A classic beetroot, super-reliable and very tolerant of weather extremes, so you can start your crop earlier in the year and finish harvesting later. Produces delicious deep purple, spherical roots which are at their tenderest harvested just larger than a golfball. The leaves can also be picked sparingly as a tasty spinach substitute.
Growing instructions:
In spring, make a shallow drill 1cm deep and sow the large, easy-to-handle seeds about 15cm apart. Cover again lightly with soil and water in. Seeds produce multiple seedlings, so thin to leave one plant to mature at each spot. Beetroot can also be grown in containers: sow direct into the compost allowing about five seeds to a 45cm pot. Sow a half-row of seeds every three weeks for a regular supply of roots from early summer well into autumn.
Eventual height:
0.45m
Eventual spread:
0.45m
Soil:
Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil