Beetroot is a very unpretentious garden crop. Even with minimal care, it gives little trouble to summer residents. However, problems, of course, can arise with the cultivation of this plant. For example, gardeners often wonder why beet leaves turn red. In fact, there may be several reasons for this phenomenon.
Lack of sodium
Most often, beet leaves change color to red precisely because of the lack of this trace element. To increase the sodium content in the soil is a very simple way. The beetroot just needs to be salted. To prepare it, 250 g of ordinary table salt should be dissolved in ten liters of water. For each meter of planting, you need to use about one liter of such a solution. Watering the beets in this case is necessary not under the root, but directly along the leaves.
However, before proceeding with this procedure, you should make sure that the answer to the question: "Why are the leaves of the beet reddened?" is precisely the lack of sodium. The fact is that an excess of this microelement in the soil can cause a decrease in yield. After all, everyone knows that to achieve good results in the cultivation of garden crops, for example, on salt marshes, is very difficult.
Phosphorus and potassium
What other answers exist to the question of why the leaves of beets are red? If the plates first faded and darkened a lot, and after that they turned red, then the reason, most likely, was not a lack of sodium at all. Perhaps the plants lack phosphorus. It is possible to increase its content in the soil by applying appropriate fertilizers. You can use, for example, superphosphates.
Sometimes summer residents have a question about why beets turn red and curl in beets (at the same time). A similar problem usually occurs when there is a lack of potassium in the soil. In this case, the plates first lose their bright green color, and then acquire a very dark red shade (almost lilac) and begin to curl. In this case, the situation can be corrected by introducing some potash fertilizers into the garden. A good solution would also be to feed wood ash. Usually one glass is used per square meter of the garden.
Soil acidity
An inappropriate soil pH response is another answer to the question of why beet leaves turn red. What to do in this case? First of all, of course, you should determine the pH level of the soil on the bed. Beetroot is a plant that prefers neutral soils and does not tolerate acidic ones. Checking the soil reaction is easy. For this, you can use, for example, litmus paper. Soil pH can also be determined using vinegar and baking soda. If there is no paper, you just need to take a lump of earth from the bed, wet it and make a “cake” on some flat surface. Then pour a little bite on top. If a reaction occurs with the release of bubbles, then the soil is alkaline. If nothing happens, either neutral or sour.
Next, you need to make another “cake” and pour soda on top. If this causes a reaction, it means that the soil is acidic, and you can no longer think about why the leaves of the beet are red. The reason, most likely, is precisely this.
It is best to deoxidize the soil on a bed with beets using wood ash. You can, of course, take dolomite flour or lime. However, these elements act on the soil quite “roughly”. In any case, ash will not harm the root crops. The rate of consumption for deoxidation depends on the pH level. On average, it is 100 g per 1 m 2 .
Why do the leaves curl
Thus, we have found out why the leaves of the beet are red. What to do in this case, you now know. But sometimes gardeners have another problem with this culture - it simply twists the plates. If they do not blush at the same time, the reason most likely lies not in the lack of potassium, but in the defeat of aphids. In this case, on the lower side of the plates, colonies of these small green insects, as well as their gray larvae, will be clearly visible. Fight against beet aphids should begin immediately. Otherwise, curled leaves will soon turn yellow and fade.
To process a bed with beetroots from aphids is best infusion of onion peels (200 g per 10 l) or the drug "Actofit". You can also mix 2 tbsp. l liquid soap, 50 g of tobacco dust and pour it all with a liter of water.
Why do the leaves turn yellow
This problem usually occurs if the beets are too rarely watered. Also, leaves can lose their green color due to a lack of nitrogen fertilizers in the soil. Yellowing usually begins to spread from the veins, and platelet growth slows down.
When such a problem occurs, you can feed the beets with mullein in a concentration of 1: 8 or bird droppings 1:12. On a square meter of beds, 1-1.2 liters of solution should be used.
Well, we hope that we have answered in a rather detailed manner the question of why the leaves of beetroot turn red and for what reason they can curl. If you encounter such problems, most likely, you will have to add ash to the garden and spill it with a weak solution of edible salt. Aphids can be expelled by spraying (infusion of onion husks), and in case of yellowing of the plates, beets should be fed with mullein.