Content
The variety of beet varieties bred by Russian and foreign breeders allows gardeners to choose both promising new products and reliable, time-tested options. The latter includes Detroit beets, which were bred more than 25 years ago, but still remain popular due to their undoubted advantages.
Origin story
Despite the name, Detroit beets have nothing to do with the United States. Her homeland is Italy. The variety was bred by breeders of the company Zorzi Sementi SRL in the early 90s.
Russian gardeners met him in 1994. Three years later, Detroit table beets were included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements at the request of a group of agricultural firms.
Detroit beet seeds are produced by different manufacturers.
The variety is recognized as the most suitable for planting in the Central region.But the experience of gardeners living in other areas indicates that it successfully adapts to a variety of features of the local climate.
Description and characteristics of the Detroit beet variety
Detroit – mid-season table beet. It takes 85-105 days for root crops to ripen from the moment they emerge from the seeds. The exact timing depends on how lucky the gardener is with the weather during the summer. The variety is officially recommended not only for cultivation on personal plots for personal consumption, but also for cultivation by farms.
The rosette of the Detroit variety is semi-vertical, relatively compact, and of medium height. The leaves are not large, although there are quite a lot of them. The surface of the leaf plate is almost flat, with slightly pronounced “bubbling” and slightly wavy edges. The root vegetables are regular, round in shape, with smooth skin of a typical “beetroot” color. The root is very thin and short.
Root crops ripen in different sizes. The weight of Detroit beets varies between 110-215 g. The yield is quite high - 9-10 kg/m².
Most (82-91%) are marketable
The pulp is a rich burgundy-red color, without light “rings” and “veins”. It is very juicy, dense, uniform in texture, but at the same time tender. The characteristic sweetish taste is clearly distinguishable. It is explained by the fact that the percentage of sugar content in Detroit beets is higher than many others - 12.3-14.2%.
Gardeners value it for its overall “stress resistance.” This variety successfully adapts to a wide range of not always favorable climatic conditions and the influence of negative environmental factors. The seedlings do not suffer from returning spring frosts or slight negative temperatures.Detroit beets are also suitable for planting before winter; in the spring, the seeds germinate en masse.
Also, Detroit beets have a high dry matter content (17.6-20.4%). This explains its transportability and keeping quality. Root vegetables are stored at least until the end of winter (often until the beginning of the next season), maintaining the texture of the pulp and taste.
The purpose of the variety is universal. Detroit beets are widely used in cooking, fresh and boiled, for preparing salads, appetizers, first and second courses. You can squeeze juice out of it and use it as an ingredient in homemade preparations for the winter.
After heat treatment, Detroit beets retain the rich color of the pulp and most of the healthy substances
Varieties
Detroit beets seemed so successful to breeders that they used them as a “base” for further experiments. As a result, several varieties appeared.
Detroit Dark Red (Detroit Dark Red)
It differs from the “original” in early ripeness and increased sugar content. The weight of root vegetables varies even more - in the range of 80-250 g.
Detroit Dark Red beets are recommended for fresh consumption and juicing.
Detroit 6 Rubidus (Detroit 6 Rubidus)
Also an early variety. It tolerates frosts, low temperatures during the growing season and light deficiency better than the “classic” Detroit beets.
Detroit 6 Rubidus beet fruits are relatively one-dimensional, weighing 120-150 g
Detroit 2 Nero (Detroit 2 Nero)
A medium-late ripening variety with a higher yield than regular Detroit beets (10-12 kg/m²).Root crops are almost one-dimensional (140-160 g), regular, round in shape.
Nitrates do not accumulate in Detroit 2 Nero beet pulp, even if you overdo it with nitrogen fertilizers
Advantages and disadvantages
The popularity of Detroit beets among amateur gardeners and professional farmers is easily explained by its significant advantages:
- stability of fruiting, despite the vagaries of the weather in summer;
- presentable appearance of root crops;
- uniform pulp texture;
- excellent taste and versatility of use;
- ability to withstand returning spring frosts, summer heat, drought;
- very good immunity;
- keeping quality and transportability;
- resistance to flowering and bolting;
- mass “friendly” fruiting;
- Consistently high seed germination and the percentage of marketable fruits at harvest;
- general lack of care requirements.
Gardeners who plant beets in Detroit almost always have a harvest.
The only relative disadvantage is the relatively small size of the root crops. But many people like these varieties - they are more convenient to store.
When to plant
In central Russia, Detroit beet seeds are planted in beds at the end of April or in the first ten days of May, when the average daily temperature is 12-15 °C. In regions with warmer or harsher climates, the dates are shifted back or forward by 2-3 weeks, respectively.
If the seedling method of growing the crop is chosen, the seeds are sown at home 4-5 weeks before the expected date of planting in the ground.
Beet planting methods Detroit
Like any beets, Detroit can be grown either by seedlings or by sowing seeds directly into the garden bed. But the practice of Russian gardeners shows that the first method (which, by the way, requires a lot of time and effort) is not very suitable for this variety. After transplanting into beds, seedlings take a long time to adapt to their new habitat. As a result, these plants lag behind in development from those grown in open ground from seeds and form smaller root crops.
Seedling growing method
Detroit beet seedlings are grown according to the following algorithm:
- Treat the seeds in a solution of any fungicide or potassium permanganate (bright pink) to prevent fungal diseases.
- Plant them in boxes or containers filled with universal soil for seedlings or a mixture of black soil with peat chips and sand (2:1:1), after thoroughly moistening and leveling the substrate. Seeds are sown one at a time to a depth of approximately 1.5 cm, leaving 2-2.5 cm between them, and 3.5-4 cm between rows.
- Before the Detroit beets sprout (this takes 7-10 days), cover the container with plastic wrap, glass, and put it in a dark, warm place. It is necessary to control the condition of the soil, not allowing it to dry out completely, and to ventilate the “greenhouse” daily so that condensation does not accumulate in it.
- Transfer the seedlings to the light. In the phase of the first true leaf, thin out the plantings, leaving 3-4 cm between adjacent specimens. At the same time, you can feed them with any fertilizer for seedlings based on vermicompost, but this is an optional step. Detroit beet seedlings only need timely watering.
- In the phase of the third true leaf, plant the seedlings in the ground with an interval of 15-20 cm and a row spacing of 30-35 cm.First water the bed well (20-25 l/m²). Mulch the soil. In the first 7-10 days after transplanting, it is better to cover the soil with plastic film or dark covering material at night.
If the soil in the container dries out, the seedlings will die
Seeds in open ground
Planting is preceded by choosing a location for the garden bed. Detroit beets are undemanding to growing conditions, but you need to take into account that an ideal site for them meets several criteria:
- good lighting;
- availability of protection from strong winds and drafts;
- neutral or slightly acidic soil, this is the main “requirement”: in an alkaline or acidified substrate, Detroit beets will simply die;
- soil nutrition, combined with water and air permeability (sandy loam, loam);
- suitable “predecessors” (all crops from the Pumpkin, Solanaceae, Legume families, onions, garlic, herbs).
In the fall, the selected bed is dug up, humus (3-5 l/m²) and complex phosphorus-potassium fertilizer (20-25 g/m²) are added. If necessary, use other substances to ensure the required acid-base balance.
Detroit beet seeds require pre-planting preparation. The easiest way is to soak them for a day in warm (40-45 ° C) water. It needs to be changed periodically to maintain the temperature.Another way is to wrap them in a damp cloth or napkin (it should not be allowed to dry out), put them on a saucer and place it close to the radiator.
Before planting Detroit beet seeds, the bed is well loosened, the soil is moistened and leveled. They are planted to a depth of 3-4 cm, if possible one at a time, with an interval of about 15 cm. The minimum row spacing is 30 cm. If you sow the seeds uncontrolled, the plantings will have to be thinned out later.
Beets are thinned out by cutting off “unnecessary” seedlings so as not to damage the roots of those left in the garden.
Beet care Detroit
Even novice gardeners can care for Detroit beets:
- Watering. Until the root crops form, water the bed every 2-3 days, not allowing the soil to dry out completely. Next, switch to weekly watering, spending approximately 15-20 l/m². Of course, the intervals are adjusted taking into account natural precipitation and air temperature. A month before harvest, it is important to stop watering altogether.
- Loosening and weeding. Carry out the next day after watering. You cannot allow the soil in the garden bed to “cake” into a hard crust that does not allow water and oxygen to reach the roots.
- Mulching. An optional, but very useful agrotechnical event. If you mulch the bed immediately after planting Detroit beets, you can water it less often later. Mulch also saves time on loosening and weeding.
- Thinning. Required only for uncontrolled planting of Detroit beet seeds. It is carried out twice - in the phase of the 2-3rd and 5-6th true leaves.The most powerful and developed plants are left in the garden bed, maintaining an interval between them of 3-4 cm and 7-8 cm, respectively.
- Feeding. In the phase of the 2-3rd true leaf, the best option is any fertilizer based on natural organic matter to stimulate the growth of green mass. Then, approximately in the middle of the growing season, a complex fertilizer is applied for root crops or specifically for beets. Excess fertilizer causes cracks and voids in Detroit beet roots.
Sometimes Detroit beets can get by with natural precipitation during the season.
Possible diseases and pests
Detroit beets rarely suffer from fungal diseases. But if the garden bed is crowded in damp, cool weather, it can still become infected with powdery mildew or gray rot.
In both cases, plaque appears on the plant. But in the first it is whitish, powdery, and in the second it is silver-gray, fluffy, with small black inclusions. Gradually, this plaque thickens, the affected tissues rot or dry out, and holes form.
Almost any garden crop can be affected by powdery mildew.
Any fungicide will help to cope with the pathogenic fungus. Both the plants themselves and the soil in the garden bed are sprayed with solutions. But you need to remember that if there is less than a month left before the Detroit beet harvest, you can only use preparations of biological origin.
It is better to pull out and burn beets that are severely affected by gray rot.
The most dangerous pests are:
- Medvedki.Insects that lead an underground lifestyle, while moving, gnaw holes in root crops or “cut” the roots of seedlings.
Beets damaged by mole crickets are clearly unsuitable for food.
- Cutworm butterfly caterpillars. They feed very actively on the aboveground part of the plant, leaving only petioles and veins of the leaves within a few days.
Noctuid caterpillars are extremely voracious
To scare mole crickets away from Detroit beet beds, granules of special preparations (for example, Medvetox) are added to the soil during planting. Preventive treatments with any universal insecticides are effective against adults and cutworm caterpillars. They are also used if a pest attack cannot be avoided.
Conclusion
Detroit beets are a variety suitable for beginners, experienced gardeners, and professional farmers. The consistently high yield and taste of root crops are very successfully combined with ease of care, the ability to withstand low temperatures during the growing season without damage, and good immunity. The transportability and keeping quality of Detroit beets make it possible to preserve the crop for a long time without any problems.
Reviews from gardeners about Detroit beets
