Harvesting and Storing Beets

The past two days have been occupied with numerous garden chores. Unfortunately my bee balm, which was the most prolific this summer that I can ever remember, now was covered in powdery mildew. Yesterday I cut it back to the ground so that it would not infect the other herbs that reside next to it in my herb garden. I had the added surprise of finding a huge creepy spider. I actually took a picture of the underside of it, although I thought it was it's back. My mind said "What is it? Is it poisonous?" I didn't wait to have it bite me. I killed it. O.K., here come all the comments, but I panicked.

 

On to the beets. The first of my beets have been ready for harvest for the past couple of weeks and we really have enjoyed them, but I don't think my husband wants to eat them every night. Beets are great keepers into the winter. If you are lucky enough to have a root cellar they stay firm and sweet with just a couple of precautions. We live in an 1880s house with a dirt floor and a brick and stone foundation, so we have the perfect root cellar.

Pull the beets by hand and trim the tops to 1/2" from the beet itself. Pack them in a wooden box, or in my case I use an old wooden bushel basket. Do not use a plastic tote because you need good ventilation to prevent your crop from getting moldy. Pack the beets in soil, sand, or wood shavings. I place the basket of beets and wood shavings on an old table. This way they are up off of the ground to avoid mold, but still benefit from the cool, dark conditions. Check your beets regularly and remove any moldy or soft beets.

I planted the beets at different dates throughout the summer so I can harvest up until frost. I usually have fresh quality beets for up to 4 months after I put them in the cellar. This year I planted "Soldier Beets" and "Detroit Dark Red" beets. Both are vintage heirloom varieties and really dark red and nice and sweet.

 

 



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