resistant to cold. Other distinctive characteristics are: consistently high yield, can be sown before winter, is resistant to bolting, and the harvested crop is stored for a long time.

Cold-resistant 19 is a mid-early variety; the harvest ripens in 72 days. Root vegetables are round or flat-round, weight 180 g. Thin, smooth skin has a dark red color. The pulp is juicy, tender, dark red in color without visible white rings.

Bordeaux 237

Bordeaux beets belong to the table type, the early ripening group. Ripening occurs after 94 days. The leaves are located tightly to each other, their color is dark green with burgundy veins and dark pink petioles. The length of the leaves reaches 40 cm.

To obtain an early harvest, seeds begin to be sown in the first half of March. The root vegetables have a round-flattened shape, up to 15 cm in diameter, weighing 480 g. The skin is dark red in color. The inside is juicy, sweet, deep red in color without arcs or stripes.

The seeds of the variety count well and germinate well, the harvest is stored for a long time. The plant is highly resistant to drought and many fungal diseases. During long-term storage, the juiciness, density, sweetness and aroma of the pulp are preserved.

Red ball

The description for the beet variety Red Ball indicates medium-early harvest ripening (the growing season lasts 95 days), resistance to flowering, cold, diseases, and is not prone to stemming. Average resistance to drought is noted.

The fruits are round in shape with red skin, weighing 420 g. Dense, tender, juicy dark red pulp. The harvested crop is stored well and for a long time, transportability is at a high level.

Mid-season varieties, universal use

Fruits of mid-ripening ranges are stored better than early-ripening beet varieties. Varieties with mid-season boundaries tolerate heat and drought better. Beet seeds can be sown before winter, as they have good cold tolerance.Ripening occurs after 4 months. The harvested crop has a universal use of root vegetables.

Detroit

One of the famous early ripening beet varieties is Detroit. Ripening occurs on day 108. The bushes of the plant are low, the leaves are dark green with red-pink veins. Smooth skin of round fruits, bright red color. Weight 160 g. The pulp is sweet, juicy, burgundy in color without any extraneous light inclusions.

The advantages of the early Detroit variety are high yield, resistance to flowering, beet diseases, universal use of the crop, which is stored for a long time.

Borscht

Borschevaya beet fruits begin to ripen 105 days after germination. A distinctive feature is that the plant is unpretentious to the composition of the soil. The yield is high, and with additional fertilization, the number of root crops increases.

The skin of the round beet is light red in color, weight 420 g. The red pulp is tender, juicy and soft with pronounced white-pink rings. All fruits are formed even, smooth with a high content of amino acids. The shelf life exceeds 6 months. The culture exhibits high resistance to flowering and diseases.

Incomparable a 463

Incomparable beet seeds a 463 begin to be planted at the end of April. The harvest ripens in 90 days. The variety is well stored, has high yield and excellent taste. The plant exhibits resistance to many diseases and flowering.

The color of the root vegetables is dark red, the shape is flat-round, the weight reaches 360 g. The pulp is dark burgundy with pronounced rings of a blackish tint.

Egyptian flat

The Egyptian Flat beet variety has average fruit ripening limits. From the moment of emergence of seedlings to the period of maturity, 118 days pass.The leaves are erect, dark green in color with a burgundy petiole.

The root vegetables have an elliptical shape, dark burgundy color, weighing 370 g. The juicy, tender pulp is red-pink in color with a purple tint. The variety is characterized by high yield, resistance to beet diseases, resistance to flowering, and drought. The harvested crop is stored for a long time without losing all its best qualities.

Kestrel

An early-ripening hybrid is the Kestrel F1 beet, the description of which is definitely worth getting acquainted with. The growing season lasts 110 days. The leaves are erect, reaching 35 cm in length. The plant is characterized by high resistance to disease.

The smooth, red, round fruits weigh 300 g. The pulp is juicy and sugary, dark red in color.

Pablo

Hybrid beets Pablo characterized by medium-early ripening. The duration of the growing season is 105 days. The variety is distinguished by good taste, increased resistance to cold, drought, and disease, does not make any special demands on the composition of the soil and is well stored for many months without losing its taste.

The plant has erect leaves of light green color with burgundy veins, oval in shape. Round fruits of medium size (weight 220 g), dark red skin. The pulp is red-ruby in color with a purple tint, juicy, tender without white spots or rings.

Borough

A new hybrid that surpasses the Pablo hybrid in its characteristics is the Boro F1 beet. The pulp is an even richer burgundy color with a higher sugar content. The plant exhibits better resistance to diseases and tolerates sudden temperature changes.

Boro beets have a growing season of 115 days. The skin of the fruit is very thin, deep red in color, round in shape.Judging by the reviews, Boro F1 beets do not require special attention and care. It is enough to weed the beds in time, loosen the soil, and thin out the seedlings. Beets should be watered as the soil dries out.

Late varieties: winter stock

Late varieties of table beets take 128 days to ripen. All varieties tolerate temperature changes well, are drought-resistant and frost-resistant. The harvested crop is stored for a long time, until the young beets are harvested.

Cylinder

Vegetable growers should familiarize themselves with the description of Cylinder beets. Mid-season ripening limits allow you to harvest a mature harvest after 118 days. The variety is characterized by high yield, good keeping quality, and a high content of useful components in the pulp.

The fruit, as indicated in the description, has a cylindrical shape up to 15 cm long, weight reaches 330 g. Thin dark red skin covers juicy, sugary, tender pulp, dark burgundy in color.

Renova

The Renova beet variety is distinguished by its late ripening limits and numerous harvests. Characterized by excellent taste. The ripening period lasts 110 days. Root vegetables of elongated cylindrical shape, with smooth dark pink skin, weight 320 g.

The pulp is burgundy-violet, dense and juicy, without visible rings. The harvest is stored for more than six months without losing its presentation and beneficial properties.

Single shoot

Single-sprout beets have late ripening periods, the growing season is 128 days. The productivity of the variety is high. A distinctive feature is that one- and two-seeded fruits appear during germination, so there is no need for thinning. Average color resistance.

The root vegetables are round-flat in shape, weight can reach 600 g. The color of the juicy, soft and sweet pulp is dark burgundy.The harvest is stored well and for a long time after harvest.

Which variety should you choose?

Before making a choice in favor of one or another beet variety, you need to decide which indicator in the characteristic is the main one for the vegetable grower. You need to take into account the ripening time, the keeping quality of the collected root crops, the level of resistance to pests and diseases, taste, and yield.

Red ball beets have early ripening boundaries. The root vegetables are round in shape, medium in size, weighing 240 g. The taste is excellent, the flesh is tender, juicy, and sweet.

Good reviews about Egyptian flat beets. The harvest ripens in 3.5 months. The fruits are large, flat-round, weighing up to 400 g. The variety guarantees high yield and long-term storage.

Cylinder beet is a popular variety among the late group of plants. Reaches technical ripeness after 4 months. The fruits are small, up to 250 g, but very juicy and sweet. The harvest is stored for a long time and does not spoil.

Proper cultivation of beets for seeds

You can grow the seeds of your favorite variety yourself. The process is simple, so even a novice vegetable grower can handle it. The main thing is to follow some rules and stages of work.

How can you get beet seeds? Beetroot is a biennial plant that produces seeds in its second year of growth. Therefore, you need to choose the right root crops for seed formation after the first season:

• To obtain healthy planting material, medium-sized root crops (weighing approximately 300 g) with a well-formed bud and a developed main root are suitable.
• The selected root vegetables must correspond to the shape and color declared by the variety, without damage, rot or dents.The tops should be cut off, leaving a stump of 2 cm.
• You should not choose fruits that are too large, as they will not produce a high yield. But you can divide them into two parts before planting. In this case, it is important to divide the main bud exactly in the middle. The advantage of this method of preparing root vegetables is that in time you can see white stripes, light flesh, and core rot in the cut.
• Selected seed beets should be stored separately from other crops in a cool, dark place, at an air temperature of +3 degrees. It is important to prevent freezing.

Planting seed beets begins earlier than root vegetables, but you need to wait until the soil warms up. The dates coincide with mid-April. In the southern regions it is possible even earlier - at the end of March. Vegetable crops develop well at an air temperature of +15 degrees.

It is advisable to prepare beds for planting root crops in the fall. The site is dug up and organic fertilizers, such as humus or compost, are added. Root crops are planted at intervals of 30 cm.

Beetroot begins to bloom in early June. During this period, it is recommended to carry out additional artificial pollination. For this purpose, the flower stalks are shaken. After three weeks, the top is pinched. This will speed up the seed ripening process.

How should beet seeds be harvested? Seed pods are collected in two ways: the entire plant is removed from the ground or only the seeds are cut off. The collected material is hung for final ripening of the seeds. If the weather is dry, they will be ready within a week.

Treatment when preparing beet seeds for sowing

The seeds are freed from the capsule and debris and finally dried at room temperature.It is better to store planting material in thick paper or plastic bags in a dark, cool place. The germination of such seeds remains for the next five years.

Before planting, the resulting beet seeds are disinfected in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes. Can be treated with fungicides (Fundazol) to reduce the likelihood of disease infection.

It is useful to soak the seeds in solutions that stimulate plant growth. The most popular drugs are: Zircon, Epin, Humate. The planting material is kept in such solutions for 24 hours.