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Gardening

Beetroot haven't overwintering this year

(8 Posts)
Oldnproud Thu 02-Feb-23 12:18:32

In the past, my unpicked beetroot have sat happily in the soil over winter, still being firm and healthy in Feb/March.
Today, I have realized that most of mine have gone soft and look awful. Certainly not edible.
I'm not sure if the long freeze in December did for them, or if they are diseased.

Has anyone else had this issue this winter?

Katie59 Thu 02-Feb-23 14:54:28

Beetroot won’t survive a very hard frost more than about -3C, surprisingly the last of my carrots seem OK, Brussels sprouts look tatty but are still good as is purple sprouting and cabbage,
here we had -12C
Quite a few shrubs in the garden look rather dead - we will see.

Whitewavemark2 Thu 02-Feb-23 14:57:28

I’m worried about the echinacea and agastache in my bee bed.

They don’t really show themselves until May, so will have to be patient.

Casdon Thu 02-Feb-23 15:06:30

Your echinacea should be fine Whitewavemark2, I’ve got some that survived -16 temperatures a few years ago, they are completely hardy.

Oldnproud Thu 02-Feb-23 16:58:20

Katie59

Beetroot won’t survive a very hard frost more than about -3C, surprisingly the last of my carrots seem OK, Brussels sprouts look tatty but are still good as is purple sprouting and cabbage,
here we had -12C
Quite a few shrubs in the garden look rather dead - we will see.

In that case, yes, it must have been the frost.

That said, some years I've left beetroot that I've lifted in early winter sitting outside my back door for most of the winter without it sustaining any damage , even though we get frequent night temperatures lower than -3°C here every year.
I'm guessing that it was the prolonged freezing spell where even daytime temps stayed below zero that did the damage this year. Or the variety.

I'll have to be a bit more careful next year.

rubysong Thu 02-Feb-23 17:53:51

I picked beetroot from the garden last week and it was fine. We are in Cornwall but there have been some frosts. They were in a raised bed so maybe not waterlogged in the frost. I had some for my lunch on Ryvita, glued on with Philadelphia cheese.

Mamardoit Thu 02-Feb-23 18:13:30

My beetroot is the same. The parsley usually overwinters well but the frost has damaged that too. I put some things in the greenhouse to give some protection. The tarragon is sprouting but the lemon grass has rotted. Shame really I had managed to grow a couple of nice clumps.

Susan56 Thu 02-Feb-23 19:01:34

Our beetroot is the same.DH went out earlier in the week to dig some up and they were just as you described soft and certainly not edible.