About
Beta vulgaris 'Bolivar' is a high-quality annual vegetable known for its round, deep red roots that feature a smooth exterior and exceptional taste. It can be harvested at an early stage as baby beets for their sweetness or allowed to fully develop into larger roots for a mature harvest.
About the genus
Beta comprises annual, biennial, or perennial plants characterized by rosettes of basal foliage and robust, fleshy roots. This genus encompasses various wild species alongside cultivated varieties like beetroot, chard, and sugar beet.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil type
- Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained, Well-drained
- Aspect
- South-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H2
Plant details
- Plant type
- Annual Biennial
- Habit
- Clump forming
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Spread
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Time to full height
- 1 year
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Grow in fertile, well drained, alkaline soil in full sun. Dig over bed in autumn and add well rotted manure if humus content is low. Sow direct between March and July into drills 2.5cm deep and lighly rake over with soil. Thin out seedlings to 10cm spacings. See beetroot cultivation for more information
- Pruning
- No pruning required. Harvest roots when they are more than 5cm in diameter
- Propagation
- Propagate by seed. See sowing vegetable seeds
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to aphids, flea beetles and mangold fly (beet leaf miner)
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to beetroot heart rot, black leg and leaf spot