Contents of the article:
garden bed Beetroot, a fairly simple cultivator to garden garden beds, sometimes gives summer residents unpleasant surprises. Even experienced gardeners can hear complaints about the death of only emerging plants, yellowing or redness of foliage, slow growth of root crops and deterioration of their quality.
What are these problems associated with? What to do if beets do not grow well, and how to maintain an indispensable vegetable crop?
There can be several reasons for the lag of beet growth, lethargy and unusual type of tops, as well as the bad taste of harvested roots. And with their timely identification with the help of the care and fertilizing of beets, it is not difficult to quickly correct the situation and by the autumn to harvest a good harvest.
The problem with the selection of a site for beet beds
The beetroot loves lighted, well-warmed areas with sufficient drainage so that the root system of the plant does not become overwetted and rotted. If the bed is broken in the shade or in the lowland where moisture accumulates, there is no need to wait for a good result. All the power of the plant can go to the tops, and the roots will not be formed. To make beets feel better, they make high beds, on which the plant would not experience a deficit of either oxygen or sunlight.
If the plot is small, this gardener can allocate a place between solanaceous crops such as eggplants and peppers. Beet feels well next to onions and garlic, planting cucumbers, squash and squash, between the rows of early peas and asparagus beans.
If, on the bed in the previous season, radishes or radishes, chard or any cabbage were grown, then the reason why the beets do not grow in the garden should be sought in violation of crop rotation rules.
Poor quality, low yield of root crops and reddening of the foliage can be caused by excessive acidity of the soil. If this is true, then dolomite flour is applied to the planting site of the garden crop, which solves the problem. However, overdoing is also not worth it. Excessive amounts of lime can cause another problem - scab, which is also not the best way to affect the quality of beets.
What if beets grow poorly immediately after sowing?
Problems with the growth and formation of root crops in beets can start shortly after sowing. Why beets grow poorly, and what should a gardener do in this situation?
When preparing the beds for beetroot, they dig up the soil to a depth of 20–25 cm and in the autumn add organic matter at the rate of 15–20 kg of compost or humus per square meter. If the culture is sown before winter, then organic substances are applied when sowing in the amount of 5–6 kg per meter; in spring, seedlings receive 30 grams of urea. The amount of mineral fertilizers is taken at the rate of 30 grams of potassium chloride and superphosphate per meter of bed.
Proper care and feeding of beets at an early stage is especially important. Failure to obtain the necessary plant nutrients, especially with a lack of moisture, can cause a weakening of the seedlings, late development and a sharp drop in yield.
If plants do not get what they need when they are planted, compensate for this omission as quickly as possible.
However, excessive feeding and intensive care for beets sometimes do harm. The introduction of fresh manure for planting causes a strong burn of tender tissue of sprouts and seedlings, therefore, it is safer to apply nitrogen fertilizing in the form of watering with green infusion or in foliar form.
The quality of seedlings and their further development is also influenced by the sowing dates:
- If the seeds begin to come to life at +4 ° C, and further growth will occur at 16–23 ° C and regular watering, then there is nothing to fear. The seedlings will appear on time and give high-quality large root vegetables.
- If the seeds are embedded in unheated soil, hit by frost, or the beginning of the growing season had to be in a hot, dry time, then the probability of formation is not of root crops, but of peduncles.
One of the reasons why beets do not grow in the garden is the lack or excess of moisture.
We must not forget about watering the beds, during which 15–20 liters of moisture should fall per square meter. But even here there are some peculiarities:
- If young plants that begin to form a root crop, sharply react to the dryness of the soil, weaken and wither, then watering quickly returns them to liveliness.
- In the last month before harvesting, excess moisture negatively affects the sweetness of root crops and their quality.
The depth of planting seeds in the springtime is 2-3 cm, during the autumn sowing they are buried a centimeter deeper. If the seeds are deepened more strongly, the sprouts spend more energy to overcome the soil layer and eventually weaken.
What to do if beets do not grow well already, starting from spring? Pre-soaking seeds in warm water or a solution of trace elements helps to accelerate germination and give strength to sprouts. Since large beet seeds are, in fact, several pooled seeds, the thinning of the emerged shoots is no less important.
If the culture is grown on a site by seedlings, transplantation requires extreme caution, because the slightest damage to the root system will immediately affect the development of the plant and the formation of the beet root crop.
The death of very young plants is sometimes caused by a root, a disease caused by a harmful fungus. The stem of the infected seedling in the root zone blackens and dries. How to feed the beets for the growth of seedlings and their recovery? At the first signs of the disease and for the prevention of the beds, they are treated with phytosporin, while not forgetting to pile up the beet plants and thin out.
This procedure is carried out twice:
- in the period when the plant gave a pair of true leaves, for every 3-4 cm leave one sprout;
- when there are already 4–5 leaves on beets, and the roots themselves reach the size of a 10-ruble coin, increase the distance to 7–8 cm.
How to feed beets for growth?
Like other garden crops, beets should receive minerals. What to fertilize beets, and in what time the plant should receive such feeding?
The main crop needs are potash, phosphate and nitrogen fertilizers, the lack of which necessarily affects the yield.
It is convenient to combine the feeding of beets with care, for example, with weeding and watering. During the growing season, beet beds are fed twice:
- The first application of fertilizer occurs in the first weeding and consists of urea or other nitrogen-containing means, at the rate of 10 grams per square meter.
- A second feeding can be carried out when the tops of neighboring plants are closed. At this time, 8 grams of superphosphate and 10 grams of potassium chloride are introduced per meter of planting.
How to feed beets for the growth of foliage? At the beginning of the summer, nitrogen fertilizing from the infusion of mullein or green fertilizer can push the formation of the tops, but it cannot be abused. The closer to the end of the growing season, the greater the tendency of beets to accumulate nitrogen in their roots, and this negatively affects their taste and ability to be stored.
Summer beetroot care and planting with minerals and trace elements help to get a bountiful harvest in the fall.
The culture is particularly sensitive to deficiency of sodium, boron, copper and molybdenum. You can compensate for the deficiency by soaking the seeds at the germination stage, and then in the form of foliar dressings.
