I have a question about beets.
My beets have not bolted yet but they could!
I am growing Detroit Deep Red beets in tampa which is in zone 9. I have read in various gardening books and in online articles that if beets are subjected to temperatures below 50 degrees for more than two weeks they can bolt, however I am unclear as to what temperature they are referring to. Are they talking about daytime temperatures not getting above 50 degrees, or are they talking about nightime temperatures falling below 50 degrees. Are they referring to temperatures being below 50 degrees for two solid weeks in a row, What if the the low temperatures are broken up by spells of higher temperatures followed by lower temperatures again. Will that make beets bolt?
The temperatures here have been around 70 degrees in the daytime and during the night they go down to the 50s, but recently they have been dipping into the 40's. We had a stretch where the the night time temperatures reached down to the high 40's and then warmed back up to the highs 60's or low 70's during the day for about 5 days, we are now going to have stretch where the night time temps are going to be in the 50's for about 3 or 4 days followed by night time temperatures will be in the 40's again for about 4 or 5 days. will these temperatures make my beets bolt.
Also I have been getting some spots on the leaves of the beets, i think that this is a cercospora fungal infection or perhaps some other fungal infection. Is there an effective treatment for this?
thank you tampagardener