GROW YOUR OWN

Beetroots are best grown in the spring or autumn, as they like sunshine but not too much heat or dryness.

Plant your seeds in seed trays in a greenhouse or on a window-sill as beetroot does not like the cold and will not germinate if it is not warm enough. When the seedlings reach around 2cm high thin them out and keep the strongest ones.

Once the ground temperature has warmed up to above 10ºC you can plant the seedlings out, but you may need to use a horticultural fleece to keep the soil warm for them in case the temperature drops again. You can also plant the seeds directly in the soil once it is warm enough and again, a fleece will help with this.

Plant the seedlings in well-prepared moist soil leaving a space of around 20cm for small beetroots. If you want them to grow larger you need to leave a bigger gap. To ensure a regular crop plant another row each month. Water them well every week, and avoid overwatering as it will stimulate leaf growth at the expense of the roots.

You can harvest the beetroots after about eight weeks depending on how big you want them to be – they can be eaten when they reach the size of a golf ball but they will eventually reach the size of a tennis ball. Each time you sow another row you can harvest the earlier beets.

Pull them up by gently pulling on the leaves or levering out with a trowel. Remember you can eat the leaves too in the same way as spinach.