Beets

While I was at one of the nonprofit seed gardens last month, I harvested a couple of the sugar beets, which I assume are from the seed Roger has supplied us with. I also assume that these will store in the root cellar, like any other beet (beta). These plants were large, healthy, and needed to be thinned. There was a huge quantity of them. The leaves I put in salad, and the large sweet white roots I grated into salad. Everyone seemed to enjoy the salad very much. As these will keep without refrigeration, and possibly over winter in the ground, in some areas, I would not discount them as a source of food, for leaves or roots. They could be added to other vegetables, either cooked or raw. They could be chopped or shredded and dehydrated in a low temp oven or dehydrator. The resultant product could even be added to baked goods in small quantities. It would store in sealed containers indefinitely, particularly if O2 absorbers were used.

I was at a nutrition meeting this week where it was stated that today Americans consume close to 200 lbs of sugar per year per person. I remember when the figure was 100 lbs. Apparently it was only 5 lbs per person per year 100 years ago, when we had far less incidence of diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Sugar is very slowly eroding the health of humans, just as the acid reaction it causes in the human body decays the teeth. It encourages the growth of Candida and other harmful microorganisms. It is seductive and also addictive, and a difficult substance to break one's addiction to. If you don't consume it, you don't want it. Just think of all the candies we feed our children for treats and for holidays, such as Halloween, Easter, Valentines Day, etc. Think again when you give children candy. Fruits and vegetables supply all the sugar that we need. I have a small bottle of maple syrup and of honey plus some honeycomb in the refrigerator that we use very little of.

The sugar beet is a valuable food plant for man and animal. Your beets can be stored in moist sand in the root cellar (hopefully your temps will be between 35 and 40 degrees F.) Or, you can keep them in layers of straw mulch in a barrel or 'pit type' cellar outdoors, probably about 3 ft of straw where very cold.

Offered by Toni.