Remember how, as a child, beets from your grandmother’s garden melted in your mouth like caramel?
The secret is not in forgotten varieties, but in three fertilizers that are today unfairly replaced by chemicals.
The first rule is no fresh manure. It will turn the root vegetables into hard and tasteless "stones".
Instead, as soon as the beetroot produces 2-3 true leaves, water it with a solution of table salt (1 tbsp. per 10 liters of water). It sounds strange, but the sodium in salt activates the accumulation of sugars.
Repeat watering in a month, but with the addition of boric acid (5 g per 10 l). Boron will prevent the formation of voids in the root crops and increase their sweetness.
The second stage is ash, but not simple. Collect the ash from burning birch firewood, sift it and pour boiling water over it (2 cups per 5 l). Let it brew for a day, then water the beets at the root.
Potassium from the ash will make the pulp tender, and phosphorus will speed up ripening.
The third secret is the last feeding 3 weeks before harvesting. Dissolve 30 g of magnesium sulfate in 10 liters of water and spray the leaves. Magnesium is a "transport" for sugars: it transfers them from the tops to the root crop.
But there is a nuance: beets hate shading. If the leaves of neighboring plants block them from the sun, they accumulate nitrates instead of sugar.
Thin the seedlings twice: first leave 5 cm between the sprouts, then 10 cm.
And never water with cold water - only water warmed by the sun.
Follow these rules, and your beets will surprise even those who previously winced at the sight of them.
Author: Kurchev Anton