Tressa's Premium

Roots dark purple, triangular. Flesh deep purple with light red rings. Semi-smooth skin. Mostly buried in the soil. Shallow root groove. Root length ranges from 2.8-4.8", width 1.7-3.0", weight 4.4-10.9oz. Mature upright, green leaves with unique striped red and gold petioles. Leaves glabrous. Veins red. BRIX 8.4. Earthy. This variety was donated to SSE in 2014 by Ardis Reavis of North Manchester, IN. Ardis has been stewarding the variety since about 1980 and got her seeds from friend and neighbor, Tressa Estella Metzger, also of North Manchester. Tressa had been growing the variety for at least 40 years before giving seeds to Ardis and got them from her mother who "wouldn't buy anything they could raise." Ardis said "we figure counting Tressa’s mother planting it, it could be 120 years old.” Ardis told us that she digs the beets the night before she wants to cook them and leaves them in the yard overnight with a bit of the top still on. Then she usually boils them and eats them with butter and salt. SSE Accession # 132760