CHIOGGIA BEETS (Beta vulgaris) were first introduced to American gardeners in the late 1840s from Italy. Uniquely beautiful flesh has alternating red and white concentric rings that resemble a bull's-eye. Very tender, nice for eating and pickling. Retains markings if baked whole and sliced just before serving. A spectacular variety. 50 days. 25 seeds.
DID YOU KNOW . . . Both the root and the greens are edible! The rough root yields a creamy sweet edible when cooked. They have the highest sugar content of all vegetables, yet are low in calories. The leafy tops are also edible. Beets are traditional in many cultures, and are one of the healtiest vegetables you can grow - packed with powerful nutrients that protect against heart disease, cancer and birth defects! AND they are easy to grow!
GROWING TIPS: Like all root vegetables, Beets like full sun and light soil so dig deeply amending with organic matter. Soil pH should be sweet - 6.5 to 7.0. Testing your soil in the fall and amending with horticultural lime at that time will produce results in the spring. Sow in spring when frost is still a possibility. Plant seeds 1 to 1-1/2" deep, 2" apart with a foot between rows. You will get the best results if you use row covers to protect from thrips and furry pests who like the tender greens. Thin when plants get 2" high. This is essential as the roots need room to grow and swell. Depending on the variety, you will want to achieve final spacing of 3 - 6". Water consistently, giving plants at least 1" a week, and feed low nitrogen organic fertilizer every 3 weeks.
SEED SAVING: Beetroot seed is easier than many other varieties. Beets flower in their second year. You can either overwinter them in ground if you have mild winters, or dig them up in the fall and store in sand or sawdust if you have hard winters. Before you do, though, check them over to be sure they are the best ones and that they conform to the variety specifications (no crossing). In spring, replant them. By that summer they will flower with stalks shooting up to 5' high! These will require staking. Remember, that they will cross with any other flowering beets or chard in the area as the flowers are wind pollinated. Your seed will be ready in late summer. Just rub the seed off when it is mostly brown. You will be amazed at the amounts of seed you get. Let it dry well and store.
CHERRYGAL HEIRLOOM GARDEN SEEDS & PLANTS offer hundreds of heirloom and vintage open-pollinated varieties! Most have histories dating back centuries and are tried and true producers. Some are rare, or threatened with extinction. When you grow a plant from heirloom seed and save that seed, you are participating in a practice that goes back for generations. Our grandparents and their grandparents grew these varieties. Often the seeds were prized possessions carried to the New World when they emigrated.
Ever notice how most seed catalogs require you to buy (and pay for) much more seed than you could ever possibly use in a season? If you have a budget for garden seeds, this limits your choices! Although seeds can be viable for longer than one growing season, it requires that they be stored at a consistent temperature and humidity. Few of us do this. CherryGal sizes its seed packets for the home gardener, because we know you may want to grow 5 different lettuces, or three different corns, and don’t want to have to take out a second mortgage to do so! CHERRYGAL SEEDS ARE A TREMENDOUS BARGAIN!
All seeds offered are FRESH stock, with high germination rates. Varieties are specially selected for home gardeners. If you want the flavor you remember from grandma's kitchen garden or the beauty of her cottage flowers, choose CHERRYGAL HEIRLOOM SEEDS.
ABOUT OPEN-POLLINATED SEEDS . . . All CherryGal Heirloom Seeds are heirlooms (dating at least 100 years) or vintage (mid-20th Century or older) OPEN-POLLINATED varieties. This means saved seed will be true to the parent. Don't be dazzled by the never-ending array of hybrid seeds promoted by gardening suppliers. First, seeds from that produce will not grow true to the parent -- you have to keep buying hybrid seed. Second, most hybrids are developed for market – not home -- growers with an emphasis on extended shelf life, storage and shipping qualities -- NOT flavor, texture and all those other elements that home growers seek.
All CHERRYGAL HEIRLOOM SEEDS come from reputable growers (most of them small farms) and wherever possible ORGANIC suppliers (so noted). By buying CHERRYGAL SEEDS you are supporting the growing worldwide movement of SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE and with a little practice you will be able to save even more money in the future by growing open-pollinated varieties and saving seed for next year. All my seeds are DOUBLE GERMINATION TESTED: First by my growers and then by me. Please Note: CherryGal Heirloom Seeds are guaranteed to be fresh stock, but are not guaranteed as to results (sorry - we wish we could, but there are too many variables in gardening) so please do not ask to return. However, we think you will be pleased and would like to hear about your gardening success!
SHIPPING: I endeavor to ship my seeds as quickly as possible - usually within 24 - 48 hours. If there is a need for more time, you will be advised at time of purchase and shipped as soon as possible. In the event an item becomes unavailable or temporarily out of stock I will offer you a chance to substitute another selection or refund you immediately. I package my seeds for shipping in a manner appropriate to the amount and type of seed - larger orders and larger seeds require more packaging. I also combine multiple orders of the same seed variety, where practical, in one envelope unless you request otherwise. This is an ecological measure, not a cost-saving one. Whether you choose first class mail or priority shipping, your seeds will ship using a delivery confirmation number which will be supplied to you.
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