When the cult of positivism reigns in society, I dare to write an article about Bordo beets, which I crossed due to ignorance and busyness.
In 2014/2015, Līga Lepse from the Institute of Horticulture gave me a bag of Pūre Bordeaux beetroot seeds and said: "I don't know if anything will germinate at all, because the seeds are 10 years old, and no one at the institute has had time to work with them." Līga did not know that I have never collected seeds from beets in my life. I sowed without hoping or expecting anything, but they sprouted and grew! I knew so much that beetroot is a biennial plant and must be carefully stored in the cellar during the winter so that it can be planted in the garden in the spring and it could flower and form seeds in the summer. I often get an itch to grow and try different varieties, especially the more unusual ones. There were also other beet varieties growing in the garden - yellow and striped, I don't remember exactly which ones.
In the spring, I planted Pūre beets in one corner, there were also others nearby, perhaps they even overwintered in the field. In some corner of my consciousness, the question was gnawing – is the beet a self-pollinated or cross-pollinated plant, can beets cross? At that time, we had not yet met the Danish seed savers and have not created our educational materials where you could quickly look up this information in the pollination table; at that time, there was no time at all to dig through books and the Internet to find the answer if the beets can cross. I had small children, there was a lot of work in my private business and in the garden, my mind was occupied with something else than studying the biology of beets. Eventually, I managed to collect the seeds that year.
After that, I grew these beets every year, and every year I diligently and carefully collected the seeds from beetroots of the previous year; I did not grow other beets next to them. I shared the seeds with others using the name Pūres Bordo.
From Guna in Cēsis and a few others who know how to build a living and fertile soil I received feedback that the beets are growing vigorously and are tasty. I myself grew the beets in several beds. Where the soil was fertile, beetroots grew very large – 0.6-2 kg, but where the soil was not enriched and the beets were sown too densely, they were small and weak, which is only logical. I got very good results by sowing them in a pot with a seedling according to Richard Perkins' method and planting them the same as they germinated: 3-4 seedlings together at a distance of 30 cm. (One lump of beet seeds contains several plants which is not possible to separate in home conditions). They grow even better in a bunch like this, I checked :).
See images.
However, when seeing that the beetroots are striped, I brought several specimens for inspection to Līga Lepse during the Permaculture Festival 2021 in Gramzda to ask if I haven't crossed the Pūre Bordo beets. Līga took a look and concluded – yes, it was a cross because Bordo beetroots do not have such beautiful white circles.
So, I have unintentionally created my own beets – evolution and selection has taken place, but they no longer can be called Pūre Bordo beets.
…… The big question.
Has anyone grown and carefully selected BORDO beets?
Has any gardener preserved this variety??
There are no more of these seeds in Pūre. :(
A lesson for us ALL – valuable seeds must be given to at least 3 growers!!
By Sandra Stabinge
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