Beetroot has been grown in culture for a long time, its agricultural technology has been honed down to the last detail. The root crop will grow best in a bed well lit by the sun, in loose soil, with regular watering and feeding. To dispel doubts about whether it is possible to plant beets in the shade, you must first study the culture’s requirements for growing conditions.
Is it permissible to plant beets in the shade?
To determine exactly whether this culture loves shade or sun, anyone can plant it in different places of their plot for the sake of experiment. It can be said in advance that beets grown in a sunny place will be large, sweet, juicy (if other necessary conditions are met). If you sow the seeds in the shade, the roots will be small due to the lack of light.
It is permissible to plant beets in shaded conditions, except for the purpose of obtaining a juicy top. Greens can be used in salads, cold soups (botvina), added to baked goods and casseroles, marinated. There is a large amount of vitamins and minerals in the tops.
Unfortunately, none of the varieties have special shade tolerance, but you can select seeds for planting based on ripening time, drought resistance, ability to store for a long time, and taste.
As a compromise option, planting culture in partial shade is allowed. In this case, the root crops will have an average size and a good taste.
Compliance with crop rotation rules
In addition to lighting parameters, it is also necessary to take into account the rules of crop rotation. Growing beets for 2 years in a row in the same place is unacceptable. Do not plant this crop after cabbage either: these plants have common pests.
Suitable precursors for beets:
- eggplants;
- potato;
- tomatoes;
- zucchini;
- carrot;
- garlic;
- onion.
Beetroot is not demanding on soil fertility. The culture can be successfully grown on poor soils, providing it with fertilizers at planting and regular watering. It is better to make raised beds: the root crop likes well-warmed soil.
Other conditions for a good harvest
Beets have large seeds, so planting them is easy. Grooves with a depth of 3-5 cm are made on the bed, the planting material is laid out at intervals of 5 cm. The width of the rows should be 20 cm. In the future, the seedlings are thinned. Thinning is carried out in several stages, each time leaving the strongest seedlings.
If the crop is grown by seedlings, the plants are planted keeping a distance of 20 cm between them. Winter sowing is carried out to a depth of 10 cm.
Care includes standard procedures:
- The culture is watered every 2-3 days. After moistening, the soil should be loosened carefully. If the soil is eroded during watering, a little humus is sprinkled on top. At the beginning of August, the frequency of watering is reduced, and after 2 weeks they stop watering the plants.
- For those who cannot visit the dacha often, it is better to mulch the plantings. In this case, there will be no need for loosening and weeding, the soil will retain moisture longer.
- Fertilizers are needed if beets grow too slowly. Herbal cocktail, wood ash infusion, yeast solution can be used as fertilizers. Some summer residents prefer to use a complex fertilizer, such as Makbor.
- During the season, beets are watered with salt water 2-3 times (1 tablespoon of salt per 10 liters of water). This will prevent the appearance of pests and provide the culture with sodium (the root crop is sensitive to the deficiency of this element).
Harvesting is carried out before the onset of cold weather, as soon as the beet leaves wither. Store root crops in a dry, cool room at a temperature of +2–5 °C.
Beetroot belongs to undemanding crops, but some conditions for its cultivation will still have to be observed. One of them is planting in a sunny place. It is not necessary to allocate a separate bed for beets, it can be planted in a border method near potatoes, beans, cucumbers, greens, onions.