When to harvest beetroot and carrots?

PigglePuggle

PigglePuggle

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I was wondering if anyone knows how to tell when beetroot and carrots are ready to harvest? I read somewhere 70 days for beetroot, well its 72 days since I planted the seeds, but it took a good 2 or 3 weeks until I saw any leaves appear, so I thought it wasnt going to grow and planted carrots in amongst it too... and a bit of coriander that I forgot about and has started flowering...
Its only in a 100 litre planter that looked quite big when I started but is looking very busy now after all that hot weather then the recent rain!
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Great, I'll pull them up next week when we run out of supermarket carrots, and give the tops to the piggies! Can they have the beetroot leaves or not? I assumed they could because its basically chard isnt it, but I see a few scare stories about beetroot leaves being possibly toxic... if not I'll eat them myself, in a big beetroot curry!
 
PigglePuggle said:
Great, I'll pull them up next week when we run out of supermarket carrots, and give the tops to the piggies! Can they have the beetroot leaves or not? I assumed they could because its basically chard isnt it, but I see a few scare stories about beetroot leaves being possibly toxic... if not I'll eat them myself, in a big beetroot curry!
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I just pull one or two up gently as we need them and leave the others to carry on growing, you can continue sewing seed in pots then you have some for the winter months too
 
I'd like to know about the beetroot tops as well, we seem to be growing more top than bottom this year! I pull mine as I want to use them too. Mine are ready to have a thin out. I pull up the biggest looking one that's close to any others that way we get a larger main crop. The piggies love the little marble sized beetroot. I try to sow thinly every year but they always seem to congregate together, no social distancing in my pots.
 
Looking forward to seeing the results of these

Green fingered people

Can i ask how to do this? When next year should we plant carrots? Can they grow in a pot decently? How big pot? What compost? So many questions - sorry
 
The depth/size of the pot depends on the type of carrot. I grow Nantes which are small and sweet and don't need a great depth. Last year I had a fantastic crop in an old Belfast type sink, this year it contains French beans. I'm also growing some in an old bath which had been fly tipped. When you buy your seed it will tell you on the packet when and how to sow. I carry on sowing every few weeks until about August so there is a continuous crop. Sowing times vary from year to year depending on the weather.
I normally use a general potting compost (B&Q, B&M, Wilkinsons) with a little piggy poop mixed in. Due to lockdown this year I used the home made compost from my compost bins, this is made from hay and poop from the piggies cages, veg peelings and hedge trimmings. I would normally consider this too heavy for seeds but I am getting great results. About once a week I sprinkle a few poops on top of the soil in the pots this soon breaks up when watering and feeds the plants which feed the piggies!
 
piggieminder said:
I'd like to know about the beetroot tops as well, we seem to be growing more top than bottom this year! I pull mine as I want to use them too. Mine are ready to have a thin out. I pull up the biggest looking one that's close to any others that way we get a larger main crop. The piggies love the little marble sized beetroot. I try to sow thinly every year but they always seem to congregate together, no social distancing in my pots.
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Mine are the same, all closely packed together, I hate thinning them out but at least the piggies get micro veggies which are suppose to be tastier than the fully grown ones
 
My Dad used to mix a little bit of sand in with the seeds when he was sowing with great results. I keep thinking I should try that, but never do.
 
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