Finally got to try it

[lawoods31]

Well I just got done planting 2 72 pack jiffy peat starter full of beets! Been wanting to plant some beets for the greens and later the roots since I watched JC video on beer greens I love em and I try to not have to buy as much food from grocery stores as possible " to many chemicals and hormones in em"! So I'm giving er a go! Never used these starters before but I've read a couple post in hear from folks that have good success so I figured for a buck each pack what did I have to lose? If y'all have any info or tips I may need to know please feel free to let me know I'm still young and new at this mainly trial and error in the stuff I know till I found my new swamp family! Well gotta get back out here in the garden and till trying to get y'all some pics up its real hard from my iPhone but gonna go use a buddies laptop this weekend so I'll get em coming sorry! It's sad it's 5:45 pm here in Dixie and still 90 degrees and it's been raining all day ! Come on winter! Or maybe I need to move to Alaska! That's my dream

[mdtreehugger]

Good job getting those beets started. I love beets as well and usually grow 3 or 4 different varieties in different colors. I have found though that anything that you eat the root, things like beets, carrots, turnips, ect.. typically do better direct seeded into the ground. I plant beet seeds on a 2 inch spacing to get them going. Thinning them as I want the greens, starting with super small micro salad size greens. Then once they have been thinned I keep an eye on them and re thin in areas that look to dense. In about 3 months I have nice size beets. Beets do really well in cool weather so be sure to start a second crop about 3 months before your average first frost. 

[lawoods31]

Cool thanks for the info I would have loved to started these in my garden but we have been having rain every day for three weeks and I didn't want to drown em! lol I didn't know that they would grow in the cold I live in south Alabama we don't get much cold weather here it averages around 38 most days I wish I lived where it was colder and less humid like Montana or Alaska lol I appreciate the info and I'll keep everyone posted on how they are doing

[mdtreehugger]

Also I just thought of something else, if you really like beet greens you might want to consider growing swiss chard as well. I find it to be faster growing, more heat tolerant, and more drought resistant than beets. Flavor wise it is somewhere between Beet Greens and Spinach. Young leaves are great in salads, bigger leaves are great for braising or adding to soups and stews. Plus swiss chard adds a lot of color to the garden. The stems range in color from white to deep red, and the foliage from light green to dark green with some being savoyed. I prefer the variety Fordham Bright Lights. Get six colors from one seed packet. 

[lawoods31]

Cool mdtreehuger thank u I've never heard of those before I've never seen the seeds either I wonder if it's something I would have to order offline? U now where I can get some seeds? My beets haven't come up yeat been three days so I'm hoping they will we don't get a lot of super cold weather down here so I bet they do good

[mdtreehugger]

Be patient they will start popping up soon. You will probably have multiple stems per seed. After about a week cut off the extras so you're left with the healthiest one per seed. I order my chard and most other things from johnnys seeds out of Maine. Also have had great luck with southern seed exchange and territorial. I imagine most companies sell chard. If you decide to get some chard be sure to request a catalog, you will find all sorts of things you never new you needed.

[lawoods31]

Sweet cool deal I'm gonna check it out today I always like growing new things and seeing how my hand at it is! I must be doing good at tomato I picked 2 5 gallon bucket yesterday so I gotta start canning again I only have six plants lol

[lawoods31]

Well hear is a update! I pulled the flats down this morning (I keep em on top of fridge so the bottom is warm) but my beets started sprouting those beautiful lil red atoms sticking up a inch or two are so cool! I'll be eating beat greens soon ! It's been three days since I planted em!

[mdtreehugger]

Glad to hear the beets are doing well. Here is a picture of some chard I picked yesterday just before I sauted it with lots of onion, garlic, and some lemon juice. I really think it is one of the prettiest greens in the garden. 

[lawoods31]

Those are pretty they look tasty! I can't wait till I'll be eating mine! I'm gonna order some chard seed Friday when I get paid it sucks only getting paid every two weeks ! Thanks for the pic if I can ever figure out how to send pics on here I'd love to I use my iPhone and haven't been able to yeat

[tkfurs]

Jun 20, 2017 6:11:48 GMT -5 lawoods31 said:

Those are pretty they look tasty! I can't wait till I'll be eating mine! I'm gonna order some chard seed Friday when I get paid it sucks only getting paid every two weeks ! Thanks for the pic if I can ever figure out how to send pics on here I'd love to I use my iPhone and haven't been able to yeat

To post pics directly from your phone, you have to switch to desktop view, the link is at bottom of the page. Once you reply or start a post, just hit "add attachment" then search your phone for picture. You need to keep the pics small or it won't let you load. Hope that helps, looking forward to seeing your homestead!

[lawoods31]

Thanks I'll give it a shot this morning we getting hammered with a tropical storm so don't know how good my service is going to be

[lawoods31]

Well my beets are doing great I'm fixing to transplant them in my raised beds and thanks to mdtreehuger advice I ordered Swiss chard seeds from johnnys seedsbin Maine and got em in today so I'll be planting them in a lol while thanks for all the help and I'll continue giving updates as they grow