Beets do best when grown before and after the dog days of midsummer. Get a jump on the season by sowing in flats five or six weeks before you plan to set plants out in the garden. Or direct-seed once garden beds have been warmed by a touch of spring weather. Set them 1/2 inch deep, 1 to 2 inches apart, in rows spaced spaced 12 inches. Note that the corkey-looking objects that slide out of the seed packet are intact seedballs, each containing between two to a half-dozen seeds; that means you can look forward to thinning seedlings no matter how sparsely you sow. Don't be shy about thinning, because beets need hip room the develop properly, from 2 - 6 inches, depending on the width of the variety.
SAVING SEEDS
Saving beet seeds is a two-year project because this biennial doesn't flower and produce its seed clusters until the next growing season. Tie up the stalks to stakes when they become floppy, look for bloosoms in June and July, and harvest the seeds in August. Cut off the tops and allow them to dry under cover, then strip off the seeds. Restrict yourself to a single variety each year if you will be saving seeds, beet seeds have a talent for cross-pollinatin over distances of a mile or more.
HEIRLOOM CABBAGE
GROWING:
Cabbages are classified as early, mid-season, late-season, and storage types. The early varieties are set out in spring; they work well for short growing seasons Mid-season cabbages are sown after the last expected frost. Late-season cabbages are intended for fall harvest, and moderately cool temperatures allow you to keep them in the garden until needed; a chill in the air brings out the flavor of cabbages.
HARVESTING
Cabbages are ready to roll when firm and fully formed. Early varieties are quick to mature, and should be havested promptly before they can crack open. They can be stored for just a month or two, given near-freezing temperatures and high humidiy. Late varieties can be allowed to stay out in the garden; a light frost or two will sweeten their flavor, but they should be brought in for storage in a cool place before hard frosts. Rather than yanking on the plants, roots and all, try cutting the heads so that as much of the stem as possible is left intact; you may see small heads forming for a second, especially tender harvest. here's a time-honored trick for slowing the development of mature heads you don't want to harvest right away. Grasp the head and twist a quarter of the way around, so that some roots are severed. Younger heads store best..
SAVING SEEDS
This is a two-year project, and also the chance that your prize cabbage variety will swap pollen with both other cabbages and cabbage family relatives. Keep plant intended for seed at least 300 feet from them. Use a loose mulch to help plant overwinter, or in colder zones, unearth the plant, roots and all, and keep them indoors on a cool, humid spot for setting out in the spring. In the second year, you can help the flower stalk to come forth by slashing an X in the top of each cabbage's head. Wait until the seed heads turn brown before collecting the seeds.
