Growing Heirloom Beets in Kihei

In the fall I planted 3 varieties of beets - Chioggia,  Egyptian and Lutz. Like radishes and carrots, beets are cool season crops and grow better in colder climates.

The Chioggia was the earliest, Egyptian grew much slower due to the heat and Lutz didn't develop at all. Chioggia is a favorite beet of many heirloom gardeners - it's great that Chioggia could tolerate our warm winter climate.

Thinning the Chioggia and Egyptian Beets
6 weeks

Egyptian

3 months

The cabbageworms, snails and slugs did some damage to the leaves but it didn't affect the growth of the beets. If you're growing beets for the greens it's a good idea to cover them with a tulle net.

Chioggia

2 months

My best results with Chioggia were from seeds planted in November through mid-December. I harvested the Chioggias at 8 to 10 weeks. It's best to plant Egyptian from mid-October to mid November as they weren't ready until 3 months. The beets I grew weren't very sweet and that's typical of my carrots too as they need colder temps to develop sugar.

Touchstone Gold

3 months

In late December of 2016 I planted Touchstone Gold - they took 3 months from seed and were surprisingly heat tolerant - no cracking.

I planted seeds directly into a large container filled with organic potting soil amended with green sand and an organic all purpose fertilizer. The depth of the soil should be at least 8 inches to accommodate the root. I recommend daily water and bi-weekly applications of fish emulsion or a monthly application of an organic all purpose fertilizer. As the beets grew, I added mulch or extra potting soil up to the stems to keep them from cracking or drying in the intense sun.

Beets with Creme Friache
Chocolate Beet Cake