Historically speaking, beets seem to be a relatively new vegetable.
With no firm records of their existence prior to the 1600s, what we
call a "beet" today was known as a "Blood Turnip" up until the late
1880s.
Because
the plants have a long taproot, beets like well worked, loam soil.
However, if the soil is too rich, you may experience forked roots or
plants that go to seed. Beets tend to toughen as they mature. Table
varieties can be eaten raw, canned, pickled, baked or boiled.
Approximately
50 to 80 seeds per gram.
Boltardy
60 days — A Detroit-type beet from Holland that has
deep-red, ringless flesh with smooth skin. Hardy enough to
withstand cool weather sowings in spring and is highly resistant
to bolting.
Bull's
Blood
60 days — The tops of this variety are quite tasty, sweet and beautifully
colored.
Matures in thirty five days for tops and sixty days for roots.
Developed in the Netherlands from the French variety, 'Crapaudine.'
Heat resistant.
Burpee's
Golden
55 days — This dual purpose variety was bred and released by
W. Atlee Burpee Company. Reportedly available since
about 1828. Similar to, and possibly the same as, 'Golden Detroit'.
The immature leaves are an attractive green with yellow stems and can be used raw in salads. More mature tops have a mild flavor when cooked as greens or sautéed.
The roots are sweet, a dark golden color with the flesh deep yellow, and are are excellent pickled, boiled, steamed, stir fried, or grated raw into salads. They retain their sweetness very well. The flesh does not bleed like red beet.
for a traditional recipe for cooking greens.
Chiogga
(Bull's Eye)
65 days — Chiogga (Pronounced "key oh juh") is an Italian heirloom. Slicing reveals alternating red and
white rings, like a target. The mild flavored tops can also
be used raw or cooked as greens.
Crimson
Globe
65 days — Grows quickly for an early harvest.
Excellent taste and texture.
The globe-shaped roots will
reach three inches in diameter, are deep red, slightly zoned, and
tender.
Crosby Egyptian
60 days — One of the largest early varieties that will
keep shape until fall. Tops can reach 16 inches. Roots
are uniform shape, smooth skinned, and flattened heart shaped.
"Egyptian" beet varieties were developed in Germany in the 1860s.1
The
"Crosby" strain originated from the efforts of Josiah Crosby, an
Arlington, Massachusetts market gardener who selected to retain
the earliness, increase the depth, and remove the roughness of
'Flat Egyptian.' It was introduced commercially in 1885 by
James J. H. Gregory of Marblehead, Massachusetts.2
Cylindra
(Butter Slicer or Formanova)
45 to 80 days — This Danish variety. as the name suggests,
produces a beet that is elongated (6 to 8 inches) making it ideal for
slicing. As a slicer, it produces many more uniform slices
than globe shaped varieties. Sweet, tender, and smooth
skinned with small, edible, reddish green tops.
Detroit Dark Red
58 days — Introduced in the United States in 1892 by
the D. M.
Ferry Seed Company, the Detroit
Dark Red is said to be the most popular garden variety today.
Its origin are based in the European Early Blood Turnip.
Very tasty fresh out of the garden, it also maintains its taste
and texture well after being canned or pickled.
Globe shaped, excellent color, sweet, smooth and tender.
Early Wonder Tall Top
55 days — This variety yields crimson-red flesh with flattened
globe-shaped roots and tall, bright, dark green succulent tops. You can use the
tender leaves for greens and the dark red roots for salads, pickled, borsch or cooked.
Originally introduced to the United States in 1811.
for a traditional recipe for cooking greens.
Green
Top Bunching
60 days
— The roots are flattened globe shaped and tasty. The
fifteen inch
tops are good for greens and hold their color well.
Ruby
Queen
55 days — This variety is popular in the Northeast and as a
canning variety. Performs well in poor soil. The beets
are round with smooth skin and shoulders and have a fine, buttery
texture. The interior is a uniform dark red with no
zoning. Tops are dull green with a bit of maroon and reach a
height of ten to twelve inches. This beet also holds their shape
well when crowded. An "All-American Selection®"
winner in 1957.
"The Heirloom Gardener", Carolyn Jabs,
Sierra Club Books, 1984
"Descriptions of Types of Principal
American Varieties of Red Garden Beets", USDA Miscellaneous Publication
No. 374, April 1940
for a traditional recipe for cooking greens.
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