Beautiful striped beets!

[ChaiLife]

Aren't these just gorgeous?! I have GOT to have these in my garden.

Red and White Striped Beets

[Finding Me]

Oh yeah.. Those are cool looking!

[aledwards]

They're beautiful! I need to get them too!!!!

[madmel]

Wow, they are so pretty!

madmel

[exurb]

I've been growing those Chioggia beets for years, they're fun, sort of like a bulls eye.

There are also nice other colors of beets, golden, yellow, and Albino (white), etc., they used to be more common, but it was decided that the deep reds were the superior ones to breed for.

[ChaiLife]

Glad to hear that you have had success growing them. I really want to try them out.
I also really want some "watermelon" radishes. They are just so pretty.

Here's a picture:
watermelon radishes

[aromaticwings]

I've been growing those Chioggia beets for years, they're fun, sort of like a bulls eye.

There are also nice other colors of beets, golden, yellow, and Albino (white), etc., they used to be more common, but it was decided that the deep reds were the superior ones to breed for.

Do the other colors taste any different???

[exurb]

yeah, the other colors have flavors that are all beet like but definitely variations on it. one of the yellow ones I grew got a little pungent and sharp tasting as they got older, better as babies. Also different varieties of beets have different "greens", the yellow beets have greener greens, other varieties like Bull's Blood have reddish greens.

ChaiLife, when you grow them, for a better yield, soak the seeds overnight and rinse. LOL they have germination inhibitors that are removed by soaking - but maybe you know something about that sort of thing being on a raw site! They also like a slightly alkaline soil (you can put a little wood ash in the soil), preferably nice soft soil.

[ChaiLife]

THANK YOU for the tips! I do plan on getting some of these seeds to try them out.

Hate to ask but are these fall or summer crops?

[gatorgrrl]

I planted some beets, but not sure what kind. I hope they are pretty too!

[exurb]

Chai, you can pretty much grow beets through the whole growing season, just keep them well watered. Here in Canada we can even plant them before the last frost date, I do mine in April. Then you can re-seed over the summer at intervals (I like to have some baby ones for cooked friends, they make nice fancy little roasted beets where the peels fall off after roasting. For my raw foods, I like them big and full grown, because you have to peel them raw with a peeler) . If you want them to store for a while, then you should grow them full size, and pick in the fall. If you want to save your own seeds, beets are biennials and go to seed in the second year. Here we have to dig up the beet, store it, then plant in next spring after winter is gone, maybe there you would just leave some in the ground to go to seed the following year.

You can also schteal a few beet greens from them while they're growing.

Gatorgrrl, all beets are pretty!

[Sharon in Colorado]

Target's official vegetable!

[Nenyath]

I got these once! They were so beautiful and so sweet!! Such a joy to prepare them! Was the same with the blue potatoes, really spectacular, took me double time lol.

Fly forever free..