Beets

I planted my beets on August 25. They should have taken 59 days after seedlings appear to harvest. That would have been mid-November. But they didn't all germinate. And a second planting two weeks later all germinated, but totally failed to thrive and never grew bigger than two inches with no beet bulb. So this is my entire beet harvest.

 Sad, but true. Three, or more like 2 1/2, beets. My lessons learned here is that I probably should not be using old seeds, old as in  "Packed for 2008" on the package. I think the timing was fine, but they really stop growing after the first frost, or grow much more slowly, so I may try to bump up the planting by a week or so to allow the bulbs to form better before frost. The most beautifully designed garden is no better than it's gardener, so as I learn, so will the Potager grow more beautiful and more bountiful each year.