One day, you suddenly want to grow beets in your garden for whatever reason. But you have little to no idea of how it will turn out. Later on, the planted beets seeds have grown, but they come up too thick, and you do not know what to do.
When you plant multi-germ beet seeds (instead of mono-germ beet seeds), they’ll develop at least two to three roots, and each root will grow in a different plant. (you won’t know the difference until the first leaf). Hence, they will fight in the pot or growing bed for space and available nutrients as they need to survive in the beginning.
How To Thin Beets?
Now that you clearly understand beet seedlings, it is fair to know how to thin them properly. You can begin thinning beet seedlings when they start to develop baby leaves or premature leaves.
Generally, there are two ways of thinning beet seedlings: dig the bunch and transplant them or cut the unwanted seedlings.
Transplanting Beet Seedlings
For the first method, the thinning of beets need not perform cutting the seedlings down. Despite being a multi-germ seed, you will transplant them in a pot or grow bed with enough space to grow.
It is also thinning in the sense that the beet seedlings are not compact in their growing area.
You Can Follow The Steps Below:
Dig The Bunch Of Seedlings Out.
From then, you will determine the multi-germ and mono-germ seeds. Sort the seeds out because they will be planted differently. Do this when the beet seedlings have developed baby leaves.
Make sure you dig them carefully to prevent damaging the roots.
Prepare Your Pot Or Growing Bed
For multi-germ seeds, you have to plant them 6 inches away from each other if you grow them in a grow bed. This will give the beet seedlings enough space to grow without fighting for space.
If you run out of space, you can enjoy the excess beet seedlings by actually eating them and waiting for the rest to grow fully.
If you grow them in a pot, make sure to use a big pot so that the plant can have adequate space to grow fully. Using a small pot will clump the beets underneath and that isn’t good for them.
Make A Big And Deep Hole In The Soil
Water the seedlings first for a few hours before transplanting the beetroot seedlings to help them get in shape for their new homes.
Make sure to slacken up the soil before putting the beet seedlings in. After that, grab the beet seedlings by the leaves and carefully place them in the hole you just created.
Refill the hole with the soil you took to create the hole. Apply water enough to moisten the soil and not soak the beet seedlings in a wet environment.
Cutting Unwanted Seedlings
The second method is cutting the unwanted seedlings from mono-germ seedlings so that you can grow a single plant only.
This is also great for some growers who want to maximize growth with limited growing space. This method is the actual thinning as it involves cutting down the unwanted seedlings.
You Can Follow The Steps Below:
Pull Out The Seedling From The Soil
You can pull out the seeds either by hand or use a spade. The latter is recommended so that you can dig them out without causing damage.
Once you’ve dug all the beet seedlings out, you will then have to sort the mono-germ and multi-germ seedlings.
The multi-germ seedlings are the only ones that need thinning. The mono-germ seedlings can now be transplanted. But you have to water them first for a few hours.
Cut The Unwanted Seedlings
When cutting the unwanted seedlings, it is essential to do it gently. You can use your bare hands but doing so might upset the other roots, so better use a sharp cutting object. You can use a pair of scissors to cut the unwanted seedlings out but be sure to sterilize them first.
Transplant The Seedlings
For these seedlings, you only have to plant them 3 inches apart compared to multi-germ seedlings. This is already enough for them to maximize their growth since they are now a single-growing plant.
How To Locate The Best Area To Plant Beets?
Generally, beets needed to be planted somewhere with access to full sun. They needed to absorb nutrients from sunlight for at least six hours per day.
For better growth, avoid planting beets near Swiss chard or spinach, or better yet, do not plant beets in the same area where you grew Swiss chard or spinach before.
They are cousins, which means they are susceptible to similar pests and diseases.
Also, make sure that the soil is free from weeds before planting the beet seedlings. If weeds occur, remove them immediately but do this gently since young beets have shallow roots and are easily disturbed.
Furthermore, you have to water them regularly as they need plenty of moisture to thrive.
More Facts About How to Thin Beets
At first, you might get amazed by how they grow so big, but it causes more problems than good. Plants need proper spacing to maximize their growth.
When beets grow too thick, they will cover other beet plants in the area, hindering their growth.
For this reason, beet seedlings have to be appropriately thinned to grow a healthy and delicious beet.
Although thinning is not done only for beet seedlings, other plants require regular thinning to ensure healthy development of the plants.
The crimson red beets, for example, are the favorite type of most gardeners, and they are also excitingly healthy. They have a green leafy stem and surprisingly large roots.
Most importantly, they need well-draining, light soil and total sun exposure, which is why they have to be thinned so the sunlight can reach them and they will not develop malformed roots.
How Do Beet Seeds Germinate?
Before we dive into the proper way of thinning your beets, let’s tackle the process of beet seeds germination so you can have a fair knowledge of why they grow thick and need to be thinned.
First of all, beets can have either multi-germ seeds or mono-germ seeds. The multi-germ seeds are a cluster of seeds inside a single dried fruit.
While the mono-germ seeds only produce one embryo, this is what we are most familiar with.
When you plant mono-germ seeds, you do not need to thin them when they grow because they will not grow thick, that is, if you don’t put too much grain in a pot.
However, multi-germ seeds are the exact opposite, and they can overpopulate a pot if you plant them without knowing it is a multi-germ seed.
Beets have multi-germ seeds, and this is why they have to be thinned.
Because of this, you will never know whether you planted multi-germ or mono-germ seeds. You can only see once they have germinated and you dig them out of the soil. The seeds have more than one root, then you have to thin them.
Final Thoughts
Who doesn’t want beetroot growing in their veggie garden? Even if it’s not your favourite veg., you know it’s one of the most beneficial to your body. General speaking, it’s one of the most popular veggies for maintaining good health.
When it comes to growing your veggies, we’re all in that queue to grow healthy veggies for a much lesser price than it would cost us if we bought them from our greengrocer.
Natural whole beets, freshly cooked with a spoonful or two of plain yoghurt, is a very healthy meal, as it sliced or cubed beets pickled and preserved – they’re equally beneficial. Beets are nutritious and should be part of our diet.
Make sure you thin them out, so they grow beautifully!
Jenny Marie
Tribal Writer
Edited By
Patricia Godwin
