Red/Purple Beetroot seedlings, why ?

[RaptorUK]

I have a 4 meter row of beetroot and they were doing fine . . . but I noticed a few at the end of the row got eaten or didn't germinate or I missed sowing them . . . I had a gap. So I re-sowed 3 seeds to fill the gap.

They germinated fine but today I noticed they had gone red/purple. Any ideas why ?

They were sown on 14th May and were showing by the 19th . . .


The others in the row . . .




The red/purple seedlings

[RaptorUK]

Just Googling before bad and found this . . .

The leaves of waterlogged beetroot can turn red and photosynthesis can be affected, resulting in plants that stop growing for a period of time.

from here: Stephen Nottingham: Beetroot - Chapter 4

Maybe it's all the rain we have had recently.

[RaptorUK]

A bit of dry weather and my little Beetroot seedlings are looking much happier . . .

[RaptorUK]

Latest update, "end of row" plants are looking quite healthy now . . . for example: