List of Beet Varieties and Types

Chioggia Guardsmark

When it comes to choosing a beet variety to grow, there are a few things to consider. Are the beets for eating fresh, canning or both? Will the tops be eaten as well? How long is the growing season? Consider these factors when choosing a variety to grow.

Types of Beets

Round: Roots grow wider rather than longer making them round in shape.
Cylindrical: Roots grow longer rather than wider making them cylindrical in shape.

List of Beet Varieties by Type

Round Beet Varieties

Detroit Dark Red

Perfected Detroit: Grows uniform in size and color. Deep red with no rings or streaks. Sweet flavor great for eating fresh, pickling and canning. 58 days.

Harrier Hybrid: Provides a richly sweet, buttery flavor. Grows to softball size. Great for eating fresh, pickling and canning. 50 days.

Ruby Queen: Early variety. Roots are smoothed skinned and tender. Beets are deep red without rings. Colors holds up through processing. 52 days.

Moneta: Roots are uniform in size with a smooth texture. No need to thin these deep colored beets. Produces medium-tall greens. 46 days.

Merlin: Round roots grow uniform in size and are deep red in color. High sugar content. A good bunching beet. Shows some resistance to Downy Mildew and Cercospora.

Red Ace: Uniform in size and deep red in color. Sweet and tender. Expect rapid root growth. Greens are medium-tall with red veins. Can be bunched. 50 days.

Touchtone Gold: Gold colored beets remain gold even after cooking. Provides a sweet flavor and smooth texture. 55 days.

Blankoma: Roots are white and slightly conical. Tall, strong, green tops. 55 days.

Chioggia Guardsmark: Improved skin color with candy striping. Tolerates bolting. 55 days.

Egyptian Flat TF 68:  Early harvest - great for multiple plantings in the north. Roots grow 3-5” and are flattened. Great for serving whole. Very sweet. Prefers sandy soil. 50 days.

Red Cloud Hybrid: Improved Red Ace variety. Smooth, glossy, round roots are dark red. Rich in flavor. 60 days.

Aviv: Uniform in size. Edible from top to bottom. Winner of many taste tests. Dark red roots grow 2-4” with 20-24” tops. Great for canning. 60 days.

Boro Hybrid Organic: Certified organic variety. High-producing for both spring and fall crops. Uniform, deep-red roots grow mid-size. A top choice for pickling. 75 days.

Detroit Dark Red: All-purpose variety. Smooth, scarlet roots grow mid-size and are sweet and tender. Produces short tops. 60 days.

Bull’s Blood: All-purpose variety. Bulbs are sweet and firm, tops dark red and great for eating fresh. Tops - 35 days, Roots - 55 days.

Early Wonder Tall Top: Early variety. Roots grow to 3” and tops grow 18” tall and are great in salads. Roots have red skins and white insides with red stripes. 48-60 days.

Cylindrical Beet Varieties

Forono: Cylindrical variety. Sugary and sweet tasting. Slices round. Resists bolting. Holds up to a delayed harvest. 60 days.

Cylindra: Roots grow on average to 5" long and 2" wide. Large tops can be bunched. Easy to evenly slice. Great for cooking and canning. Resists Scab and Cercospora well. Good taste. 54 days.

Gardening Definitions You Should Know

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When it comes to gardening, there are lots of definitions that you should know. Why? Knowing these definitions makes it easier to understand growing guides, plant descriptions, the backs of seed packets etc. Knowing the right terminology also enables you to become a better gardener.

List of Gardening Definitions

Blight: A plant disease(s) that causes the plant to wilt or die off

Bolt: When plants suddenly produce flowers or seeds prematurely

Companion Crop: Vegetables planted next to one another to benefit and assist each other

Cross-Pollination: When pollen is transferred from the flower of one plant to a flower of a different plant

Floating Row Cover: A protective covering used to protect plants from cold, wind and insects

Prolific Grower: Producing a large quantity of fruit or vegetables

Self-Pollination: When plants have both a stamen and pistil and can pollinate themselves

Sunscald: Damage or death of a plant caused by the sun in summer and sun and low temperatures in winter

Yield: The quantity of fruits and vegetables that are produced from a single plant

P.S. This is a work in progress. I’ll continuously be adding more definitions to the list.

Source: thefreedictionary.com

List of Good and Bad Compost Ingredients

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What can and cannot go into a compost pile? This question is probably more common than you think and it’s one that I’ve thought about myself. Many gardeners stress about whether or not what they are adding to their compost piles is good, organic and or even safe.

To make things a little easier and less stressful, I consulted Rodale’s “Make Compost in 14 Days” guide and put together a list of compost ingredients that are good, bad and okay in moderation. I wanted to consult the pros and provide you with an excellent and trustworthy reference to ease any composting fears you may have.

Why do Compost Ingredients Matter?

A healthy compost pile has lots of scraps that contain nitrogen and/or carbon. Both of these compounds help the pile breakdown creating nutrient rich compost. 

Examples of Carbon Rich Ingredients

Microbes, those tiny guys that breakdown compost ingredients, feed on carbon. Carbon provides them with energy to do their work.Carbon rich ingredients are “brown” ingredients. This includes organic matter that is dry and brown or yellow in color.

• Dead Leaves
• Straw
• Dead Flowers
• Corn Stalks
• Brown Garden Debris
• Hedge Prunings
• Twigs
• Pine Needles
• Straw

Examples of Nitrogen Rich Ingredients

Nitrogen rich ingredients are important because they provide microbes with protein. Protein helps them to bulk up and get the job done. Nitrogen rich ingredients are “green” ingredients. These include organic matter that is moist.

• Green Leaves
• Fresh Grass Clippings
• Plant-Based Kitchen Scraps
• Chicken/Horse Manure
• Aquarium Water/Algae/Plants (fresh water only)
• Dead House Plants
• Green Garden Debris

Good Compost Ingredients

Anything that goes into your compost pile should be biodegradable, meaning it needs to be able to breakdown naturally. This includes most plant materials and lots of kitchen and yard scraps. Before tossing ingredients into your compost pile make sure they are free of chemicals, diseases and toxins.

• Plant Materials (disease, toxin & chemical free) *
• Kitchen Scraps (no meat or dairy products - this includes bones)
• Leaves
• Twigs
• Grass Clippings
• Pine Needles
• Straw
• Garden Debris
• Fresh Water Aquarium Water/Algae/Plants

* Any diseased materials or those containing toxins and chemicals must be kept out of the compost. Disease and other toxins can leach into your compost making for an unhealthy garden and inedible fruits and vegetables.

FYI - Did you know that rhubarb leaves are poisonous? Keep these out of the compost but go ahead and add the stalks and peelings.

Bad Compost Ingredients

If you don’t know whether something is biodegradable or chemical and toxin free, don’t add it to your compost. Why take the chance? Also, if any of your yard scraps, i.e. weeds have gone to seed, meaning their seeds have developed, keep those out of your compost as well. Most weed seeds will have no problem establishing themselves in the garden once the compost has been applied.

• Diseased Plants/Garden Debris
• Domestic Animal/Reptile Manure (this includes pig manure) *
• Paper (anything glossy or printed with color)
• Meat
• Bones
• Dairy Products
• Black Walnut Leaves/Bark/Chips (naturally contains a chemical called juglone which slows or stops plant growth)
• Gypsum Board Scraps (may contain toxins or paints)
• Plant Materials not from Your Yard (only put materials from your yard into your compost to ensure they don’t contain any chemicals or toxins)

* Horse and chicken manure are safe to add to your compost. These are great organic ways to add nitrogen. Other types of manure can contain parasites or harmful pathogens that can make you sick. STAY AWAY from these.

Okay Compost Ingredients

The list of “okay” compost ingredients should only be added to the compost pile in moderation or in certain ways. Most of these ingredients breakdown very slowly and some may even contain elements that aren’t biodegradable. Though these items can be added infrequently in small amounts, you can forgo them all together if it makes you more comfortable.

• Cardboard: Shred or chop it up first to help it breakdown faster.
• Black & White Newspaper: Shred it first.
• Dryer Lint: Can contain non-biodegradable fibers.
• Human/Pet Hair: Takes a long time to decompose, doesn’t hold water and mats.
• Sawdust: Must be untreated. Can hog nitrogen.
• Vacuum Bags: Can contain non-biodegradable fibers and other items.
• Wood Ash: High in alkalinity. Remember, not all plants grow well in alkaline soil.          

For the best results, your compost pile should have a 30:1 carbon to nitrogen ratio. This helps the pile breakdown at a steady pace without emitting a funky odor. Compost piles with too much nitrogen start to stink and piles with too little carbon take longer to decompose.

The folks at Organic Gardening suggest adding 1 part nitrogen rich ingredients such as grass clippings to 2 parts carbon rich ingredients such as dead leaves to keep your compost pile decomposing at the right pace.

Additional Composting Articles

Compost: Nature’s Organic Plant Food

6 Benefits of Composting

List of Good and Bad Compost Ingredients

How to Make Cold Compost

How to Make Hot Compost

How to Tell if Compost is Finished

How Much Compost to Add to the Garden

Calculating How Much Compost You Need

Reference: Organic Gardening (2007). Make Compost in 14 Days. Rodale Inc.

What’s Growing In Gibby’s Garden this Year?

I thought I’d share with you what I’ll be growing in my organic vegetable garden this year. I’m trying a few new vegetables and varieties and, as I write this, I desperately wish I was outside planting right now.

My Staple Vegetables  

I call this list my staple vegetables because I grow them every year. They are some of my favorites as well as my family’s. When it comes to my staples, I usually plant the same varieties each year for specific reasons. While I enjoy them fresh, I also preserve and freeze many of my vegetables.

• Cucumbers: Hybrid Miss Pickler (Fresh/Pickle)
• Carrots: Rainbow Mix (Fresh/Freeze)
• Radishes: Black Spanish Round (Fresh)
• Beans: Purple Pod/Imp. Golden Wax/Orient Wonder (Fresh/Freeze)
• Peas: Maestro (Fresh/Freeze)
• Corn: Hybrid Northern Xtra-Sweet Bicolor/Japanese White Hull-less (Fresh/Freeze)
• Onions: White/Red: (Fresh/Store)

This year I’m trying a few new varieties such as Black Spanish Round radishes, Orient Wonder beans (yard-long), and Japanese White Hull-less corn (popcorn). I’ll be growing my staples from seed with the exception of the onions.

List of Transplants

                       

If I had the time and space I’d grow just about every vegetable to my liking. Unfortunately this isn’t feasible. I don’t always grow the same vegetables every year. One year I may grow broccoli and no cauliflower and vice versa the next year. I’ll be turning to transplants for these vegetables this year.

• Broccoli
• Potatoes
• Watermelon
• Pumpkins
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Lettuce

List of Extras

Some of the vegetables in this list I’ll be growing for the first time like leeks and kohlrabi. Much like the transplants listed above, I don’t always grow the same “extras” every year.

• Leeks: American Flag
• Kohlrabi: Early White Vienna
• Spinach: Hybrid Regal
• Beets: Perfected Detroit
• Winter Squash: Hyb. Argonaut
• Summer Squash: Black Magic

So, what will you be growing in your organic vegetable garden this year?

Additional Reading

Introduction to Gibby's Garden

About Patrice (author)

Gibby's Garden Diary 2012

Spring Cleaning the Vegetable Garden

Spring is finally here, though we haven’t really seen those warmer temperatures in Maine. Yes we were spoiled a few weeks back with sunny days reaching into the 80's, but now we’re back to typical Maine weather. Though all the wind we’ve had makes it a pain to rake, it sure does help dry things up.

If you’re like me, you’re itching to get outside and into the garden. I’ve waited all winter to dig my hands into the soil and spend my evenings outside quietly working away amongst my vegetables. Though we can’t quite plant our gardens yet, there are plenty of things to do in preparation.

Since I grow a big vegetable garden each year - organic of course, I always have plenty of things to do while waiting for the last threat of frost to pass and soil temperatures to warm. It may be early spring, but it’s never too early to get started.

Spring Cleaning To Do List

• Plan! Decide which vegetables to plant, how many, and where
• Buy Seeds (hold off on seedlings just yet) Order seeds from catalogues or scour the store shelves
• Clear Garden Plot - Remove all debris from the garden plot (branches, trash, dead plants etc.)
• Add Organic Fertilizer - Amend the garden now by adding an organic fertilizer and tilling into the soil
• Prepare Rows - Stake out garden rows now and set up trellises etc. for growing vining vegetables. Marking rows now will make planting go a lot easier
• Keep Weeds at Bay - Check the garden plot a few times a week and pull any weeds before they get out of hand
• Tools - Dig out your garden tools for inspection. Make sure they’re clean and ready to go

This is what I’ll be doing until the end of April until early May when I’ll finally be able to get into the garden and sow my crop. I’ve already purchased my seeds and decided where I’ll be planting which vegetables, making sure to rotate my veggies so they aren’t planted in the same spots as last year.

I remove all dead plants in the fall because this helps cut down on the bad insect population in my garden - pests like to over winter under dead plant debris. My plot is still a little too wet for tilling so I’m going to have to hold off on that for another week or so and then add a good layer of year-old cow manure as fertilizer.

I’ve already cleared away the few branches that fell in my garden and anything else that blew in over the winter. While I patiently wait for April to cruise into May, I’ll be tidying up other areas of the yard and preparing my garden for this year’s harvest.

What’s on your spring cleaning to do list?

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