How do ya know when to harvest yer

janetnjim

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red beets ?
I sent fer a pair o' x-ray glasses from the mail-in order form on the back o' my Superman comic book bit it says allow 12-16 weeks fer delivery and i'm afraid summer'll be over before it gits here and my beets'll all be dead.
 

GardenGirl

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:yuckyuck

I have no advice to add because we don't do beets in our family (too many bad childhood memories), but I wanted to say your post is hysterical!
 

Tutter

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That all depends. The way I see it, you have 2 choices.

A ~ Do what my husband does and use one finger to check the root size carefully.

B ~ Do what I do, and pull one! :D

Also, remember, it depends on what size you want them. Small ones for steaming whole, or larger ones for slicing to pickle, and everything in between. :)

Oh boy, comic book toys! I can see that we shouldn't take any gum from you, though! ;)
 

blurose

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I usually pull mine when you can see the "shoulders" of the beet root peaking above the soil. Now, that could just mean I didn't plant them deep enough, but it has worked for me so far. Of note, my DS didn't get out there to thin them when I asked him to (my not being physically able to do it myself) and so my beets are quite crowded. This means I pull one that is good size and get at least another at the same time that I need a magnefying glass to see. :rolleyes:
 

janetnjim

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Tutter said:
That all depends. The way I see it, you have 2 choices.

A ~ Do what my husband does and use one finger to check the root size carefully.

B ~ Do what I do, and pull one! :D

Also, remember, it depends on what size you want them. Small ones for steaming whole, or larger ones for slicing to pickle, and everything in between. :)

Oh boy, comic book toys! I can see that we shouldn't take any gum from you, though! ;)
Thanx Tutter, i'll give both methods a try.
 

janetnjim

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blurose said:
I usually pull mine when you can see the "shoulders" of the beet root peaking above the soil. Now, that could just mean I didn't plant them deep enough, but it has worked for me so far. Of note, my DS didn't get out there to thin them when I asked him to (my not being physically able to do it myself) and so my beets are quite crowded. This means I pull one that is good size and get at least another at the same time that I need a magnefying glass to see. :rolleyes:
Hi blurose, i think i prrobably didn't plant mine dep enough either.I can see the shoulders like you said but when i pulled one it was jist this itty bitty thing.Also, i didn't thin mine because i figgered that since each beet seed is actually a seed pod i let every sprout grow that came up. Maybe i should go and sacrifice a few now and see iffin i git a better yaild that way. MMMmmmmmm.......
 

candyd

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I don't thin mine either, and am thinking maybe I should too. My husband says yep, but I am thinking each seed is a little beet :) I have never tried beet greens, I think that would be a great reason to thin them, my neighbor loves the greens, and she is about 80 years old now...hmmm maybe she has something here :happy_flower
 

Backyard Buddies

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I don't thin mine either. Instead I simply plant them at the "thinning" distance rather than the "planting" distance on the seed packet. I hate waste and, besides, it's worked out just fine so far. If they look a little crowded, then some little ones get to be boiled up and made into a nice salad topping. Yum!
 
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