High-yielding variety from Italian breeders - Detroit beets: full review and growing instructions

Beetroot is an important ingredient in many traditional dishes. Without it, it’s hard to imagine borscht, herring “under a fur coat,” vinaigrette and other beloved culinary delights. This root vegetable is not only tasty, but also healthy. It is recommended for children and pregnant women with low hemoglobin levels.

There are many varieties and hybrids of this plant on the market. And every gardener wants to choose from all this abundance an option that will have excellent taste and high yield. Detroit beets have these and many other advantages. How to grow it on your site - read on.

General description of the variety

Detroit beets are a variety developed by Italian agronomists more than 20 years ago.. It is included in the Russian State Register. During this time, agronomists have released three varieties of this variety. Each of them has its own characteristics.

Note! Detroit beets are a variety. Seeds collected from self-grown plants are suitable for planting.

Distinctive features

Growing Detroit is easy. This variety is characterized by increased cold resistance. It is suitable for cultivation not only in the central and southern regions, but also in Siberia.

Another one a distinctive feature of Detroit is the uniformity of the fruit. They turn out small, round and the same size.

The taste of the fruit is rich, sweet. They contain an increased amount of dry matter, due to which beets are stored for a long time.

Will delight gardeners and high yield variety. At the same time, it is not difficult to care for it due to its high immunity to many diseases characteristic of the culture.

Main characteristics

Detroit's characteristics make this variety a favorite among gardeners. With resistance to unfavorable environmental conditions, it has high yield and excellent fruit taste.

A detailed description of the variety is in the table.

Agricultural technology

Beet Detroit intended for cultivation in open ground in the central and southern regions. It is also possible to grow in Siberia and more northern regions under film.

Both black soil and loam are suitable for beets. It grows best in places with high humidity.It is important to choose the right predecessors for this crop. The best yield indicators are observed in beds where nightshades, legumes, onions and cucumbers previously grew.

The selected area of ​​the garden is prepared in the fall. The soil is dug up to a depth of 20-25 cm and cleared of plant debris. Then rotted manure or humus (6 kg per 1 sq. m) is added to the surface. Fertilizers are mixed with soil.

Note! Beets love slightly acidic soils. Check the indicators using litmus paper. If they are elevated, then dry lime or ash is added to the soil.

In spring, the beds are leveled with a rake.. The resulting weeds are removed, the soil is watered with a solution of copper sulfate to disinfect the soil.

Landing

Beets are planted by seedlings and seed methods. In the first case, the harvest appears earlier, in the second the plants are more hardy.

Before you start sowing the seeds, they are prepared. Preparation of planting material includes the following steps:

1. Selection of quality seeds. If you use purchased certified planting material, then it is enough to check its expiration dates. If you take self-collected seeds for planting, choose the largest specimens without visible damage.
2. Seed disinfection. Planting material is soaked for an hour in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. Then it is washed under running water.
3. Stimulation of seed growth. This procedure involves soaking the planting material.

There are several ways to stimulate the growth of planting material. The list shows the most common of them:

1. A piece of fabric folded several times is placed in the container, which is moistened with warm water. Seeds are placed on it.They are covered on top with two layers of wet cloth. Place the container with planting material in a warm place. The germination procedure takes 2-3 days. All this time you need to ensure that the fabric remains damp.
2. The seeds are soaked in water at room temperature for 2-3 days. The fluid is changed every 3 hours.
3. Planting material is soaked in water at room temperature for four days. Swollen specimens are freed from excess liquid and placed in the refrigerator for a week.

Advice. Beet seeds have the ability to grow together. Such specimens should not be separated, as this will lead to damage to the planting material.

Seeds

To grow beets using the seed method, planting material is sown in early May. By this time, the soil at a depth of 10 cm should warm up to a temperature of 10 °C. Pre-winter sowing of seeds is also possible. In this case, planting material is placed in the ground in the first half of November.

After preparing the soil, make grooves 3 cm deep at a distance of 15 cm from each other.. They are moistened abundantly with water, pouring at least two buckets per 1 square meter. m. The bottom of each groove is compacted. Seeds are placed in the recesses at a distance of 3 cm from each other. Sprinkle a layer of soil (preferably peat) on top, which is not compacted.

If beets were planted in winter, the beds must be mulched with humus or peat. This will protect the planting material from frost.

During the entire season, beets are thinned 2 times.. The first is when two true leaves appear (there should be 3 cm of free space between the plants). The second - after the formation of the fifth leaf (a distance of 8 cm is left between the beets). When thinning, the strongest plants are left behind.

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Seedlings

When growing seedlings seeds are sown in the first half of April. The plants are transplanted into open ground after a month. Beets are sown in deep boxes. They are pre-disinfected by soaking in boiling water or a solution of potassium permanganate.

The soil for beets is prepared from peat, black soil and sand., mixed in equal proportions. The soil is also disinfected by pouring a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate or boiling water. Another option is to calcine the soil mixture in the oven.

Grooves 1.5 cm deep are made in the box at a distance of 4 cm. Seeds are placed in them, the gap between which should be at least 2 cm. After the seeds germinate and the first true leaves appear on them, the crops are thinned out so that there is a distance of at least 3 cm between the plants.

Water the seedlings as the soil dries out. Beets are a moisture-loving plant, so a lot of warm, settled water is used.

It is recommended to apply vermicompost once during the entire period of growing seedlings. This is not necessary if the soil for seedlings was mixed with humus.

Important. A week before planting plants in open ground, they begin to harden. To do this, in the warm season, the boxes with seedlings are taken out into the fresh air. The time the beets stay outside is increased gradually.

Seedlings are planted in open ground in the first half of May.. During this time, the seedlings should form 3 true leaves. When planting seedlings in open ground, maintain a distance of 8 cm. After picking, water the plants, spending per 1 square meter. m 2 buckets of water.

The beds are mulched hay, straw or humus. At night for the first two weeks, the beets are covered with film.

Plant care

Table beets require regular and high-quality care. The list contains the basic rules:

1. Beets are watered only 2 times per season. In rainy summers, it is not necessary to moisten the soil. For irrigation, use settled water at room temperature. For one plant use 1 sq. m 20 liters of liquid.
2. After each watering, the soil is loosened. This destroys the earthen crust, which interferes with root air exchange and prevents moisture from spreading evenly between the beet roots.
3. Weeds are regularly removed, which at the initial stage of beet development often lead to its death. Before manual weeding, it is recommended to spray the beds with special preparations that lead to the death of weeds. To do this, prepare a solution of 3 g of ammonium nitrate and a liter of water or use 40 g of tractor kerosene. This amount is enough to process 1 square. beet planting. The weeds remaining after this procedure are removed manually.
4. During the season, beets are fed 2 times. The first is after the formation of the second leaf. For 1 sq. m add 8 g of ammonium nitrate and potassium salt. The second - shortly before the closure of the rows. For 1 sq. m, 16 g of potassium and nitrogen fertilizers are applied. Fertilizer is added in dry form during the loosening process.

Features of cultivation and possible difficulties

When growing beets Beginning gardeners often face a number of problems.

The most common of them:

1. The tops are elongated and the roots are small. This indicates that the beets do not have enough light.
2. Fomoz. The leaves become covered with reddish spots and black dots. The disease develops if beets lack boron.To solve the problem, plants are sprayed with fertilizers containing this ingredient - for example, Folius boron.
3. Thin elongated root vegetable. Often this problem occurs when there is insufficient distance between plants. That is why it is important to thin out beet plantings twice a season. There should be a distance of at least 8 cm between plants.
4. Death of plants after thinning. This happens if, when pulling out the beets, the root system of the neighboring seedling was damaged. To prevent this from happening, when thinning, unnecessary plants are not pulled out, but their tops are cut off.
5. Beets often get sick. If all the rules for growing plants are followed, you should try sowing seeds not in spring, but in winter. In this case, the plants will grow stronger and the root vegetables will be more tasty.

Diseases and pests

Detroit beets are highly resistant to plant diseases. However, prevention rules should be followed:

1. Treatment of planting material, garden tools, soil and containers for seedlings with disinfecting compounds. For example, a solution of potassium permanganate, copper sulfate, hydrogen peroxide.
2. Maintaining crop rotation. When planting beets in beds where carrots or cabbage grew, the likelihood of plant infection increases.
3. Cleaning beds from plant debris. Infectious agents remain on them.
4. Treating plants with soapy water and a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. This will protect them from insects.
5. If the plants are already infested with pests, they are treated with an ash solution. It is prepared from one part ash and ten parts water. Among the chemical preparations, “Entocid” and “Brunka” are often used.

Read also:

How to properly plant beets in winter

Rules for obtaining a rich beet harvest

Harvesting and application

Detroit's first harvest begins at the end of July.. The optimal time for harvesting the entire harvest is September. At this time, the fruits reach their maximum size and acquire a sweet taste.

So that the beets last all winter, it is dug up in dry weather. Store the harvest in a dry, dark place. Detroit table beets are used both for preparing hot dishes and salads, and for canning. Due to its sweet taste, this root vegetable is suitable for consumption raw.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Detroit Advantages:

• rich sweet taste;
• high productivity;
• same size of fruits;
• high immunity to beet diseases.

No disadvantages were found in the variety.

Variety varieties

Detroit beets are available in three variations. Each of them has its own distinctive features:

1. Detroit Dark Red - early ripening variety. It is distinguished by dark burgundy root crops with a uniform color and without light rings.
2. Detroit 2 Nero - mid-season high-yielding variety. It has a burgundy color and does not accumulate nitrates.
3. Detroit 6 Rubidus - early variety. Small root vegetables have a round shape and a thin axial rod.

Farmer reviews

Detroit has mostly positive reviews gardeners. For more than 20 years it has been popular with farmers all over the world.

Victoria, Rostov: “Detroit beets have been my favorite variety for five years. She doesn’t get sick and gives a good harvest. I sow the seeds in November directly into open ground. The fruits are small, round and very tasty.".

Gennady, Tula: “This is my second year growing Detroit. I chose it on the recommendation of a neighbor.I sow seeds in open ground in the spring. Already in August I begin to harvest. The fruits turn out round, even and beautiful, as in the photo. Due to their small size, they are convenient to use for cooking.".

Conclusion

Detroit is a variety that will appeal to both experienced and novice gardeners. It has high productivity and is easy to care for. This beet is not afraid of disease and cold weather.

Detroit fruits are small and sweet, containing a large amount of sugars and solids. This crop can be stored for a long time.