How to Grow Sugar Beets for Home Use
Sugar beets can be planted and grown for home use much like regular beets are grown. Sugar beets are high in sucrose and are grown commercially for sugar production. The home gardener can plant a row of sugar beets in early spring and expect a harvest in late fall or early winter. The beet root grows beneath the surface like a carrot and its green leaves above the ground help the root grow. Sugar beets are white when harvested. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Nitrogen rich garden compost
- Rototiller
- Seed packet of sugar beets
- Ink pen
- Watering can
- Sprinkler
- 50-percent strength nitrogen fertilizer
- Garden spade
- Shovel
Instructions
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1
Locate an area in the garden to plant the sugar beets. Spread a 3-inch layer of garden compost rich in nitrogen-producing organic materials over the area with a garden rake.
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2
Rototill the area several inches deep to mix the compost into the soil and loosen the soil for productive root growth.
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3
Poke 1/2-inch-deep holes 4 inches apart in rows 24 inches apart with an ink pen. Drop a sugar beet seed into each hole.
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4
Water the seeds with a watering can and keep the soil moist while the seeds germinate. Continue watering daily until the seeds sprout. Use a sprinkler to water once a day throughout the 110 days of the plants' growing cycle. Water less after substantial rainfall.
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5
Fertilize the beets with a 50-percent strength nitrogen rich fertilizer after the first four weeks of growth and then again in mid-summer. Follow the fertilizer manufacture's mixing and application directions. Avoid getting the fertilizer on the sugar beets' leaves.
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Harvest the sugar beets in late fall or early winter after the first hard frost. Dig around the root with a garden spade or shovel and then pull the beet up out of the ground by its leaves.
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Cook the beets for eating or store them in a cool place.
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References
- Photo Credit Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Getty Images
