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As the price of food climbs steadily, more and more New Brunswickers are seriously looking at augmenting their grocery bills by growing some of their own vegetables. Beets are a great way to start.

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Beets grow quickly and easily, and are delicious, too.

They are also especially well suited to small home gardens since they don't require much room or even a great deal of care. On top of that, they yield two kinds of great meals, first as the greens are picked, and then as the roots are picked and cooked or pickled.

All you need is a little deep, well-drained soil that has enough manure or organic matter in it to keep it from crusting. To grow from seed, use your hoe handle or stick to make a furrow about one-half inch deep down the centre of the ridge.

Each beet seed produces from two to six plants. Space the seeds one to two inches apart and cover them lightly with loose soil. Sprinkle gently with water. Within a week or two, you should see the beet greens peeking above the soil.

If you want to have a steady supply of greens and beets all summer, plant successive crops three weeks apart. Each crop will be ready for harvesting in about seven to eight weeks.

Beets will also grow well in partial shade. Just remember to keep the plants free of weeds that will steal their nutrients and moisture.

Keep the soil from crusting in hot weather by gently scratching the soil next to the plants with a hand tool. Don't be too vigorous as you don't want to damage the roots.

If it does not rain, water the plants each week. Begin thinning the beets as soon as they get crowded in the row. The younger tops make great greens. After thinning, the plants should be two to three inches apart.

Once you have picked the tops, if you are not going to use them right away, wash them and place them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. They will last one to two days. Roots will keep one to two weeks in plastic bags in the fridge.

Beets are a nutritious addition to your diet. The greens are an excellent source of Vitamin A and calcium, and the beet roots have small amounts of vitamins and minerals.

At the end of harvest season, any beets that are left in the soil should be pulled up and placed in a compost pile.

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For your diary:

July 5-6 - Port Elgin Lupin Festival - This annual quilt and craft fair, celebrating the loveliest of early summer flowers, will be held July 5 and 6 at the Port Elgin Regional School. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Along with more than 300 quilts, there will be unique photography and other arts and crafts.

July 5 - Seminar on Shade Gardening at Corn Hill Nursery, 10 a.m. to 12 noon. No charge but pre-registration necessary. Call 506-756-3635. Shady spots can be used to create lovely garden spaces.

Find out about the many plants that can turn a problem area into a garden that will draw in and delight you. The next seminar after this at Corn Hill will be on July 19 on Using Native Plants in the Garden.

July 5 - The first annual Hopewell Cape Garden Tour, a fund-raising project of the Albert County Museum, will be held July 5 from 1 to 4 p.m., with July 6 as the rain date.

Guests are invited to tour the gardens, tour the museum, and enjoy strawberry shortcake, all for $15. Advance tickets are available at Morning Glory Florals, Hillsborough Fashions, Cooke's Quick Mart and Rock's View Variety. They will also be sold at the museum on the day of the tour. More information is available from 734-2003.

July 6 - Seminar on All About Lavender, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tansy Lane Herb Farm in Hillsborough. There is a lot of talk about lavender these days and this seminar not only shows how to grow it, but how to use it in many different ways. The discussion will focus on using lavender in drinks, cookies and cakes. Recipes will be available as well as plants for sale. Cost of the seminar is $10. Tansy Lane is at 490 Albert Mines Road, Albert Mines. Phone is 734-3006. The next seminar after this will be July 29 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. when the topic will be Edible Flowers.

July 26 - Please note that the date of the YWCA of Moncton annual garden tour of Metro Moncton's gardens has been changed to July 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (from July 19). The tour supports the work of the YWCA Women's Resource Centre. For more information call the YWCA at 855-4349. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 the day of the event.