Beetroots - help needed!

[Alliegid]

I was given some beetroot plugs that I have transplanted into a trough in my yard weeks ago. They are looking very healthy and bushy, but now I look at them closely I realise that there were 3 plants in each plug. Should I thin them out (seems a real shame as they are such hyealthy plants) I'm new to this so any advice would be welcome. :o)

[Twenty20]

Each beetroot 'seed' is actually a fruit i.e. it contains a cluster of seeds. I grow straight from the seed cluster and thin out the weakest plants.

[Alliegid]

Thanks Twenty20 - trouble is they all look so healthy! - I hate to pull out a thriving plant. If I left them all in would I just get skinny, misshapen beetroots?

[coccinelle]

What I do in circumstances like this; I check it out. Thin out a half of the plugs and leave the others intact and see what becomes of them. What works for one gardener doesn't always work for another.
In my opinion I'd thin them out and replant those you're pulling up but they might well fair in groups of three...

[Alliegid]

Good idea coccinelle - it is all a learning experience for me. Experimentation it is :o)

[Olivia-G]

We've had exactly the same thing, we thinned them out and replanted half - they look a bit sick for a few days and then you'll notice lots of new growth and they become as healthy as before! If you do pull any out, you can eat the leaves in salad or cook it like spinach:)