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Beet. A set of garden vegetables, grown for the fleshy roots and a few sorts for the thickened midribs; and some kinds in the ornamental garden for the highly colored foliage.
There are 4 or 5 species of the genus Beta, which are sometimes cultivated under the name of beet, but Beta vulgaris, Linn., is the only one of practical importance. From it all our common garden varieties are derived. According to DeCandolle, the aboriginal slender-rooted species is found in sandy soil, and especially near the sea, throughout southern Europe, and on nearly all the coasts of the Mediterranean. It also occurs as far eastward as the Caspian Sea and Persia. "Everything shows that its cultivation does not date from more than two or three centuries before the Christian era." It is now highly improved, principally in the one direction of large and succulent roots, and is much esteemed in all civilized countries. See Beta.
The beet grows at a low temperature and thrives best, therefore, in the cooler parts of the country. It is also an important winter crop at the South and an early spring crop at the North. The young plants will stand light frosts and after two weeks will stand fairly heavy frosts.
With the extension of glasshouse gardening, beets have come to be one of the important greenhouse crops. They are not usually made a main crop, however, but are grown between other crops, such as lettuce, beans, or even tomatoes. They are sown very thick and when the young plants begin to crowd, they are thinned out and the thinning sold for greens. As beets thrive best at relatively low temperatures, they may first be grown in a lettuce-house or other greenhouse having a temperature of 60° to 70°, rather than in a house piped for tomatoes or cucumbers.
The beet is grown exclusively from seed. Most table- beet seed for use in the United States is produced in Europe. It is possible, of course, for any gardener to grow his own seed, but in order to do this the roots must be taken up before the crown is exposed to severe frost, and carried through the winter in cool and moist but frostproof storage, and planted in the garden the second year. Seed stems run up to the height of 4 feet. When the seeds are ripe the tops are cut and put in a warm storage house to dry. When fully dry the seed is winnowed out. Seed is usually sown where the crop is to grow, although the plants are easily transplanted. The transplanting is sometimes undertaken, especially when beets are to be grown as a catch-crop or intercrop in greenhouses.
Varieties and types.
Some of the most popular varietal types of the garden beet are: Bassano (Fig. 499).—Flesh white and light red mixed; an old-time early variety, now less grown than formerly. Crosby.—Slightly oblate, red flesh, excellent for general purposes, including forcing. Early Blood Turnip.—Rich, deep blood-red, flattened turnip-shape; an old and well-known sort. Edmund.— Moderate size; handsome, rounded, smooth, deep red; good grain and flavor; not quite first-early. Eclipse.— Uniformly globular, bright red; fine-grained and sweet; one of the best quick-growing early beets. Egyptian Turnip.—Tops quite small; roots fair size, rich, deep red; a standard early variety.
For field culture of culinary beets, the long-rooted varieties are chiefly used. These are sown in the field as soon as the weather is settled, in rows far enough apart to allow of tillage by horse. Most of them require the entire season in which to mature. They are grown mostly for storing for winter use. They were once grown for stock, but the mangel-wurzels give much greater yields. The various types of Long and Half-long Blood beet (Fig. 500) are chiefly used for field culture.
Favorite varieties of mangel-wurzels are Golden Tankard, Golden Yellow Mammoth, Mammoth Long Red. Several sorts of sugar beets, mostly imported from Germany, are being grown in divers places in America. Of chard, there are few selected varieties offered in America.
The varieties of Beta vulgaris may be conveniently divided into five cultural sections, though the distinctions are somewhat arbitrary and of no fundamental importance. These sections are as follows:
1. Garden Beets. Varieties with comparatively small tops: roots of medium size, smooth, regular and fine-grained: mostly red, but sometimes whitish or yellowish.
2. Mangel-wurzels, or Mangels. Large, coarse- growing varieties, with large tops and often very large roots, the latter frequently rising some distance out of the ground; rather coarse-grained. Extensively grown for stock-feeding. See Cyclo. Amer. Agric. Vol. II, p. 539 (Root Crops).
3. Sugar-beets. Sometimes said to belong to another species, but doubtless to be classified here. Rather small-growing varieties, with medium tops: roots small to medium, usually fusiform, smooth, nearly always yellowish or whitish. See Cyclo. Amer. Agric. Vol. ll, p. 588.
4. Chard, or Swiss Chard. Varieties with comparatively large tops, broad leaf-blades and very large, succulent leaf-stems, which are cooked and eaten somewhat like asparagus. The thrifty, tender young leaves make a very excellent pot-herb. Chard has sometimes been referred to a separate species, Beta Cicla, but should be included with B. vulgaris. See Chard.
5. Foliage Beets. A race which has been developed to produce luxuriant foliage of many colors and varied markings. Of such varieties are the Brazilian, Chilian, Victoria, and Dracaena-leaved. The ribs of the leaves are usually beautifully colored. Where the leaf-blight fungus is not serious, these foliage beets make excellent borders when strong and heavy effects are desired, and they are excellent for bedding. Raised from seeds, as other beets are; roots may be kept over winter.
Cultivation.
Young beets constitute one of the most important early crops in truck-gardening. Many acres of them are grown near all the city markets, and as they bear transportation well, they are often grown at comparatively remote places. Large quantities are shipped early from Norfolk, Va., and from other southern points to northern markets. Like all root crops, the beet needs a loose, light, fresh, clean, rich soil which must be in the best condition of tillage. No fermenting manure should be used, but instead fully rotten barn manure, with some good potash fertilizer. Light applications of nitrate of soda often produce marked beneficial effects. The seed for the first crop is sown early in spring, as soon as the soil can be well worked. When intensive gardening is practised, the drills may be as close as 1 foot apart, m which case the young beets are thinned to 6 inches apart in the row. But in ordinary gardening, it will be found most convenient to run the rows 2 to 3 feet apart, allowing cultivation with the horse. The plants in such rows can be left 4 inches apart at thinning time. The thinning is done when the young plants are large enough to be pulled for "greens," for which purpose they find a ready market. Beets are also grown in quantities as a fall crop, and are stored for winter use. When this is to be done, the seed is sown in June, and the plantation is managed in all respects like the spring sowing. When the young roots are ready for the early market, they are pulled and tied in bunches of five or six. The fall crop is pulled soon after the first frost, the tops are removed, and the roots stored in pits or root cellars.
Marketing.
Greenhouse beets and early beets are usually bunched for market, three to six together, according to size. They are bunched together tightly with a string about the tops. All beets should be thoroughly washed before marketing. Considerable quantities of late beets and field-grown stock are sold in bulk, like potatoes. In this case the tops are cut off. Late-grown beets may be stored over winter in the same manner as potatoes. They are often buried in the fields in pits, but may be kept in a good cellar or storage house. The yield of mature beets varies from 200 to 500 bushels to an acre, 300 being an average yield.
Insects and diseases.
There are many species of insects that feed upon beets, but flea beetles are about the only ones of importance. These may be poisoned by spraying with paris green or arsenate of lead, and they are driven away in many cases by the use of bordeaux mixture which is also the most important preventive of leaf- spot. This leaf-spot is perhaps the worst disease which attacks beets, but this is more common upon the sugar- beets in the field than upon the more common varieties. The potato scab, very common on potatoes, is found also on beets, and as this disease lives in the soil from year to year, it is a bad practice to grow beets after a crop of potatoes.
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{{for|the village in the Netherlands|Beets (Netherlands)}}
{{for|the village in the Netherlands|Beets (Netherlands)}}
{{Taxobox
{{Taxobox
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus]]
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus]]
}}
}}
'''''Beta vulgaris''''', commonly known as '''beet''' or '''beetroot''', is a [[flowering plant]] species in the family [[Chenopodiaceae]]. Several [[cultivar]]s are valued around the world as edible [[root vegetable]]s, [[fodder]] (mangel) and [[sugar]]-producing [[sugar beet]].<ref name="usdaDB">{{cite web
'''''Beta vulgaris''''', commonly known as '''beet''' or '''beetroot''', is a [[flowering plant]] species in the family [[Chenopodiaceae]]. Several [[cultivar]]s are valued around the world as edible [[root vegetable]]s, [[fodder]] (mangel) and [[sugar]]-producing [[sugar beet]].<ref name="usdaDB">{{cite web
|url=http://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=display&classid=BETA
|url=http://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=display&classid=BETA
|title=The PLANTS Database
|title=The PLANTS Database
Spinach beet leaves are eaten as pot herb. Young leaves of the garden beet are sometimes used similarly. The midribs of Swiss chard are eaten boiled while the whole leaf blades are eaten as spinach beet.
Spinach beet leaves are eaten as pot herb. Young leaves of the garden beet are sometimes used similarly. The midribs of Swiss chard are eaten boiled while the whole leaf blades are eaten as spinach beet.
In Africa the whole leaf blades are usually prepared with the midribs as one dish.<ref name="prota">Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.</ref>
In Africa the whole leaf blades are usually prepared with the midribs as one dish.<ref name="prota">Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.</ref>
The leaves and stems of young plants are steamed briefly and eaten as a vegetable; older leaves and stems are [[stir frying|stir-fried]] and have a flavour resembling [[taro]] leaves.
The leaves and stems of young plants are steamed briefly and eaten as a vegetable; older leaves and stems are [[stir frying|stir-fried]] and have a flavour resembling [[taro]] leaves.
The usually deep-red roots of garden beet are eaten boiled either as a cooked vegetable, or cold as a [[salad]] after cooking and adding oil and [[vinegar]]. A large proportion of the commercial production is processed into boiled and sterilised beets or into [[Pickling|pickles]]. In [[Eastern Europe]] beet soup, such as [[Cold borscht]], is a popular dish. Yellow-coloured garden beets are grown on a very small scale for home consumption. <ref name="prota"/>
The usually deep-red roots of garden beet are eaten boiled either as a cooked vegetable, or cold as a [[salad]] after cooking and adding oil and [[vinegar]]. A large proportion of the commercial production is processed into boiled and sterilised beets or into [[Pickling|pickles]]. In [[Eastern Europe]] beet soup, such as [[Cold borscht]], is a popular dish. Yellow-coloured garden beets are grown on a very small scale for home consumption. <ref name="prota"/>
Beetroot can be peeled, steamed, and then eaten warm with butter as a [[List of delicacies|delicacy]]; cooked, pickled, and then eaten cold as a [[condiment]]; or peeled, shredded raw, and then eaten as a salad. It is also common in Australia and New Zealand for pickled beetroot to be consumed on a burger.<ref>http://www.weird-food.com/weird-food-vegetable.html</ref>
Beetroot can be peeled, steamed, and then eaten warm with butter as a [[List of delicacies|delicacy]]; cooked, pickled, and then eaten cold as a [[condiment]]; or peeled, shredded raw, and then eaten as a salad. It is also common in Australia and New Zealand for pickled beetroot to be consumed on a burger.<ref>http://www.weird-food.com/weird-food-vegetable.html</ref>
Garden beet juice is a popular [[Healthy diet|health food]]. [[Betanin]]s, obtained from the roots, are used industrially as red [[Food coloring|food colourants]], e.g. to improve the colour of [[tomato paste]], sauces, desserts, [[jam]]s and jellies, [[ice cream]], sweets and [[breakfast cereal]]s.<ref name="prota"/>
Garden beet juice is a popular [[Healthy diet|health food]]. [[Betanin]]s, obtained from the roots, are used industrially as red [[Food coloring|food colourants]], e.g. to improve the colour of [[tomato paste]], sauces, desserts, [[jam]]s and jellies, [[ice cream]], sweets and [[breakfast cereal]]s.<ref name="prota"/>
===Medicine===
===Medicine===
The roots and leaves have medicinal uses.<ref name="prota"/>
The roots and leaves have medicinal uses.<ref name="prota"/>
The Romans used beetroot as a treatment for fevers and [[constipation]], amongst other ailments. [[Apicius]] in ''[[De re coquinaria]]'' gives five [[recipe]]s for soups to be given as a [[laxative]], three of which feature the root of beet.<ref>Apicius ''De Re Coquinaria'' 3.2.1, 3, 4</ref> [[Hippocrates]] advocated the use of beet leaves as binding for wounds.
The Romans used beetroot as a treatment for fevers and [[constipation]], amongst other ailments. [[Apicius]] in ''[[De re coquinaria]]'' gives five [[recipe]]s for soups to be given as a [[laxative]], three of which feature the root of beet.<ref>Apicius ''De Re Coquinaria'' 3.2.1, 3, 4</ref> [[Hippocrates]] advocated the use of beet leaves as binding for wounds.
===Other uses===
===Other uses===
Forms with strikingly coloured, large leaves are grown as [[Ornamental plant|ornamentals]].<ref name="prota"/><ref name="protabase"/>
Forms with strikingly coloured, large leaves are grown as [[Ornamental plant|ornamentals]].<ref name="prota"/><ref name="protabase"/>
Beets are used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of a number of [[Lepidoptera]] species — see [[List of Lepidoptera which feed on Beet]].
Beets are used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of a number of [[Lepidoptera]] species — see [[List of Lepidoptera which feed on Beet]].
[[Image:Beets produce-1.jpg|thumb|right|A selection of ''Beta vulgaris'', known as beet, at a grocery store.]]
[[Image:Beets produce-1.jpg|thumb|right|A selection of ''Beta vulgaris'', known as beet, at a grocery store.]]
Numerous [[cultivar]]s have been selected and bred for several different characteristics. For example, the "earthy" taste of some beet cultivars comes from the presence of the chemical compound [[geosmin]]. Researchers have not yet answered whether beets produce geosmin themselves, or whether it is produced by symbiotic soil [[Microorganism|microbe]]s living in the plant.<ref name=geosmin>{{cite journal | coauthors=Lu G, Edwards CG, Fellman JK, Mattinson DS, Navazio J. | title=Biosynthetic origin of geosmin in red beets (Beta vulgaris L.). | journal = Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (abstract) |volume=12 |issue=51(4) |pages=1026-9 |publisher=American Chemical Society |date=2003 Feb |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12568567&dopt=Abstract
Numerous [[cultivar]]s have been selected and bred for several different characteristics. For example, the "earthy" taste of some beet cultivars comes from the presence of the chemical compound [[geosmin]]. Researchers have not yet answered whether beets produce geosmin themselves, or whether it is produced by symbiotic soil [[Microorganism|microbe]]s living in the plant.<ref name=geosmin>{{cite journal | coauthors=Lu G, Edwards CG, Fellman JK, Mattinson DS, Navazio J. | title=Biosynthetic origin of geosmin in red beets (Beta vulgaris L.). | journal = Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (abstract) |volume=12 |issue=51(4) |pages=1026-9 |publisher=American Chemical Society |date=2003 Feb |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12568567&dopt=Abstract
}}</ref> Nevertheless, breeding programs can produce cultivars with low geosmin levels yielding flavours more acceptable to shoppers.<ref name=nottingham>{{cite book |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Stephen_Nottingham/beetroot.htm |title=Beetroot |author=Stephen Nottingham |format=E-book |date=2004}}</ref>
}}</ref> Nevertheless, breeding programs can produce cultivars with low geosmin levels yielding flavours more acceptable to shoppers.<ref name=nottingham>{{cite book |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Stephen_Nottingham/beetroot.htm |title=Beetroot |author=Stephen Nottingham |format=E-book |date=2004}}</ref>
*'''[[Sugar beet]]''' grown for [[sugar]].
*'''[[Sugar beet]]''' grown for [[sugar]].
*'''[[Chard]]''', a beet which has been bred for leaves instead of roots and is used as a [[leaf vegetable]].
*'''[[Chard]]''', a beet which has been bred for leaves instead of roots and is used as a [[leaf vegetable]].
*'''Beetroot''' or '''table beet''' (or, in the 19th century, "blood turnip") used as a [[root vegetable]]. Notable cultivars in this group include:
*'''Beetroot''' or '''table beet''' (or, in the 19th century, "blood turnip") used as a [[root vegetable]]. Notable cultivars in this group include:
**'''Albina Vereduna''', a white variety.
**'''Albina Vereduna''', a white variety.
**'''Bull's Blood''', an open-pollinated variety originally from [[United Kingdom|Britain]], known for its dark red foliage. It is grown principally for its leaves, which add color to [[salad]]s.
**'''Bull's Blood''', an open-pollinated variety originally from [[United Kingdom|Britain]], known for its dark red foliage. It is grown principally for its leaves, which add color to [[salad]]s.
==History==
==History==
Although beet remains have been excavated in the [[Third dynasty of Egypt|Third dynasty]] [[Saqqara]] pyramid at [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]], [[Egypt]], and four charred beet fruits were found in the [[Neolithic]] site of [[Aartswoud]] in the [[Netherlands]], it is difficult to determine whether these are domesticated or wild forms of ''B. vulgaris''. However Zohary and Hopf note that beet is "linguistically well identified." They state the earliest written mention of the beet comes from [[8th century BC]] Mesopotamia; the [[Greeks|Greek]] [[Peripatetic school|Peripatetic]] [[Theophrastus]] later describes the beet as similar to the [[radish]]. "[[Ancient Rome|Roman]] and [[Jew]]ish literary sources indicate that already in the [[1st century BC]] domestic beet was represented in the Mediterranean basin by leafy forms (chard) and very probably also by beetroot cultivars."<ref>Daniel Zohary and Maria Hopf, ''Domestication of plants in the Old World'', third edition (Oxford: University Press, 2000), pp. 200f</ref>With the imposition of the blockade of the continent during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] there was an impetus to develop beet for their sugar content.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}
Although beet remains have been excavated in the [[Third dynasty of Egypt|Third dynasty]] [[Saqqara]] pyramid at [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]], [[Egypt]], and four charred beet fruits were found in the [[Neolithic]] site of [[Aartswoud]] in the [[Netherlands]], it is difficult to determine whether these are domesticated or wild forms of ''B. vulgaris''. However Zohary and Hopf note that beet is "linguistically well identified." They state the earliest written mention of the beet comes from [[8th century BC]] Mesopotamia; the [[Greeks|Greek]] [[Peripatetic school|Peripatetic]] [[Theophrastus]] later describes the beet as similar to the [[radish]]. "[[Ancient Rome|Roman]] and [[Jew]]ish literary sources indicate that already in the [[1st century BC]] domestic beet was represented in the Mediterranean basin by leafy forms (chard) and very probably also by beetroot cultivars."<ref>Daniel Zohary and Maria Hopf, ''Domestication of plants in the Old World'', third edition (Oxford: University Press, 2000), pp. 200f</ref>With the imposition of the blockade of the continent during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] there was an impetus to develop beet for their sugar content.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}
==References==
==References==
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Beta+vulgaris+craca ''Beta vulgaris craca''] - Plants For a Future Database entry
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Beta+vulgaris+craca ''Beta vulgaris craca''] - Plants For a Future Database entry
* {{cite book |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Stephen_Nottingham/beetroot.htm |title=Beetroot |author=Stephen Nottingham |format=e-book |date=2004}}
* {{cite book |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Stephen_Nottingham/beetroot.htm |title=Beetroot |author=Stephen Nottingham |format=e-book |date=2004}}
* [http://www.news.wisc.edu/8104.html "Professor upbeat about unappreciated root crop"] - general information about beets (UW article)
* [http://www.news.wisc.edu/8104.html "Professor upbeat about unappreciated root crop"] - general information about beets (UW article)
* [http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Beta.html Sorting Beta names] - multilingual listing of the Beta species
* [http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Beta.html Sorting Beta names] - multilingual listing of the Beta species
* [http://recipes.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Category:Beet_Recipes Beet recipes] - 66 recipes exhibiting the range of beet uses
* [http://recipes.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Category:Beet_Recipes Beet recipes] - 66 recipes exhibiting the range of beet uses
