Your comments and tips

17 Dec 11, Elizabeth (Australia - temperate climate)

For 5 medium beetroot preferably leave 2cm of stalk and the root on the fruit. Wash and place whole fruit in a suacpan, cover with salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour. Remove from water and remove skin by hand when cool enough to handle. Retain 1 cup of cooking water. When almost cold slice fruit and place back in saucpan. Cover with the cooking water, half cup of brown vinegar, half cup of sugar, third teaspoon mixed spice and four peppercorns. Simmer until sugar is disolved, roughly 10 mins. Store in fridge and use as a salad vegetable.

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02 Nov 11, doug (Australia - temperate climate)

Can you still sow seed of beetroot in the first week of November in our temperate climate where temps can get to 45 degrees at times. Thanks Doug

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02 Nov 11, maddy (Australia - temperate climate)

what pests and disease that can affect my beetroot??

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02 Nov 11, SereneBee (Australia - arid climate)

Harvest in 55 - 70 days but will keep in ground for longer. Tolerates light frost. Keep well-watered as dry beetroot develop a woody and inedible core. For tasty and tender beetroot, start harvesting at golfball-size. My beetroot always 'pop-up' in a manner of speaking ~

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01 Nov 11, daniel (Australia - temperate climate)

Hi Helen. I planted my beetroot 9-10 weeks ago. They are around 5-6cm in diameter and are getting ready to flower. In my gardening book they say to pull up went they have matured.Is that when they have flowered or am I looking for colour of the bulb or foliage to die off, Could you let me know.

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18 Oct 11, (Australia - temperate climate)

We have just harvested our beetroot and have pulled up white roots, is this normal, they have white stalks too

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07 Oct 11, Carms (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

You can use a few of the smaller younger leaves in salads but leave a few to keep growing. The older leaves can still be used but they get a bit tough as they get older.

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04 Oct 11, laura (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

can we chop the leaves off and use them in a salad without killing the beetroot growing beneath?

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08 Sep 11, Ted (Australia - temperate climate)

Really nice article. Very helpful. I also found this article which was good for Western Australia. wascene.com/home-garden/how-to-grow-beetroot/ Ted

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05 Jul 11, John Bee (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Hi Gloria, There could be several causes of your problem but it is difficult to identify exactly from such a short request for help. The most likely cause is too much nitrogen right from planting time onwards. However, associated with that is commonly an outbreak of leaf diseases. If it is too much nitrogen I’d suggest side dressing the plants with a fertilizer mixture with very low or NO nitrogen, preferably dig it in and give a good watering. On another point, too much watering over time could also cause your problem. Also, another reason could be that some beetroot varieties are notorious for high foliage and small root production as they are specifically grown as leaf beets. The leaves of beetroot are very tasty and nutritious and it is shame ort not eat them either after harvesting or from on-growing plants. Hope this helps a bit. John Bee Master Gardener

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