Chioggia Guardsmark Organic

SKU: BT169

Chioggia Guardsmark Organic beets are a striking Italian type with light-red, smooth round roots and bright pink and white alternating rings inside. These sweet beets (pronounced kee-OH-jee-ah) are about 5cm (2") in diameter with mild green leaves and pale red stems. Read More

Exposure Full-sun or partial shade

Matures in 65 days

Season Cool season biennial

Seed type OP ?

Average Seeds Per Gram 65-100 ?

Chioggia Guardsmark Organic has a rating of 4.8 stars based on 16 reviews.

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West Coast Seeds ships anywhere in North America. However, we are not able to ship garlic, potatoes, asparagus crowns, bulbs, onion sets, Mason bee cocoons, or nematodes outside of Canada. We regret, we cannot accept returns or damages for orders outside of Canada. The minimum shipping charge to the US is $9.99.

Seeds of Growth

For every order online, we donate a pack of seeds to gardens and communities worldwide through our Seeds of Growth program, supporting sustainable growth and local food systems.

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Product Details

Chioggia Guardsmark Organic beets are a striking Italian type with light-red, smooth round roots and bright pink and white alternating rings inside. These sweet beets (pronounced kee-OH-jee-ah) are about 5cm (2") in diameter with mild green leaves and pale red stems. Chioggia Guardsmark organic beet seeds are a staff favourite that add festive colour to any meal.

Quick Facts:

Smooth round roots
Bright pink and white
5cm (2") in diameter
Open-pollinated seeds
Matures 65 in days

All About Chioggia Guardsmark Organic

Latin

Latin
Beta vulgaris
Family: Amaranthaceae

Difficulty

Difficulty
Easy

We Recommend

We Recommend: Chioggia (BT169). It’s hard to pick a favourite beet because they all have winning qualities. But slice into a Chioggia beet, and discover a party going on inside! It’s certainly one of the most festive looking of all garden vegetables, and it tastes wonderful, too.
For Urban Growers: Try Bull’s Blood (BT174) as a micro-green, and harvest just as the first set of true leaves is emerging. Eye-catching and delicious – and very nutritious.

Season & Zone

Season & Zone
Season: Cool Season Biennial
Exposure: Full-sun or partial-shade
Zone: Hardy to Zone 5

Timing

Timing
Direct sow 4 weeks after last frost to mid-summer. Beets will not produce roots if planted when the soil is too cold. Seeds will germinate in 5-12 days, depending on soil temperature. Optimal soil temperature: 10-26°C (50-80°F).

Starting

Starting
Sow 1cm (½”) deep, 5-10cm (2-4″) apart in rows 30-45cm (12-18″) apart.

Days to Maturity

Days to Maturity
From direct sowing.

Growing

Growing
Ideal pH: 6.0-6.8. For uniformly sized beets, thin carefully to 7-15cm (3-6″) apart when seedlings are 5cm (2″) tall. Eat any thinned plants, roots and all. root size is controlled by spacing and variety.

Harvest

Harvest
Harvest at any size, but for the best flavour, pull the beets as soon as they have reached full-size. Eat the greens too. Store in the ground, or in moist peat or sand just above freezing.

Seed Info

Seed Info
In optimum conditions at least 75% of seeds will germinate. Usual seed life: 3 years. Per 100′ row: 600-1M seeds, per acre: 436M seeds.

Diseases & Pests

Diseases & Pests
If beets have black cankers in the roots, soil may need more boron. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of borax to 4L (8½ US pints) of water, and spread evenly over 9m² (100 sq ft) of soil. Do not over apply at a heavier rate. Circular lesions with a purple halo on the leaf is cercospera leaf spot. Prevent by strict crop rotation and sanitation. Leaf miner maggots cause blistered grey tunnels in leaves. Just squish them inside the leaf. Floating row cover carefully applied after planting will prevent the leaf miner fly from laying its eggs.

Companion Planting

Companion Planting
Beets add minerals to the soil. The greens are very good for the compost. Plant with bush beans, Brassicas, corn, garlic, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, and mint. Add cut mint leaves as a mulch for beets. Avoid planting beets near pole beans, as the nitrogen fixed by the beans may encourage leafy beet growth and diminished root development.

How to Grow Beets

Step 1

Timing

Direct sow 4 weeks after last frost to mid-summer. Beets will not produce roots if planted when the soil is too cold. Seeds will germinate in 5-12 days, depending on soil temperature. Optimal soil temperature: 10-26°C (50-80°F).

Step 2

Starting

Sow 1cm (½”) deep, 5-10cm (2-4″) apart in rows 30-45cm (12-18″) apart.

Step 3

Growing

Ideal pH: 6.0-6.8.

For uniformly sized beets, thin carefully to 7-15cm (3-6″) apart when seedlings are 5cm (2″) tall. Eat any thinned plants, roots and all. Root size is controlled by spacing and variety.

Step 4

Germination

Days to maturity: From direct sowing.

In optimum conditions at least 75% of seeds will germinate. Usual seed life: 3 years. Per 100′ row: 600-1M seeds, per acre: 436M seeds.

Step 5

Harvest

Harvest at any size. For the best flavour, pull the beets as soon as they have reached full-size. Eat the greens too! Store in the ground, or in moist peat or sand just above freezing.

Tips

Disease & Pests

If beets have black cankers in the roots, soil may need more boron. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of borax to 4L (8½ US pints) of water, and spread evenly over 9m² (100 sq ft) of soil. Do not over apply at a heavier rate. Circular lesions with a purple halo on the leaf is cercospera leaf spot. Prevent by strict crop rotation and sanitation. Leaf miner maggots cause blistered grey tunnels in leaves. Just squish them inside the leaf. Floating row cover carefully applied after planting will prevent the leaf miner fly from laying its eggs.

Companion Planting

Beets add minerals to the soil. The greens are very good for the compost. Plant with bush beans, Brassicas, corn, garlic, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, and mint. Add cut mint leaves as a mulch for beets. Avoid planting beets near pole beans, as the nitrogen fixed by the beans may encourage leafy beet growth and diminished root development.