By Jen
United Kingdom 
I have grown beetroot for the first time and have just taken out the beets that were large enough to eat, leaving the rest to carry on growing. I was under the impression I should seperate the bulbs and replant them seperatly which I have done. The plants have now gone floppy and the leaves are laying on the ground. Should I water them more or less??? Any other advice would be great. Thanx
26 Jun, 2010
You can't transplant beetroot as they have very shallow roots and are an annual or biennial. I find the ideal spacing for baby beet is nine to a square foot, 3 by 3 by 3. That way you can get the maximum yield for the space and pull one out without disturbing the others.
I also found that if you have a clump with three or four beet together, you can harvest one if you hold the others firmly down in the soil while you pull the one you want.
As you may have found, they like lots of water and you will only get really nice juicy beet if you keep them moist.
Don't forget to steam the leaves and eat these too as a tasty spinach or leaf beet if they are in good condition.
If you haven't tried Chioggia, the red/white striped beetroot or even nicer, the yellow Burpees Golden, then I'd thoroughly recommend them.
26 Jun, 2010