Bordeaux table beets: ideal color and taste for culinary use and long-term storage
Bordeaux beets invariably enjoy stable success among gardeners and chefs. The first - for ease of cultivation and care. The second - for its juicy, sweetish pulp and bright color, which remains unchanged even during heat treatment.
Description of the variety
Bordeaux beets are mid-season table varieties. It grows well throughout Russia and is resistant to both high and low temperatures. She is easy to care for and also great stored in winter.
Subspecies Bordeaux 237
Bordeaux 237 (a variety of Bordeaux variety) was developed by Soviet scientists during the Great Patriotic War. In conditions of widespread famine, a variety with high yield was needed, and Bordeaux 237 is capable of producing crops twice a year.
Origin and development
The ancestor of Bordeaux was beets, which were brought to Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.
After the selection work Two varieties were bred: Bordeaux single seed and Bordeaux 237.
Distinctive features
The Bordeaux variety differs from others in its bright burgundy color, which is why it got its name. The color is not lost during cooking. And the moderate size of the fruit allows you to bake them whole.
You can eat not only root vegetables, but also the leaves of the plant (in salads, soups, marinades).
Attention! It is the Bordeaux variety that is resistant to diseases and is practically not affected by pests. It has almost one hundred percent germination and even tolerates slight drought.
Fruit characteristics, yield
The root vegetables have a round shape, reach 10–15 cm in diameter, and weigh 350–500 g. The peel is dense and matte.
The beet pulp is red-burgundy, juicy and dense, with a sweetish taste. When cut, it is uniform or slightly striped.
With proper cultivation and care, from 1 sq. m you can collect up to 8 kg of beets.
How to grow
Let's look at the features growing beets.
Planting with seeds/seedlings
Beetroot, compared to other vegetables, has fairly large seeds; they are planted in a prepared furrow at a distance of up to 5 cm from each other.
You can sow seeds either dry or pre-soaked in a solution with a growth stimulator.
To grow seedlings, seeds are sown in boxes in April. The result is that the crop ripens almost 20 days earlier than those planted directly in the ground. When sprouts appear 2-3 true leaves seedlings can be planted. This happens around mid-May, when the soil warms up to +10 °C.
The Bordeaux 237 variety can be planted before winter: the seeds are sown in the ground before the onset of cold weather and mulched. In this case, the harvest will be early. But such beets will not last long stored.
Care
In order for root vegetables to grow large and juicy, they must be water. Young beets are watered in the evening once a week, and the next morning the soil around the seedlings is loosened to avoid the formation of an earthen crust. Mature plants are watered less frequently.
To make maintenance easier, many gardeners mulch the soil around their plantings. This avoids frequent loosening and watering.
Young sprouts need regular weeding, otherwise the weeds will take away nutrients and can also cause various diseases.
Regular feeding is extremely important for the full development of root crops.At the beginning of the season, nitrogen is added to plants for growth, and later phosphorus, potassium, and boron are added to form fruits.
Reference! Beets also respond gratefully to foliar feeding.
If the soil on your site is poor, then it needs to be fertilized to replenish nutrients. However, an excess of minerals can negatively affect the quality of root crops: they will crack and voids will form inside.
In addition, beets tend to accumulate nitrates, which are harmful to human health. When fertilizing with fertilizers, it is important not to exceed the dosage. Towards the end of the season, watering and fertilizing are stopped.
Features of cultivation and possible difficulties
Caring for beets is a simple matter. However, there are also secrets here.
- Beets love a sunny place.
- You cannot plant root crops where cruciferous vegetables grew.
- The best predecessors in the garden are tomatoes, onions, garlic, and eggplants.
- Beets love light, alkaline soils.
- Experienced gardeners make a beet border along cabbage and carrot plantings. These vegetables have similar agricultural technology, so it will be convenient to grow them side by side.
- Despite the moisture-loving nature, beets do not like stagnation of water at the roots. If there is an excess, the roots begin to rot. Therefore, you need to take care of good drainage.
- Beets need space to form full-fledged root crops. Therefore, do not plant plants close to each other.
Diseases and pests
The Bordeaux variety is resistant to diseases and pests. But if signs of phomosis, peronsporosis or powdery mildew appear on the plant, begin treatment immediately.
Various insects also love to feast on juicy beet leaves. Folk remedies are effective in controlling pests: infusion of onion peels and wood ash.
Harvesting and application
Beets are harvested in the fall, before the onset of cold weather, when the leaves of the plant are already dying off.
Carefully, so as not to damage the integrity of the beet skin, dig the root crop out of the soil, clean off the soil and tear off the tops. Then you need to cut off all the growing points so that the beets do not begin to germinate during long-term storage.
Next, we sort the root vegetables. Damaged and deformed items are recycled. Healthy, but not too large (large tubers are poorly stored) we put aside for long-term storage for the winter.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Svela Bordeaux is universally loved by gardeners. It is famous for its stable yield, resistance to heat and drought, and is perfectly stored until spring.
Bright, neat root vegetables are distinguished by their juiciness and sweetish taste. The fruits are not too large, so they are convenient to bake and use in salads.
Bordeaux has practically no disadvantages.
Variety varieties
The Bordeaux variety has two varieties: Bordeaux 237 and single-seeded Bordeaux. The only difference between them is that after germination, single-seeded beets do not need to be thinned, since only one sprout sprouts from each seed.
Bordeaux 237, in turn, became the progenitor of the Incomparable A-463 and Podzimnyaya A-474.
The incomparable variety has a delicate taste and rapid ripening (70 days).
Podwinter can be sown in late autumn for an early harvest. It is also color resistant.
Farmer reviews
We bring to your attention reviews from summer residents who have already cultivated the Bordeaux variety and its varieties.
Olga, 57 years old, Rostov region: “Our family loves beets. We plant a lot and have tried different varieties. But Bordeaux is beyond competition. Always a big and tasty harvest. We even tear the tops into salad and cold borscht.”
Alexey Ivanovich, Chelyabinsk: “I plant Bordeaux beets every year. It's very tasty. And it keeps well. Of course, I weed and water. But I didn’t notice that it grew worse in dry summers. We always collect a lot. I tried to grow and prepare the seeds myself, but it didn’t work. A lot of hassle. It’s easier to buy ready-made ones; there are a lot of them now and they’re inexpensive.”
Alexander, Moscow region: “We have been planting beets at our dacha for several years now. And recently we settled on Bordeaux. There is practically no maintenance, the main thing is to water it on time. But borscht made from its own beets is delicious! Both bright and tasty. We also like to chew beets even raw: we cut them into slices and crunch them.”
Conclusion
Bordeaux beets are an excellent choice for gardeners and cooks. This is a time-tested variety that is resistant to adverse factors. Beautiful, tasty, healthy, and easy to care for, the crop stands out from other varieties. Happy growing and cooking!