Beetroot

Meet beetroot, the dependable root. A pinch of seed in October comes up as a row of red-veined seedlings, grows into a bed of deep-green leaves over the next weeks, and by December has a crop of round, dark roots swelling at the soil line.

Its character is sturdy and undemanding. It tolerates salt better than most vegetables, can grow in partial shade and asks for little beyond loose soil, even water and a thinning. It slows in heat, which is why it belongs to the cool months.

What it brings is two crops in one: leaves for the pan within a few weeks and roots for roasting, grating or juicing by midwinter. Sow a row every three weeks and the kitchen is supplied until spring.

Beetroot is one of the easiest root crops for a Dubai bed. The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment's calendar lists it with sowing in October to November and 75 to 80 days to harvest; BBC Good Food Middle East's UAE guide also gives October to November, and UF/IFAS gives 50 to 70 days from seed. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension calls beets a cool-season crop that does poorly in hot weather and is grown all winter in South Texas. In Dubai that means sowing in October and November and pulling roots from December to February, before the average high passes 34°C in April. Sow a new short row every three weeks, as Texas A&M advises, so the roots do not all mature at once.

A beet "seed" is really a cluster, and Texas A&M says each one produces two to six plants. Sow 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) apart and half an inch deep, and expect seedlings in 7 to 14 days. In hot weather it advises covering the seed with sand or light-coloured mulch, which is useful in early October when Dubai's average high is still 35.9°C. Thin the seedlings to 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) apart (UF/IFAS gives 2 to 4, Texas A&M 2 to 3), and eat the thinnings: the young tops make excellent greens (Texas A&M). UF/IFAS says beets prefer well-drained soil with high organic content, and need plenty of water to sprout and develop roots.

Beet is one of the more forgiving crops where soil and water are salty. FAO rates red beet as moderately tolerant, with a yield threshold of 4.0 dS/m against 1.0 for carrot and bean, but advises that the soil should not exceed 3 dS/m while the seed germinates and emerges. In a raised bed of sweet soil and compost, watered with mains water, that is easy to meet. Texas A&M adds that crusty soil makes beet roots tough, so keep the surface loose, and that diseases are worst in cloudy, damp weather.