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RHS Journals

The Garden
April 2005

Beauty of the beet

Alison Mundie discovers the joys of growing and eating beetroot - an ornamental, tasty and versatile vegetable with many culinary applications

Images: Tim Sandall

Red numbers in the text refer to the following cultivars of beetroot:

1 ‘McGregor’s Favourite’
2 ‘Bull’s Blood’
3 ‘Solo’ F1
4 ‘Albina Verduna’
5 ‘Mr Crosby’s Egyptian’
6 ‘Burpee’s Golden’
7 ‘Barbietola di Chioggia’
8 ‘Rouge Crapaudine’

For many people the unpalatable memory of cold pickled beetroot from school dinners has left this much-maligned vegetable with a negative image. Perhaps a re-evaluation is overdue - surely beetroot has much to offer where ornamental vegetable-growing and an interest in healthy food and cooking are concerned? A recent demonstration of cultivars of beetroot at RHS Garden Harlow Carr offered a welcome chance to investigate.

Beetroot was first cultivated for its roots by the Romans. Before that the Ancient Greeks used the leaves as potherbs and reserved the roots for medicinal use as a ‘blood strengthener’. The ancestor of beetroot is wild beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima (also known as sea spinach), a leafy seaside plant native to southwest Europe and north Africa. It belongs to the Chenopodiaceae family - other members include Swiss chard, spinach, Good King Henry, purple orach and quinoa.

By the 16th and 17th centuries, herbals listed a number of types of beet, and 18th-century recipes used beetroot (as well as carrot and potatoes) as an ingredient to sweeten cakes and puddings. Pickled beetroot became popular in 1928 when Scots grocer William Baxter, of the firm Baxters, manufacturers of jams, preserves, soups and pickles, found a use for a glut of beetroots. It is still one of their most popular lines. In the 1960s ‘baby beets’ were introduced, with small, tender roots full of flavour, and it is mostly baby beets that are grown today. Originally a winter crop of long, tapering roots, beetroot is usually cultivated today as a summer crop of globe-shaped roots to be eaten freshly harvested. It is among the top 10 vegetables grown by gardeners, probably due to the superior taste of freshly harvested roots, as well as the availability of unusual gold, white or striped selections.

Beetroot on display

A range of less-common beetroots were grown in a demonstration at Harlow Carr last year. ‘Albina Verduna’ 4, was an old cultivar with unusual sweet white flesh, whereas yellow-coloured ‘Burpee’s Golden’ 6 was considered especially attractive by gardeners and visitors. Most striking of all is ‘Barbietola di Chioggia’ (bull’s eye) 7, with red and white rings - a large, rounded beetroot.

Among the ‘heritage’ or old-fashioned selections, the impressive purple foliage of ‘Bull’s Blood’ 2 made for an ornamental plant; ‘McGregor’s Favourite’, an old Scots cultivar, also has decorative leaves. The oldest beetroot, ‘Rouge Crapaudine’ 8 from the 1860s, has long, tapering roots and black fissured skin. ‘Mr Crosby’s Egyptian’ 5 was a different shape again, a flattened globe. The long oval roots of ‘Cylindra’ give even slices that were perfect for cooking; unfortunately germination of this cultivar proved poor.

Seed was direct-sown in early May, into a bed manured for last year’s potato crop. The aim was to produce small-sized beets while creating a decorative display with coloured leaves, and the experiment demonstrated how simple this is to achieve.

Victorians used beets as hardy bedding, and leaves ranging from near black to fresh green or red-veined can make them a striking ornamental plant, fully deserving of a place in borders and in beds.

Beetroot’s richly hued foliage can be used as a foil to pale-coloured flowers in mixed borders, or can be scattered among perennials, grasses and other contrasting foliage. They can even be sown as a hardy annual with other plantings. The leaves are edible, and plants left to go to seed can make attractive, tall, greenish-flowered plants the following year - as these plants are biennials, cold spells often initiate early flowering.

Easy-to-grow crop

Beetroot usually proves to be an easy, fast-growing, space-saving crop. Plants will do best given a fairly open growing position, well-drained, rich soil (not freshly manured) and, for the long-rooted types, good soil depth. Too much nitrogen will produce leafy growth, as will overwatering. Aim to keep the crop growing steadily by watering regularly during dry periods, and try not to let the soil dry out.

Baby beets can be ready for harvest in as little as nine to 11 weeks, and a steady supply of fresh beetroots from early summer to autumn can be maintained by sowing at regular intervals (for instance, monthly). Earliest sowings under glass or cloches should be of bolt-resistant cultivars, such as ‘Boltardy’ or ‘Pablo’ F1. Warm up soil by covering with black polythene or cloches before planting out early sowings.

The strange-looking ‘seeds’ are actually a fruit containing three or four seeds enclosed in a corky layer. These go on to produce clusters of seedlings that require thinning, unless you are only growing plants for salad leaves. Single-seeded or monogerm cultivars such as ‘Solo’ F1 3 are available. The outer layer of the seed contains chemicals that can inhibit germination until washed out by rain, but in practice, germination is usually good, and takes between one and three weeks depending on temperature - above 7°C (45°F) is best. Multiple-sown blocks of two or three ‘seeds’, thinned to four or five seedlings, can be planted out at about 15cm (6in) apart each way; the roots will push apart as they grow to give small beetroots.

Another useful attribute of beetroots is their relative freedom from pests and diseases. Fungal leaf spots and leaf miners (yellowish papery patches on leaves), may be a problem, but do not usually affect yield. Badly damaged leaves should be removed. Young seedlings may need to be protected from birds.

Beetroot is especially suitable for container growing; at 5cm (2in) spacing for small beets, you can fit several plants into the smallest space. Pots do not have to be deep for globe selections, which sit more than halfway out of the soil - handy for checking progress. Combined with edible flowers and other salad leaves they make an attractive display. As with any container growing, you will need to keep watering regularly.

The beet goes on

As well as using beetroot freshly harvested, it can be stored successfully; historically it was grown as a winter crop, for keeping. Maincrop sowing in June will be ready to harvest in September; sowing too early will result in woody roots. Left in the ground, beets will tolerate some frost if protected by a mulch, and will keep their flavour best this way. Undamaged roots should be stored in layers of sand in cool, frost-free conditions. Beets will overwinter outside and regrow in spring - the new leaves make an early crop.

So, beetroot is an excellent crop to grow, but for many people those school memories remain strong. Yet once harvested, the benefits of beetroot become even more evident - you can eat every part of it, and as a trawl through cookery books will reveal, beetroot has far more uses than as a pickle with salad.

Beetroots contain more iron, calcium, trace minerals and vitamin C than spinach, and are high in both potassium and fibre; these nutrients are most readily available in the raw root or leaves, used in salads or juices. Medicinally, beetroot has long been valued for its reputed blood- and liver-purifying properties, and recent research is suggesting benefits in the treatment of cancer.

In today’s instant food culture, beetroot’s slow cooking and messy preparation does not always appeal. It is however easy to add young beetroot leaves to a mixed salad, or add colour with grated small raw beets. If the ‘bleeding’ puts you off, there are cultivars which are not red, but used creatively, the colouring can be fun - how about pink yogurt, mayonnaise, or red pasta? Beetroot does take time to cook - even small ones may need around 30 minutes until they are tender - but steaming or boiling is straightforward, and leaving an inch of stalks helps prevent bleeding. Baking in foil keeps the wonderful sweet earthy flavour, as does barbecuing. The skin rubs off easily once beets are cooked.

Eating beet

Perhaps the most famous beetroot recipe is the eastern European soup borscht, but this vegetable can be prepared in many other inventive ways. Dishes ranging from souffle to pasta, salads with lime and ginger, spicy Oriental recipes, and even deserts such as beetroot chocolate cake, unlikely as it may sound, make delicious and unusual choices. You can even use beetroot to make wine and jelly, and pickling is another matter when spiced or wine vinegar is used as opposed to malt. The Australians are the biggest consumers of the humble beet, and the internet is a good source of interesting recipes, such as a salad containing sweet potato, beetroot and chickpeas.

There is then, far more to beetroot than the purple pickle on the side of your salad plate. Beetroot is easy-to-grow, and a truly versatile vegetable. It is ideal for container cultivation and some coloured-leaf cultivars provide an ornamental addition to the flower garden. Already a valuable kitchen garden crop, the culinary possibilities of beetroot remain relatively untapped. Growing a few of the more ornamental or unusually coloured beetroots should convince gardeners that beets have much to offer.

Suppliers

Mr Fothergill’s Seeds 01638 751161; http://www.mr-fothergills. co.uk/
Marshalls 01945 583407
Thomas Etty Esq 020 8466 6785; www.users.dircon.co.uk/~nfarley/thomas-etty/etty.html
Thompson & Morgan 01473 688821; www.seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk

Alison Mundie is responsible for productive horticulture at RHS Garden Harlow Carr

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