Beets and other root crops are kind of like Rodney Dangerfield – they don’t get no respect. Which is too bad, because they’re easy to grow, resistant to most insect pests and diseases, and taste good. Beets appeared on Roman tables and came to the Americas with colonists who valued them for their ability to provide food for man, woman, bird and beast during the winter months. Beets are colorful (as anyone who’s ever dropped one on a pristine white tablecloth can attest. Who, me?) Lots of people like the yellow varieties, but I prefer the reds, because I think the flavor is better.
Classic beet seed is not one seed, but a little ball of seeds that will grow into multiple beets, so heirloom beets usually need to be thinned quite young, preferably with scissors to prevent root damage. They’ll do best in a fairly fine soil, and are either an early spring or late fall crop if your summers are at all hot. Many beets will overwinter nicely, although in really cold climates you may need to mulch them with leaves or straw.
- Chioggia or Bassano – the candy cane beet, with concentric rings of deep red and white. Baby Chioggia can be eaten raw; they’re quite tender. It’s been around since the 1840s.
- Crosby’s Improved Egyptian – if you want a bold red beet, this one is your baby. It STAINS! Although the original sellers claimed it traced back to an ancient Egyptian variety, there’s no proof of the story. Flavor is excellent, which is why Peter Henderson introduced it in the 1870s. The “improved” part of the name refers to its shape, which was originally quite lumpy, but Josiah Crosby smoothed it out by 1880. It’s an early beet and not good for winter storage.
- Detroit Dark Red – this little jewel is good for cooking and pickling, and stores well. It’s been bearing dependably in gardens all over the place since at least 1892. Its leaves also make a good spinach substitute in salads. Very cold hardy and will germinate even with soil temperatures as low as 40 °F. A good choice for the root cellar and it will overwinter in the garden in most climates.
- Cylindra or Formanova – shaped more like a thick carrot than a beet, which means you can get more beets in the same space; they’ll grow about 6 to 9 inches long. Easier to slice and peel than regular beets and has a good flavor. Leaves are also good to eat and sweeter than most beet greens. Good for cooking, canning and pickling. Introduced in 1880.
- Albino – this is a form of sugar beet. Like all sugar beets, it is white-fleshed and very sweet. It does not have the earthy flavor common to other beet varieties. You can actually grow your own sugar if you want to – it’s not any harder than growing regular beets. I include a recipe for making table sugar at home just in case you’re interested. Mind you, you should not expect to have huge amounts of table sugar if you want to grow your own. One sugar beet can be processed into about 6 cups of sugar. But if you want a little to make hummingbird food or to have a teaspoon in your morning coffee (and a teaspoon is about the most you should eat on a daily basis), it is quite doable.
- Detroit Golden – this was developed from an ancient variety known simply as the Golden Beet. The roots turn a deep golden yellow when cooked; they don’t bleed or stain like red beets. It was grown in the US in the early 1800s, but may be much older than that. They are supposed to make good pickles, although I have never tried them.
If I could only have one, my beet choice would be Cylindra. The flavor is good and production is higher because they grow a longer tap root in the same space as a round beet. It also has better-tasting leaves – most beet greens are OK but not what I would call real flavorful.
In terms of nutrition, beets provide folate, manganese and potassium. Folate as you may know, helps prevent birth defects that occur when the spinal cord doesn’t develop properly in the fetus. Manganese is an antioxidant that helps your body break down glucose and protein during the digestive process. Potassium is one of the big four electrolytes – the other three being sodium, chloride and calcium. These minerals are integral to multiple critical processes in the body, such as maintaining your fluid balance, helping create enzymes, promoting brain and heart function (drop your sodium too low and you can literally be unable to think).
