How to grow beetroots

Beetroot, also known as beet, is a root vegetable with a strong unique flavour and colour.

It has several health benefits such as lowering blood pressure, improving blood circulation and digestion and fight diabetes cancer.

Fresh beetroot is eaten raw or boiled.

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In value addition, beetroot is used to make juice and forms a good base for homemade wine or vinegar.

Beetroots are biennial, easy to grow and require little attention.

They are grown in damp areas with its leafy stems growing 1-2 metres.

The common beetroot varieties in Kenya according to farmerstrend.co.ke include:

• Bolt hardy – has good flavour, smooth-skinned round roots, good bolt resistance, good for early sowing.
• Detroit 6 Rubidus – bolt resistant, early cropping, smooth round firm roots.
• Chioggia Pink – has red and white rings inside, round roots, sweet and tender.
• Cylindra –has dark crimson cylindrical roots, late-season, bolt resistant, excellent for storage.
• Burpee's Golden – has good flavoured round roots, tops can be eaten like spinach, has yellow coloured roots.

Planting

The plant takes 60 days to mature.

The land should be prepared to a fine tilth before planting, with furrows 30cm apart.

Beetroots are planted from seeds with each seedling 10cm from the other, in loamy or slightly sandy soil with an average pH of 6.0 to 7.0.

The vegetable requires a moderately cool climate with some moderate sun levels of around 18 to 25 degrees Celsius.

It thrives the whole year under a perpetual supply of water, usually in trenches.

The farmer should practice crop management through weeding to reduce sunlight, water and nutrients competition.

After weeding, mulching should be done to cover the roots and prevent exposure to the sun, conserve moisture as well as suppress weeds and add soil fertility on decomposition.

The farmer should use either organic farmyard manure mixed with the soil or inorganic fertiliser to add soil fertility.

Crop rotation is encouraged to maintain soil fertility and prevent the build-up of pests and diseases.

Harvesting

Once the beetroot is ready, it is harvested by lifting the leaves then cut them off, washing the roots and grading to sizes before storing on a damp newspaper or polythene bags.

It can be kept for two to three months.

The leaves, also known as beet greens, can be cooked as vegetables.