Sea beet
size:
plant: 30 to 80 centimeters
color:
flower: green or reddish
blossoms:
June through September
pollination:
self and cross-pollination, spread by wind and insects
reproduction:
seed, new rosettes in leaf axils
lifespan:
perennial, annual, biennial
- Dut: Strandbiet
- Lat: Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima
- Eng: Sea beet
- Ger: Wildrübe
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- Sea beet, foto fitis, sytske dijksen
Sea beet
Sea beet used to be very rare in the Netherlands, but it has now expanded its growing areal even past the Netherlands, as far north as the opening to the Baltic Sea. It only grows along coasts, being very dependent upon a silty environment. Nowadays, sea beet is even cultivated as a silty vegetable. It is the forefather of all the other beets we eat, such as red beet and sugar beet. Sea beet grows in the flood mark at the foot of dunes and dikes and in sandy inlets, including harbors. Breaks in the dike have often created suitable habitats and helped this plant to flourish.
On Texel
- Sea beet, foto fitis, sytske dijksen
Texel's silty vegetable farmer Marc Rijsselberghe began to experiment with cultivating sea beet on a large scale. In December 2010, he received a large amount of funds to support his project. He is working together with the University of Amsterdam and Wageningen, as well as a few other institutes. Other vegetables are also being tested, such as sea-kale and potatoes specifically suitable for silty farmland. Due to the increasing amount of land that is being inundated with saltwater seepage due to sea-level rising, farming silty vegetables is becoming a very important and interesting market.
See also:
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