Beets

[mr_yan]

Well my mom was here and made some oven roasted beets. Both myself and my daughter found them amazing but my wife didn't really like them.

Have any of you heard of a toddler that can be bribed with roasted beets with slice shallots and a touch of white-wine vinegar?

I've done pickled beets before with cinnamon and cloves using beets from my garden but have not had the greatest luck with beets thus far.

Even though it is a bit late I will be starting some this weekend and see if I can get anything out of it. Detroit dark red has about 60 days to harvest and we have almost that until traditional first hard frost.

 

[lynpenny]

I had two children that loved beets any way I fixed them and one who didn't. I think you either do or not like them. Nothing in between. The beets should work. Go for it.

 

[Kya D]

My Grandma always baked beets they were wonderful.

 

[RonsGarden]

I pickle beets!
Everyone loves them!
Brine is one part each of vinegar, water and sugar. I add a dash of clove and allspice!
Boil the beets until tender, takes usually up to 2 hours. I stab them to make sure, if not I leave for another 1/2 hour....then skin and either quart or slice them then pack them in jars, add brine and seal.
Next year I'll try growing them again rather then buying 10lb bags of them!

 

[mr_yan]

These were lightly oiled and sealed in foil then baked at 400 F. They were whole and still had the skins on. I just don't remember how long the baking went.

I have the pickling recipe I used somewhere. I do remember that the whole house smelled like Christmas when I made them. It was the classic USDA or Ball Blue Book recipe.

Last night my daughter and I planted a small corner of a raised bed with beets. I would say there is about the equivalent of 2 meters of row planted. We then planted radishes between the beet rows. This was in roughly a 16" x 16 or 20" square.

 

[mr_yan]

On Friday I planted some beets and radishes.

Today I put the ax to some under performing beans, added compost and some pre-compost, and planted several things.
Beets
Fordhook chard
broccoli
brussles sprouts
carrots
spinach
turnips
Pea pods

This is in a raised bed which I will be able to put hoops and plastic over if I need to. I crammed things in a little too. I have rows of different things running the 4' width of the bed then planted the peas in a row down the center of the long axis. My thinking is I will be able to reach the peas on a trellis from either side of the bed and tend the rows from the edge to the middle.

I have no clue if it was too late in the year for this or not. By long term average I have until mid october for a hard frost / freeze. I have yet to have a successful fall garden.

 

[Randy]

I only tried once for a fall garden and I was disappointed in the results. The only thing I planted then was peas. They germinated and then just stayed very small plants.

 

[Kya D]

I can pickled beets almost every year....... Mmmmmmmm

 

[Randy]

Pickled beets are like dessert to me. We often join friends for lunch after church and the restaurant has a salad bar that has the pickled beets. Love those things.