BEET INCLUDES: The root vegetable, known as beetroot or garden beet; the leaf vegetable, known as chard and spinach beet; and field beet, now popular as a cover crop. USES: Beets can be used fresh in salads, made into soups, pickled or shredded. GROUPS: ORIGIN: Mediterranean FAMILY: Amaranthaceae GENUS: Beta FUN FACTS: A beet’s red color comes from an antioxidant called betalain, which was used as an ingredient in makeup that produced the ‘red as a beet’ coloring and saying. A BIT OF HISTORY: Today, the beet is marketed as a “superfood.” It’s high in fiber, vitamins A and C, and has more iron than most vegetables. But that hasn’t always been the case: After World War I, food shortages resulted in what relief workers called “mangelwurzel disease,” symptomatic of eating only beets. CONTRIBUTORS: Altissima Cicla Flavescens Conditiva Crassa 50 / SEEDWORLD.COM FEBRUARY 2018 Bejo Seeds GardenTrends Johnny’s Selected Seed RH Shumway Sakata Seed Territorial Seed Company Source: National Garden Bureau.