One Vegetable, One Community is back for its fifth year in the Crookston area. This year’s vegetable is beets.
Polk County Public Health’s Kirsten Fagerlund said One Vegetable, One Community encourages healthy foods, gardening, and enhances the community. “One Vegetable, One Community is a growing initiative,” said Fagerlund. “This year it is county-wide through Polk County. It’s encouraging all the people in Polk County to increase their healthy foods, grow excitement about gardening, and enhance the community. This year we’re featuring the garden beet and encouraging people to take it outside, be physically and mentally healthy, and grow local food.”
Fagerlund said the garden beet packets can be picked up in each community. “Each local community has different places,” said Fagerlund. “In Crookston, they are scattered throughout different locations – some of the local pickup food boxes downtown, at Hugo’s, Wonderful Life Foods. They can check our social media, Facebook pages for information.”
GROWING GARDEN BEET
- Begin early sowings when the soil has warmed to 45˚ Plant seeds about .5” deep and about one inch apart. Allow 12-18 inches between rows.
- Hand thinning is almost always necessary. The seedlings should be thinned to one to three inches apart.
- For a continuous supply of greens and small tender beets, sow seed at two-week intervals until eight weeks before regular heavy frosts are expected.
HARVEST & STORAGE
- Beets should be ready to pick around 54-60 days
- Remove leaves, leaving about an inch of the stems – don’t waste the leaves, enjoy in a salad!
- Store roots in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to three weeks
- Wash before cooking.
