Days to Maturity: 50 to 55 from direct sow
It's a beet lover's dream come true! Five superb globe varieties, all as distinctive in flavor as they are in color, can be yours for the price of a single packet of seed! Grow these superb beets as gourmet babies or as full-sized roots bursting with flavor. And don't forget those nutritious beet greens, which reach their peak at about 5 to 6 inches high.
Beets are a cool-weather crop, suitable for spring, fall, and even winter in very mild climates. They tolerate a bit of frost without damage. Direct-sow the seeds as soon as the soil can be worked in spring, or in late summer to early fall. If your spring and fall weather tends to be mild, try making succession sowings every 3 to 4 weeks for an even longer season of fresh harvests.
Bush beans, lettuce, and onions are good companions to beets in the vegetable garden, as are all the Brassica family, from broccoli and cabbage to kohlrabi and cauliflower. And if you do not care for the flavor of beet greens, be sure to chop them and plow them back into the soil, where they add valuable nutrients that will enhance next year's crops.
Sow seeds 1 inch apart and about one-quarter-inch deep in rows about 1 to 2 feet apart. After the seedlings emerge, thin them to about 3 inches apart, using the tender thinnings in cuisine or adding them to the compost heap. Beets love rich, well-worked soil and full sun.
Collection includes the following varieties:
Subeto Hybrid - The only hybrid in this collection, Subeto is a Pablo-type red beet with purple stems above a deep violet root. Vigorous and large-crowned, it looks as good as it tastes. High yields.
Boldor - A golden beet with coppery-orange skin concealing its bright yellow-gold flesh. The color stays even after cooking, and so does the sweetness.
Chioggia - An Italian heirloom with bright pinkish-fuchsia skin and concentric rings of white and magenta within. The flavor is super-sweet, but there is a satisfying spicy afterbite as well.
Albina Vereduna - This pure white beauty has the same flavor profile as its red cousins, but no red juice to stain other food on the plate.
Bull's Blood Scarletta - The violet leaves and purplish-red skin on this heirloom are striking enough, not to mention the concentric rings of flesh in two bold shades of pink. Talk about plate appeal!
