Description
The most popular, all-purpose red beet; uniform and smooth, blood red flesh that is sweet and tasty. 14� tops make good greens. Heirloom variety introduced 1892.
7 grams Beet seed sows about 8 m (25 ft) row. Approximately 50 beet seeds per gram.
Planting Instructions
Seed as early as possible in spring. Plant seed 1 cm (1/2 in) deep in rows 45 cm (18 in) apart. Once plants are up, thin to 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 in) apart. Use thinned plants for steamed greens, which are extremely high in vitamins. Make repeat plantings during summer. Young beets have a better quality. For a good crop of beets for winter storage make sure you do a seeding mid-summer.
To Harvest: When the root tops begin to push up above the ground, carefully remove the soil around one of them to to check size. Best size is 5 cm (2 in) diameter. Pull the roots out of the ground, do not dig them up. Leave an inch of stem on root to prevent ‘bleeding’ when cooking.
Growing Beets/Recipe (link will open in new tab)
Another Beet Pickle Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 pounds 2-2 1/2″ diameter beets
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 1/4 cups vinegar
- 3/4 cup water
- 2-3 onions (if desired)
- salt
Instructions
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Trim beet tops, leaving just 1″ of the stems. Wash then cover with boiling water and simmer until tender.
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Discard water. Cool beets slightly or until cool enough to handle.
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Remove beet skins then cut in desired size chunks or slices. (Can leave smaller beets whole)
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If using onions, peel and finely slice or chop the onions.
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Dissolve sugar in vinegar and water. Bring to a boil and boil until it is nearly a syrup. (NOTE: Denise says that if you end up with too much pickling liquid, it can be frozen for future use.)
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Pack beets in hot, sterilized glass jars to within 1/2″ of the top. Cover with the boiling pickling syrup leaving 1/2″ head space.
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Add 1/2 tsp. salt to pint jars or 1 tsp. salt to quart jars.
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Wipe the tops of the jars, put on canning lids and process in boiling water bath for 30 minutes.
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Remove jars from water and cool.
