red beetroot leaves, should be green

Hi, I have been trying to grow beetroot for 3 years, with only limited success. My soil is quite sandy, and alkali due to the shell content. The leaves keep turning red, they are starting to turn now. The bulbs are only 5mm in diameter. They are "Bolthardy".
I have had two suggestions, too dry and low manganeese due to leaching, my own thought is the fertility of the soil itself. Last year the only good beetroot came out of where the seaweed pile was, but more seaweed will make the soil more alkali.
This years patch has been thinned, weeded and some dung top dressing, there seems to be an improvement, but there has been rain and dung in the last two weeks.

Any pointers?

 

Hi misterroy. Some of mine also have red leaves so I`d like to know the answer to this. Cheers...freddy.

 

Hi, Misterroy, and welcome to the site. I wouldn`t worry to much about the leaf colour as long as the plants are otherwise healthy. I do think, however, that you need to acidify your soil. Just about all vegetables prefer a soil PH of about 6.5 . You can change it gradually by adding peat or instantly by adding Flowers of Sulphur. If you go with the Flowers of Sulphur, do it gently don`t empty a box on the soil and hope for the best, Build it up slowly, spread some leave a couplke of days and test. Keep doing this until you`ve dropped it to the 6.5.:thumb:

 

In my 'Vinegar book' it suggests applying vinegar to the soil (well it would) to increase acidity. Has anyone heard of or tried this method? I must admit, I'm a bit reticent about trying it on my small plot.

 

Hi Misterroy here is a photo of one of my Bolthardy beetroot.As you can see the leaves do look green with red veins in them but the underneath of the leaf is usually red as will be the stems of each plant.If yours look anything like mine then everything will be ok.:thumb:

 

Just sounds to me like the plants are hungry.

I know its not normal to apply nitrogen to root crops but in this case I think it could be a good idea.
I sounds to me as if the soil loses nutrient very quickly.

So keep digging in the manure misterroy, and I dont think the seaweed would hurt either.

 

more nitrogen, and they are looking better

 

roots now swelling

 

picked first beetroot, biggest one was 450 grams.

thanks again