The beet plants after a windy thunderstorm last night. They may look bedraggled, but on normal sunny mornings, they are downright perky!

The beet plants are still growing relatively well. I did top up the soil in the growing trough, but the wind keeps tossing the leaves around, and the tops of the stems tend to flop this way and that, leaving a couple of the bigger plants with their, er, tops exposed.

Look at the way the stem is starting to thicken! I've got to try to keep this part of the plant covered by soil in case the development of the root is affected!

Looking at the beet root that is eventually harvested, I know that the leaves grow directly from the top of the root, so this has got me a little concerned. One of the biggest plants is starting to thicken about 3cm aboveground, and I expect that is the edible part of the root that is growing. I suppose I’ll have to constantly keep topping up the soil around that and any other plants that are so uncovered.

Check out this little winner - the beet plant I recovered from a stem that had broken off when it was just a sprout. It's growing so perfectly!

The little plant that had been recovered from a broken-off stem is exceeding my expectations by being the best-looking plant in the trough at the moment!

So, so far, so good with the beet plants. 8)

© 2012 curiousgardener.com All rights reserved.