About
Beta vulgaris 'Bull's Blood' is an annual vegetable notable for its vibrant crimson taproots and compact clusters of dark purple-red leaves that are also edible. This variety is well-suited for kitchen gardens or vegetable plots and serves as a superb option for culinary use.
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
- Well-drained
- Aspect
- South-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H3
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