Some summer residents try to sow beets before winter, but not all of them ripen the vegetable in the early stages, since they often make mistakes with the time of pre-winter sowing. Now we will talk about what autumn plantings give to the gardener, how to sow the root crop correctly and take care of it, what varieties should be chosen for this.
Benefits of planting crops for the winter
In podzimny sowing of beets, there are a number of advantages:
- seed material is naturally hardened;
- sprouts show resistance to temperature drops in spring;
- root crops ripen faster;
- seeds do not need processing - they can be sown directly into the ground without preliminary preparation;
- no need to wait for the right time to plant early in the spring.
How to sow beets in late autumn
For winter sowing, you should choose the right place and time. Such root crops do not have good keeping quality, therefore I do not advise you to sow a lot of beets.
Timing
Autumn crops are carried out from October to November when cold weather is established (-2 ° C to +3 ° C). In the southern regions, this period begins in December.
It is necessary to wait until the heat does not return, otherwise the seeds will have time to germinate before frost and die.
The choice of beds and compliance with crop rotation
The land plot should be located on a hill, while being well lit. The location of groundwater should be no closer than 55-60 cm to the ground level.
Precursors for beets can be cucumbers, zucchini, onions, squash. I do not recommend planting a plant on the same bed for several years or after chard, carrots, spinach. Sowing is done again in 3-4 years. You can plant cauliflower, carrots, kohlrabi, celery next to the root vegetable.
Seat preparation
I am preparing the site well in advance. First, I remove plant residues and weeds. After that I start digging, after adding compost or rotted manure to the ground (up to 6 kg / sq. m), as well as potassium sulfate (60 g) and superphosphate (50 g). I level the bed with a rake.
Sowing
I briefly put the seeds in a composition of potassium permanganate, rinse and dry.
I make the sowing grooves to a depth of no more than 4 cm. The distance between the rows should be at least 25-30 cm. I put the seed in the grooves, sprinkle it with soil and mulch (peat or humus).
Follow-up care
Crops must be protected from severe frosts, and as soon as you remove the shelter, carry out the care as for a spring planting. For beets you will need:
- thinning;
- top dressing;
- watering;
- loosening;
- weeding.
Shelter for the winter
To prevent the seeds from freezing, I cover the area with fallen leaves and sawdust. In winter, I throw snow at the plantings.
In the spring I take off the shelter, loosening it up, adding fertilizers containing nitrogen and covering the bed with polyethylene. Thus, crops will be protected from the night cold and seedlings will germinate faster. I remove the film as soon as the first shoots appear.
Thinning of crops
I thin out the crops after watering or rainfall. This root vegetable needs several approaches:
- The first procedure should be carried out when 2-4 leaves are formed. There should be a distance of at least 5 cm between the shoots.
- The second procedure is performed when the head is formed. The gap between plants is kept up to 10 cm.
Watering
Beets are watered abundantly after the first thinning procedure. Then the plantings are irrigated at least once a week.
Watering should be stopped two weeks before harvest.
Fertilizing
The first feeding should be carried out at the end of the first thinning using herbal infusion.
To increase the sugar content 25-30 days before harvesting root crops, you can pour salted solution (1 tbsp. l. salt / bucket of water). Also, gardeners for this purpose use a composition of sodium nitrate.
Beets respond well to boron feeding. You can use the "Mag-Bor" fertilizer complex in the proportion of one tablespoon per 10 liters of water. You can use boric acid, for this dilute half a teaspoon of the substance in a bucket of water. Watering rate - 10 l / sq. m.
Read also: How to properly prune strawberries after harvest
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