I grow quite a lot of beetroot as even then it can be quite a task to get a matching set of 3. I may have to pull up to 20 to get a set as some will be round, some have flattened bottoms and some won’t have long, central tap roots.
Once you’ve selected your set take them to the kitchen and run tap water over them to remove any soil and remove any dead or yellowing leaves cleanly. Invariably, the shoulder of the root will be ‘corky’ as in the LH photo and is considered a fault. The way to combat this when they’re growing is to draw moist soil over them but this can be quite fiddly. Instead, after washing I rub them with the rough side of a pan scourer very carefully to remove the corkiness. This doesn’t take long and soon makes the beetroot look much more attractive (see RH photo). They are then tied together in sets (very important if you have more than one) and immersed in large buckets of water to which I have added a splash of vinegar and some salt (stir well). The roots can then be left like this for a couple of days if need be so it’s something you can do on the Wednesday or Thursday before your show if you think you’re going to be pushed for time. The root then seems to take on a deeper purple colouring, but make sure you give them a rinse under a tap before staging to wash off the vinegar smell!
The last thing you need to do is check the schedule…….some shows demand the foliage be left on whilst others that the leaves are cut back to 3”. Doing the wrong thing can lead to a dreaded NAS card (not as schedule) being left against your well prepared exhibit.
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