Midwest Vegetable Guide - 2022 - 255

Root Crops - Horticulture
Planting, Spacing, and Harvesting
Root Crops - Horticulture
Major update by Ben Phillips, Liz Maynard - Dec 2020
Reviewed by Liz Maynard - Aug 2021
Crop Description
Most root crops are biennial plants that do not normally
flower within a typical production season unless they are
under stress. They come from a few different plant groups
and species. Most are amenable to direct seeding before last
frost, and some can be transplanted. Some are short season
crops that offer double-cropping opportunities, while others
are some of the longest season vegetable crops grown in an
annual production system.
It is important to know the botanical relationships of root
crops because similar pests will go to related plants. Root
crops come from at least five botanical families. Within those
family groups you can expect similar pests. In this guide we
try to provide some precision to this. However, when using
pesticides, you must abide by the EPA Crop Groupings on
pesticide labels.
Amaranthaceae, the Goosefoot family, contains Beets
classified as " root and tuber vegetables " in EPA Crop Group
1. The pests of plants in this family are shared with Spinach
and Swiss chard (EPA Crop group 4) in the Leafy Greens and
Herbs chapter.
Apiaceae, the Carrot family, contains Carrots, Celeriac, and
Parsnips classified as " root and tuber vegetables " in EPA
Crop Group 1. But this family also includes Celery, Cilantro,
Coriander, Dill, Fennel, Florence Fennel, and Parsley (EPA
Crop Groups 4 and 19). The pests of plants in this family are
shared with the Celery, and Leafy Vegetables and Herbs
chapters.
Brassicaceae, the Mustard family, contains Horseradish,
Radish, Rutabaga, and Turnip classified as " root and tuber
vegetables " in EPA Crop Group 1. But, this family also
includes cole crop and mustard-type plants (EPA Crop
Groups 4 and 5). The pests of plants in this family are shared
with the Cole Crops and Brassica Leafy Greens, and Leafy
Vegetables and Herbs chapters.
Convolvulaceae, the Morningglory family, contains Sweet
Potato classified as a " root and tuber vegetable " in EPA Crop
Group 1. Please refer to the Sweet Potato Chapter.
Solanaceae, the Nightshade family, contains Potato classified
as a " root and tuber vegetable " in EPA Crop Group 1. Please
refer to the Potato Chapter.
Beet
Sugar beets, table beets, and Swiss chard are all the same
species (Beta vulgaris) bred for different purposes. Table
beets come in red, striped, white, and gold. They are typically
round, but there are some longer shaped beets that are utilized
for slicing and pickling. Most beet varieties are multigerm
types that grow multiple plants from one seedball. There are
monogerm beet varieties, such as Solo and Moneta.
Beets can be direct-seeded in rows 18 to 24 inches apart.
Plant 6 to 12 seeds per foot of row, depending on sprout
count and desired size. Seed 8 to 10 pounds per acre for
bunching.
Mechanical harvesters are common for beets, lifting them
from their tops, or digging them with an undercutting chain
conveyor. Some growers choose monogerm varieties for
more reliable sizing in a one-pass harvest with machines.
Other growers choose multigerm varieties and hand-harvest
large " bully " beets first, allowing small " runts " to size up for
later harvests. Time from seeding to harvest ranges from 50
to 60 days.
Carrot and Parsnip
Carrots (Daucus carota) and parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) have
similar production systems. There are five broad types of
carrot varieties. Chantenay carrot types have short, girthy,
sometimes globe shaped roots that do well in heavy soils.
Danvers carrot types are typically diced processing carrots
and are thinner, longer, and more cone shaped than
Chantenays and require the longest time to maturity.
Imperator carrot types are good fresh market carrots that have
long and slender roots with a higher sugar content; they
require loose and deep soils. Nantes carrot types are good
multi-market carrots for processing and fresh market with a
more cylindrical root than Danvers, but girthier than
Imperators, and an earlier maturation time than Imperators or
Danvers. These four types all include orange, yellow, red,
purple, and white varieties. The parsnip is a white-rooted
plant related to carrots. Parsnip varieties differ in their size
and time to harvest, but most are shaped like Danvers carrots.
Carrots and parsnips can be direct-seeded in single rows 16 to
30 inches apart, or in three-row beds with 10 to 12 inches
between rows and 36 inches between beds, center to center.
Plant 20 to 30 per foot for slicing/fresh market; 10 to 20
plants per foot for dicing. Seed 2 to 4 pounds per acre.
Both mechanical and hand harvest is common and starts
when roots are of suitable size for the market between August
and November. Undercutting chain-conveyor harvesters are
more likely to break roots than top-puller harvesters. Time
from seeding to harvest ranges from 60 days for baby carrots
to 120 days for parsnips and full-size Danvers type carrots.
Parsnips can be harvested up to freeze-up and continued as
soon as soils can be worked in the spring.
Midwest Veg Guide 2022
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Midwest Vegetable Guide - 2022

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