Early Wonder Tall Top

Early Wonder Tall Top is a 1911 American open-pollinated beet selected for earliness out of Crosby's Egyptian; F.H. Woodruff & Sons of Medford, Connecticut claimed origination in their 1916 catalogue, in which they also called themselves the largest beet-seed growers in the United States. The 'tall top' in the name is the actual product. The greens are the crop as much as the root, running 12 to 18 inches of glossy red-veined foliage that bunches attractively with young beets still attached. It emerges quickly in cold soil, with Fedco giving a 40F germination minimum, which is why it remains the standard pick for the first beet bunching of the season. Johnny's splits its maturity three ways at 35 days baby leaf, 45 days full-size leaf and 55 days roots, while Fedco lists 48 days.