Your comments and tips

23 Apr 17, Jack (Australia - temperate climate)

The principle behind a wicking bed is that the water is drawn up by 'wicking' (like a candle or kerosene lamp). Any vegetable should grow in this system except maybe long carrots or parsnips that need deeper soil or growing medium. The wicking is only effective up to a certain depth. Try it and let us know how you go.

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19 Jun 17, gary (Australia - temperate climate)

have planted beet in wicking bed from seed and all seeds germinated. Very happy with results with plants looking healthy. Tried silver beet and have been cultivating leaves for a while now. Once again, very happy with outcome. Planted leeks and brown onion and all have taken off. Snow peas are growing well. Will comment on the beds when all plants are near cultivation.Have not tried deep rooted vegies, such as carrots but will give them a go. Have 300 mls of soil to play with. This experiment has surprised me so far.

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20 Apr 17, Beverly (Australia - temperate climate)

When is the best time in Melbourne to transplant beetroot seedlings (which were bought recently from a nursery)? Can the plants be transplanted in autumn?

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21 Apr 17, Ken (Australia - temperate climate)

You can plant beetroot seedlings now. try seeds next time as they are easy to sow and grow well without transplanting disturbance.

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16 Apr 17, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

I read people's comments about manures being rich in N. Manures only have about 1-4% N. You would have to apply a lot of manure to have a high % N. Rather expensive if buying the manure. I apply a fert with about 15% N. The secret is how much to apply. My beetroot plants are quite leafy and produce good sized beets - from 1" to 5". Maybe people need to look more at the right time of the year to plant. There is a good planting guide on this web site. When people say they had a failure with a crop they should state what time of the year they planted.

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09 Apr 17, Stuart (Australia - temperate climate)

Beetroot and Turnip have plenty of green top but bottom all like string??

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10 Apr 17, Ken (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Sounds a bit like too much nitrogen in the soil. Nitrogen, from fresh manure, will give big tops and is ideal for lettuces and other leaf crops. Roots will be spindly as you mention. If this is the case you could use the small roots in a soup or salad and replant the spot with a leaf crop. plant turnips and beets after when some of the nitrogen has been used from the soil.

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05 Jul 17, Chris P (Australia - temperate climate)

If you do get a beetroot crop with plenty of foliage, keep in mind that the green leaves and red stems are edible too! The stems have a texture a bit like celery, and the leaves are very flavourful. Both leaves and stems are crunchy when fresh and hold a bit of crunch even when cooked. They will stay green and fresh for a week or more after being harvested if you leave them attached to the root. You can use beet greens in any dish where you'd use spinach or silverbeet, fresh or cooked.

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19 Mar 17, Michael Tierney (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

My neighbours and I are having trouble growing beetroot with the same results. We both have tried seedlings and seed but same result. The beetroot grows very nice and bushy but the bulb does not want to grow to more than a large marble. Could you give us a tip to what we are doing wrong.

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20 Mar 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)

Sounds a bit like an oversupply of Nitrogen as this will result in large tops and small roots. Beetroot is probably best planted following a fruit crop such as beans, tomatoes or zucchinis. Ideally they would have followed a leaf crop such as cabbage, lettuce or silver beet. This succession reduces the amount of nitrogen in the soil and allows the roots to grow bigger with less top. As a consolation beetroot and silver beet are botanically the same plant so go ahead and eat the leaves! It is best to manure or compost your soil then follow with a leaf crop followed by a fruit crop then a root crop.

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