Godwin Column: Time to plant is just around the corner

The weather is too cold to enjoy being outside, especially with a light coating of ice on many plants.

In a few weeks, the master gardeners will begin growing annuals in the greenhouse for the spring plant sale. If you do not have a greenhouse and want to get your hands in the soil, there are cool season crops to begin shortly.

In our part of North Carolina, the middle of February is the traditional time for starting many vegetables that do not mind the cold temperatures. Seeds of beets, carrots, arugula, lettuce, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, spinach and turnips can all be sown in a prepared garden spot.

Plants of broccoli, cabbage, collards, kale, kohlrabi, leeks and cauliflower are best transplanted into the garden. Cilantro, parsley and lettuce can all be started by seeds or transplanted into the garden spot.

Each vegetable has its own specific growing recommendations. First up are beets. Beets have a long history beginning with the consumption of the leaf beet that does not develop an enlarged root.

The Romans were the first to record recipes of the beetroot. In the early 1800s, only one variety of beets was generally available in the United States. The variety still grown today was common in Italy more than a hundred years ago.

Beets grown in home gardens are easy to grow and productive. Thousands of acres are grown each year in the U.S. for canning.

Most of the beets grown locally are deep red in color, but many colors are available, including yellow and a red-and-white striped beet. Beets are one of the most boron-intensive of our crops. A lack of boron causes the cells found at the tip of the stem and root (meristem tissue) to decay, producing rot in the heart of the plant.

Beets grow well in soil that is deep, well drained and easily worked. It is difficult to get a good stand started on soils that have high clay content or those that tend to form a crust after a light rain. Test the soil several months before planting to check the fertility. For early spring planting, choose a sandy loam which will warm up quickly.

Beet seeds germinate best at soil temperatures between 50 and 85 degrees but will germinate as low as 40 degrees. Prepare a firm raised seed bed. Space seed about 2 inches apart and cover with one half to three quarters inches of soil.

Harvest should begin when the diameter of the roots reaches 1 inch, usually about 65 days after planting. Beetroot can be peeled, steamed and then eaten warm with butter; cooked, pickled and then eaten cold as a condiment; or it can be peeled, shredded raw, and then eaten as a salad.

The leaves and stems of young plants are steamed briefly and eaten as a vegetable. More mature leaves and stems are frequently stir-fried. Pickled beets are a traditional food in the South.

Perhaps we should consider serving pickled beets as they do in Australia and New Zealand on a hamburger.

Peg Godwin is horticulture agent, Lenoir County Cooperative Extension Center. Reach her at Peg_Godwin@ncsu.edu or 252-527-2191.