Apr. 5 Column: Grow Beet Family Crops

grow beet family crops
grow beet family crops

Since there has been so much interest in growing vegetables this year, I’ve been focusing my columns on that topic. Today’s column is about how easy it is to grow beet family crops. Here’s a link to it in The Spokesman-Review: Grow beet family crops, and cover them to keep pests away. (or you can read my column lower in this post)

Members of the beet family include beets (big surprise there, right?), spinach and Swiss chard. They are cool-season crops, which means you can plant them in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked (translation: when the soil is crumbly, rather than saturated with water). I intend to direct-sow my beets and Swiss chard around Apr. 15. I usually grow spinach during the fall and winter months, just in case you’re wondering.

But the most important thing you need to know is that each of these crops can be bothered by leaf miners. In my column, I explain the easiest way to prevent this problem (and I mean eeeeasy!).

As you know, I’m all about growing my vegetables organically and in the most environmentally-friendly way possible. That’s what you’ll always find in my columns, videos and on this website.

For this week’s “Everyone Can Grow a Garden” video, I show you a way to plant some veggies even earlier than usual by using something called a “cloche.” Have a look:

For more information about the cloches that Gardener’s Supply carries, go to this link

Garden column on how to grow beet family crops

by Susan Mulvihill

Some of my favorite cool-season crops are beets, spinach and Swiss chard. They all belong to the same plant family (Amaranthaceae). That means they have the same cultural needs and potential insect problems.

Grow beet family crops: When to plant

In the Inland Northwest, the seeds can be direct-sown in the garden around Apr. 15. I don’t add any fertilizers to prepare the soil. However, I do add an inch of compost to the soil surface in the fall and again in early spring. It isn’t necessary to work the compost into the soil. The nutrients will filter down into it all by themselves.

Beet and Swiss chard seeds are unusual in that each one is actually a cluster of seeds. You will be relieved to hear you don’t need to separate them. Plant all beet family seeds ½-inch deep and space the rows 12 inches apart. Water them in well.

Grow beet family crops: Insect problems

Members of the beet family are susceptible to an annoying insect called the leaf miner. The adult form is a fly that lays eggs on the leaves of the plants. The eggs hatch into tiny larvae that tunnel their way through the layers of the leaves’ cells.

If you’ve ever seen beet, spinach or Swiss chard leaves that have squiggly lines running through them, or perhaps what appears to be a clear window in the leaves, that is the work of leaf miners. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to eat for dinner is little worms. Fortunately, there is a very simple way to avoid this problem.

Grow beet family crops: How to protect the plants

As soon as you’ve sown the seeds, install hoops over the planting bed and place a sheet of floating row cover on top of the hoops. Many organic farmers use this lightweight fabric as a barrier to keep damaging insects away from their susceptible crops. I love using row cover because I’d much rather exclude insects from a planting rather than try to wipe them out. Find these covers in garden centers or online.

Be sure to weight down the edges so it won’t blow off. Since beet family crops don’t require pollination, you can leave the row cover on them for the entire season.

Grow beet family crops: Are slugs a problem for you?

Slugs can also be a problem but there are simple organic methods for dealing with them. Consider making a beer trap by sinking a tuna or cat food can in the soil, with the lip at the soil surface. Fill the can halfway with beer. The slugs are attracted to the smell of the yeast, fall in and drown.

There are also organic slug baits available or you can sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the base of the plants. Diatomaceous earth is a flourlike substance that garden centers carry and is made from the fossilized remains of algae. It has tiny, sharp edges that cut the slugs’ skin, causing them to dehydrate and die; usually they won’t want to cross over it to get to the plants.

Grow beet family crops: Plant care and harvesting

To give the crops enough room to grow, thin beet seedlings (not the seed clusters) 3 to 4 inches apart, Swiss chard 6 to 8 inches apart, and spinach 4 to 8 inches apart.

Be sure to harvest spinach and Swiss chard leaves while they’re young and tender, picking individual leaves rather than a whole plant at a time. This way, the plants will continue to produce. Beets can be harvested any time after the roots reach 1 inch in diameter.

All of these crops make a wonderful addition to the spring garden.