Beetroot 'Bull's blood'

Beta vulgaris

How to grow Beetroot 'Bull's blood'

  • Full Sun

  • Medium

’Bull’s Blood’ beet likes rich, light, moist soil, in full sun or partial shade. It needs extra water during dry periods to reduce the likelihood of bolting.

Problems: Beets are prone to fungal leaf spots, downy mildew, powdery mildew, damping off, root rots, while leaf miners, aphids, and caterpillars can also be problems.

Fertilize: Fertilizers and lime are best applied using soil test results as a guide. A fertilizer with the analysis of 5-10-10 can be applied at the time of seeding and again when the plants are about three inches high. (General growing info on beets: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1604.html)

Plant in a location that enjoys full sun and remember to water moderately. Keep in mind when planting that Bull's blood is thought of as hardy, so this plant will survive close to or on freezing temperatures. Bull's blood needs a loamy soil with a ph of 6.5 to 7.0 (weakly acidic soil to neutral soil).

Growing Bull's blood from seed

Special germination instructions: To hasten germination, soak seeds for 8 to 24 hours before sowing.1

50 days to harvest.

Try to aim for a seed spacing of at least 0.98 inches (2.5 cm) and sow at a depth of around 0.74 inches (1.9 cm). Soil temperature should be kept higher than 4°C / 39°F to ensure good germination.

By our calculations, you should look at sowing Bull's blood about 14 days before your last frost date.

Transplanting Bull's blood

Sow seed where it is to grow in early spring or late summer.

Ensure that temperatures are mild and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Bull's blood is a hardy plant.

Harvesting Bull's blood

Beetroot Bull's blood Etymology

The species name vulgaris is from the Latin vulgus (“the multitude, the masses”) +‎ -āris, and means “common”, “usual”, or “commonly known” 2.

Other Names for Beetroot 'Bull's blood'

Bulls blood

Footnotes