Rules for planting beet seedlings in open ground

Many novice gardeners believe that planting seedlings of beets is troublesome and difficult. In fact, it is not so difficult, but you still need to have basic knowledge of growing a root crop.

Varieties and varieties

To get a rich harvest, it is necessary to select a variety suitable for planting in advance. Different types of culture have their own characteristics, and this is far from superfluous information for a novice gardener.

For planting, you can take any kind of beet. The choice depends on what the plant is planted for. If there are livestock in the country, feed varieties will be required. Such beets need carefully prepared soil, enriched with mineral fertilizers.

If the root vegetable is planted for culinary purposes, table varieties are suitable. The main condition here is good lighting, otherwise the harvest will not be plentiful. You can plant sugar beets - they love fertilized outdoor ground and proper maintenance.

Growing beets from seeds

For growing crops in the open field, it is necessary to sow seeds using a seedling or non-seedling method.

Seedless method

In order for the seeds to germinate as quickly as possible, they need to be soaked for 24 hours in cold water or 40 minutes in warm (about 35 degrees). To speed up the process, you can take a growth stimulant - the seeds are kept in it for a day.

The seeds are placed in moist open ground to a depth of no more than three centimeters. The gap between rows for small varieties is from 6 cm, for large varieties - from 30 cm. The interval between each bush in a row is from 6 to 10 cm. The formed grooves must be filled with water, and only after it has been absorbed, the seed is laid. Since beet seeds are large, they can be placed in the ground by the piece.

Many varieties form infructescences of two or three pieces, so thinning is required at the initial stage of development. It is necessary to transplant elongated shoots - while they are young, engraftment is easy.

Together with the first thinning, the beds are weeded and loosened, then mulch is added (for example, sawdust). The second time the culture is thinned out after the formation of two paired leaves, when the root crop reaches one and a half centimeters in diameter. Thinning and weeding together can be done after rainfall or watering. As the sprouts develop, top dressing is applied: first organic matter, then mineral fertilizers.

Growing seedlings

The seedling method is applicable to early varieties. For cultivation, it is better to choose varieties resistant to flowering (for example, K-249 or Cold-resistant 19). When are beets planted? Seedlings begin to grow three weeks before planting them on the site.

For the purpose of disinfection, seeds are soaked in a light solution of potassium permanganate, then kept for three days in wet gauze. Then the seed is laid out in containers on moistened soil treated with "Fitosporin", sprinkled with earth a little and placed in a greenhouse (distance between rows - 5 cm, between seedlings - 3 cm).

Care of beet seedlings is the most common: it is necessary to maintain a moderate soil moisture and a constant temperature. The greenhouse should be ventilated every day.

It is important to make a pick correctly. It is carried out according to the same principle and after the same time as when thinning sprouts in the open field. Seedlings dive once, however, if the seed is placed not in a large container, but in separate cups, the sprouts can not dive, but immediately plant in the ground.

Seedlings are ready to move to the plot when four leaves appear on the seedlings. Just before this sprouts tempered: the greenhouse is ventilated and the ground is well watered.

Planting beets in open soil

Beet yield depends on things like planting the right time, properly preparing the open ground, and following the correct planting procedure.

Time for planting

Beets should be planted in open ground in mid-May, when the seedlings have 4-5 leaves. The soil must be warmed up to a depth of 10 cm to 9-10 degrees. This is possible only in an area well lit by the sun.

Despite the fact that beets are resistant to cold weather, seeds are sown only if the air is warmed up to 7-8 degrees. Full growth begins when the 16-degree mark is reached.

Advice

When the early sown seedlings get into the cold, shooting occurs, and the root crop will not grow.

Soil for beets

Before planting, you need to find a good site and cultivate the land. Beets grow well in fertile loose soil (peat bogs, neutral black soil). The hydrogen value should not exceed 8 units. An acidic or excessively alkaline environment destroys the culture.

Beets should not be planted in soil that has previously contained compost or fresh manure. When will it be possible to plant a crop? To grow a root crop in such a site, you need to wait at least three years.

You can plant beets in the ground where tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, eggplants, peppers or legumes used to grow. Unwanted precursors are potatoes, carrots, cabbage and all varieties of beets.

The earth has been prepared since the fall: the remains of plants are removed and dug up. In early spring, 28 g of ammonium sulfate, 22 g of ammonium nitrate, 15 g of potassium chloride and 35 g of superphosphate per square meter are introduced into the ground for digging. If the soil is infertile, you can add up to 3 kg of humus. To neutralize the acid, 0.5 kg of lime is added.

Advice

The beds should not be located in dark areas, otherwise the fruits will not have a bright, saturated shade.

How to plant beets outdoors?

The size of the fruits depends on the planting density: the greater the distance between the seedlings, the larger the vegetable will be. However, it should be borne in mind that excessively large fruits are inconvenient to use, moreover, they accumulate more nitrates.

To make the root crops sweet and juicy, the seedlings should be planted in open ground on a cloudy day at a distance of up to 5 cm from each other, the distance between the rows is up to 25 cm. During transplantation, the central root crop is shortened by a third of its length.

After planting the beets on the site, the seedlings can be watered with a humate solution. To protect from the scorching sun, the beds are hidden under a non-woven material laid out on metal arcs.

As soon as the young plant takes over and gets stronger, and the root reaches one and a half centimeters in diameter, it is necessary to thin out (the distance between seedlings is 9-10 cm). In early July, the shelter is removed and mulch is added to the soil.

Planting before winter

Winter beets should be planted in late October or early November. On the dug and fertilized soil, grooves are formed (distance - up to 20 cm), in which the seed is laid (2-3 g per square meter). The depth of the bookmark is 3-4 cm. The plot for the winter must be mulched with peat or humus.

Care

Care includes timely removal of weeds, regular watering and loosening of the soil. If the land is mulched, weeding, loosening and watering is carried out less often. The soil between the rows is loosened to remove the soil crust that prevents the flow of air. The crust is especially harmful when the first leaves develop, since during this period the root crop molts.

Removing weeds is essential for caring for beets. To combat them, before the emergence of shoots, the plot is sprayed with tractor kerosene (40-50 g per square meter).After the appearance of two or three pairs of leaves, the soil is treated with a sodium nitrate solution.

Watering

The plant tolerates short-term drought well, but regular watering is required to obtain a bountiful harvest (especially in hot weather). Water the beets as the top layer of the earth dries up. Watering is best done in the evening. The next day, the soil between the rows must be loosened (only if mulching has not been carried out).

To increase the sugar content of the fruit, dissolve a tablespoon of salt in a bucket of water.

It should be borne in mind that excessively frequent watering is also unfavorable for beets, as this can lead to fungal diseases. Watering is stopped 2-3 weeks before harvesting - thanks to this, the beets will be stored much longer.

Top dressing

Beets are more fond of organic fertilizing; mineral fruits often crack. After the initial thinning, you can add nitrogen fertilizer (solution of bird droppings in a ratio of 1 to 12 or mullein 1 to 8). For 10 square meters, about 11 liters of dissolved fertilizer are taken.

It is best to form grooves 5 cm from the seedlings and water them with fertilizer. As soon as the leaves close, you can add ash (a glass of one and a half square meters). After that, watering is necessary.

So, planting beets does not require special skills and abilities, the main thing is to follow the basic rules. The first is to find a suitable site and prepare the soil. It is important to respect the landing dates. Planting seedlings in cold weather will not yield a crop.