Beta vulgaris
Origin: Iran
Improvement status: Landrace
Seeds per packet: ~100
Germination tested 11/25: 76%
Life cycle: Biennial
This amazing (and enormous!) beet comes to us from our friend Sama Mansouri of Reyhan Herb Farm in Petaluma, California, where she grows ancestral food and seeds, and teaches seed-keeping. According to Sama, the farm "focuses on growing heritage crops from Iran and the SSWANA region. The goal is to engage in our cultural foodways, despite being separated from our homelands." Rather than attempt our own description of this beet, here is Sama's write-up from the Reyhan Herb Farm's excellent website:
"One of my favorite parts of showing people the farm in the last year has been bringing attention to these laboo, these beets from Iran, which were growing to the size of basketballs in the field! Beets are a delicious and important part of Iranian food, and I remember them best as a steamed street food in Tehran; they are peeled and boiled and then pierced onto pikes by street vendors, who douse them in their own juice and chop them up for your when you buy one.
"We were wondering if these beets would be different than any old beet you might find in the US, and boy were we surprised to see the sheer SIZE of these babies! I sent some to my grandmother in Southern California last year who cooked them up. She prepared the beet by first washing and peeling it, then putting it on a dish and into the oven at 300°F, cooking it slowly for 3+ hours. Occasionally she would open the oven to spoon the pooling beet juice back onto the top of the beet. Then she called me to say that it was delicious and there were no “risheh,” or veins within the meat of the beet that are common in such massive ones. I was very pleased to hear this! Even though we can’t pop outside in the winter cold to buy a street beet from the local beet man, we can at least connect with this delicious and nutritious food now with our family and friends.
"Beets are relatively easy to grow! A lot of the seeds are actually seed clusters, which will produce 2-5 seedlings. No matter! If there are too many growing in one clump, you can thin them later down the line. Direct sow them (sprinkle them directly onto the soil where you intend to grow them) and water them a bit every day to keep the soil moist until they germinate. They will grow beautiful edible leaves, and after 4-5 weeks you’ll see the beet start to size up right under the soil surface.
"I would highly recommend planting this crop in the fall to overwinter. Check out this table to determine when you should sow your seeds depending on your USDA zone. Beets are great winter food! Make soupe laboo or roasted beets with them for Shabe Yalda, the Winter Solstice when we eat red foods."
GROWING TIPS: In places with a somewhat mild winter, plant in fall to overwinter. Plant in early spring elsewhere. Best to direct-sow and later thin to a foot or so apart, to allow these beets to reach their maximal size (unless you wish to keep them small). Most beets, including this one, are biennial, so if you want seeds you'll have to overwinter them in the ground or in damp sand or peat in a root cellar, basement, garage, walk-in, etc.
