Beets and Carrots

Three varieties each of beets and carrots were grown at the Horticulture Research Center outside of Fort Collins, Colorado for demonstration purposes during the summer of 2004. Beets were planted at 2″ spacing in several bands, and carrots were planted at 1″ spacing in several bands grown on beds with 30″ centers. They were watered with drip tape. Below are photographs of the varieties and some production notes. We had no significant pest problems.

Continued planting over the length of the summer provides a continuous supply of good quality beets. Consumer preferences range, but beautiful tops and uniform round beets have great eye appeal even to the timid. Gold and ringed varieties are pretty and tasty in salads. Tops are high in calcium and make for a good, if small volume market crop.

Photo	Variety	Notes
Beets
	Red Ace	Nice standard, round, attractive beet, good performer
	Golden	Nice alternative to a red beet
	Forono	Columnar shape makes slicing easy, draws attention.
Carrots
	Ithaca	Nice deep orange color, a little more difficult to harvest in the heavy soils since carrot tops were 1″ underground, a little smaller and less uniform than Nelson, good flavor.
	Parmex	Easy to harvest, strong carrot flavor, tastey, should grow well in compact, tight soils.
	Nelson	Beautiful, uniform, easy to pull, the tops were above the surface, not as flavorful as Ithaca however.