Notes
Seed is a corky cluster — thin to 3 in. Red Ace is the workhorse; Touchstone Gold stains less.
Cultivars / Root crops
Merlot
Beet · Beta vulgaris
DTM
58 d
72 d occupancy · hardy
Rows
4
3 in in-row
Density
16
plants / bed-ft
Yield
3.2
bunches / bed-ft
Direct $/ft
$10.80
$3.75 / bunch
Propagation
- Method
- Direct seed
- Cell size
- —
- Nursery lead
- direct only
- Germination
- 7 d
- Germ temp
- 50°F – 85°F (opt 75°F)
- Seed spacing
- 2 in
Field geometry · 30 in
- Bed width
- 30 in
- Rows / bed
- 4
- In-row
- 3 in
- Seed spacing
- 2 in
- Plants / linear ft
- 16
- Plants / 50 ft
- 800
Timeline
- DTM from field
- 58 d
- Holding
- 14 d
- Occupancy
- 72 d
- Multicut
- no
- Fall photoperiod
- ×1.15
- Frost hardiness
- Hardy
Yield & revenue
- Sales unit
- bunch
- Units / bed-ft
- 3.2
- Avg unit wt
- 0.7 lb
- Target lb / bed-ft
- 2.2 lb
- Cull rate
- 10%
- Wholesale / Direct
- $2.25 / $3.75
Irrigation
- Drip lines / bed
- 2
- Emitter spacing
- 8 in
- Emitter GPH
- 0.42
- Weekly water
- 1 in
- GPH / 50 ft
- 63
- Gal / week · 50 ft
- 77.9
Soil extraction
- Fertility demand
- Moderate
- N / 100 bed-ft
- 1.3 lb
- P / 100 bed-ft
- 0.4 lb
- K / 100 bed-ft
- 2 lb
- N-P-K / 50 ft
- 0.7 / 0.2 / 1 lb
- Family
- Amaranthaceae
On this farm · 50 ft block
- Season window
- 2026-03-04 → 2026-11-10
- First greenhouse
- —
- First harvest
- 2026-05-01
- Successions that fit
- 4 · every 18 d
- Bed-ft for 50 lb
- 26 ft
- Seed for 50 ft
- 942 seeds · 800 plants
- Wholesale / Direct · 50 ft
- $324.00 / $540.00
Companions
allium · lettuce · kale
Avoid
mustard