Description: This is
a VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
See text below
Text:
Beets are a tasty root vegetable that do not require
much work in the garden. People might think beets
are always dark red. But they can also be pink,
yellow or white. Beets with circles of red and white
inside are known as candy cane or candy stripe
beets.Beets are high in nutrients including folate,
iron and fiber. They can be eaten fresh or frozen,
canned or pickled. And not just the root but also
the tops can be eaten. The leaves make good salads
when the plants are young, and the greens can be
cooked when the plants are older. Beets like cool
temperatures, between sixteen and eighteen degrees
Celsius. They grow best in full sun and in loose
soil that is not too wet. Remove stones from the
soil while preparing the ground. And test the soil
before adding lime and fertilizer. Some experts say
the best fertilizers for beets are low in nitrogen.
Beets need the acidity level in the soil to be six
to seven and a half.Beet seeds can be planted as
soon as the soil is able to be worked at the start
of the growing season. Planting them every two to
three weeks will provide a continuous harvest into
the fall. Iowa State University horticulture
specialist Cindy Haynes suggests planting the seeds
a little more than one centimeter deep. They should
be planted in rows that are spaced thirty to
forty-six centimeters apart. A beet seed is a fruit
containing several seeds. Overcrowding the plants
will mean that the roots cannot spread out and grow.
Thin the beets by removing the smaller ones. These
can be used as greens. Cindy Haynes says little or
no fertilizer is needed in fertile soils. But once
the seeds are planted, she does suggest covering the
soil with a little mulch to protect it during rains
and dry periods. She also suggests putting a fence
around the plants to keep away rabbits and deer.She
says the only work needed once beets have been
thinned is weeding and, when the weather is dry, a
weekly watering. For best results, beets should be
picked when they are four to five centimeters
across. Beets much larger than that can be tough and
have to be cooked for a long time. For VOA Special
English, I'm Carolyn Presutti.For more gardening
advice, go to voaspecialenglish.com -- VOA's daily
source of news and informations for people learning
English.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
