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Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Beets
Planting
Choose a planting site that gets full sun. Beets should ideally receive at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day.
Beets grow best in well-prepared, fertile soil, but will tolerate average to low soil fertility. A soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0 is best, and slightly alkaline (7.0+) soils can be tolerated. Beets will not tolerate acidic soils (pH below 6.0). To allow the round beetroots to develop properly, the soil should be free of rocks and other obstacles.
Avoid planting beets where Swiss chard or has recently been grown, as they are cousins of beets and are susceptible to similar pests and diseases.
When to Plant Beets
- Start your first round of beets in early spring, as soon as the soil is workable. Make successive plantings every 2 to 3 weeks until mid-summer.
- Successive plantings are possible through summer as long as daytime temperatures don鈥檛 exceed 75掳F (24掳C).
- In soil that鈥檚 at least 50掳F (10掳C), germination takes place in 5 to 8 days. In soil colder than that, germination may take 2 to 3 weeks.
- Tip: To speed up germination, or when planting in areas with low moisture and rainfall, soak the seeds in water for 24 hours before planting.
- For a fall harvest, sow beet seeds from mid-summer through early fall, starting about 4 to 6 weeks before your first fall frost.
- Winter crops are a definite possibility in Zone 9 and warmer. Plant beets in early to late fall for a winter harvest.
How to Plant Beets
- We prefer to sow beets directly in the garden so that we don鈥檛 have to disturb their roots. However, beets鈥攗nlike many root crops鈥攄o generally tolerate being transplanted while still young. Since they are cold tolerant, , though.
- Sow seeds 陆-inch deep and 1 to 2 inches apart in rows that are about 12 to 18 inches apart. After sowing, cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil.
- Make sure the soil remains moist for optimal germination. Soak seeds for 24 hours prior to planting to speed up germination.
Beet seeds are actually capsules that contain several seeds, so you may get two or three sprouts from each one.
Check out this video to learn how to plant beets:
Types
Beets come in quite a few shapes and a rainbow of colors. Deep red is typical, but yellow and white varieties are also available, as are red-white ringed ones (pictured below)!
- 鈥楥丑颈辞驳驳颈补鈥: red skin; when sliced open, reveals red and white concentric rings.
- 鈥楧etroit Dark Red鈥: Sturdy, traditional variety. Round, red root.
- 鈥楩辞谤尘补苍辞惫补鈥: Long, cylindrical beets that grow in the same fashion as carrots. Excellent for canning.
- Yellow varieties include 鈥楤辞濒诲别谤鈥 or 鈥楾辞耻肠丑蝉迟辞苍别&苍产蝉辫;骋辞濒诲鈥
- White varieties include 鈥楢惫补濒补苍肠丑别鈥 or Dutch heirloom 鈥楢濒产颈苍辞鈥
Harvesting
- Days to maturity tend to be between 55 and 70 for most varieties. In other words, plan to harvest beets about 2 months after planting.
- Harvest roots when golf ball-size or larger; very large roots may be tough and woody.
- Loosen the soil around the beet and gently pull it from the earth.
- Harvest the beet greens at almost any time, beginning when thinning seedlings. Take one or two mature leaves per plant, until leaf blades are more than 6 inches tall and become tough. (Roots will not fully form without greens, so leaving some is necessary for proper development.) The leaves can be twisted off and cooked like spinach. Or, see our recipe for Beet Greens Salad.
- If you experience mild winters, you can leave roots sown later in the season in the ground to dig up as you need them. Or, store roots in boxes of dry sand in a cool, frost-free place.
How to Store Beets
- Fresh beets can be stored in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days.
- Tip: Clipping the tops off beets will keep them fresher for longer. Leave about 1 inch of stem on each beet, and store the greens separately.
- For long-term root cellar storage, make sure you brush off any soil clinging to the roots, then bury them in layers (but not touching) surrounded by dry sand or sawdust.
- Store in a cool, dry place. An unheated closet might do, or put them in a cooler in your basement. Read more about a new way to store beets in the root cellar.
- Sprouting is a sign of poor storage and leads to decay.
- Beets can be frozen, canned, and pickled, too!
- You can also freeze beet greens to use at a later date!
Cooking Notes
Beets are a nutrient-dense food considered especially beneficial for health. Learn more in 鈥Beets: Health Benefits!鈥
Catherine Boeckmann
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I have beautiful beets. Large leaves and good size beets. I steamed a few today and they are very bland and not sweet at all. Is there anything I can do to make them sweet. I live in zone 10
It would appear that your soil has a suitable pH, if the beets are healthy but it’s still good to do a soil test. Another effect could be water stress. If the beets did not get sufficient water when growing the taste could be affected.
Cut off tops and roots. Boil smaller beets whole. Bigger ones you may need to cut in halves or quarters. Boil until done (tender), cool, slide skin off, slice.
Put sliced beets in an air-tight container with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Serve cold. Great with falafel or any salad!:) Enjoy!
I find the Old Farmers' 蜜桃恋人 invaluable. The only problem is deciding which state is closest to England (where I live) in climate. Washington (Seattle) seems to be closest but the e.g. beetroot (outdoors) and pepper sowing times (indoors) and some other veg dates are a bit early. Could you point me at a particular area that may be closer? Thanks, yours, Hamish M.
Hi Hamish, I do wish we had an 蜜桃恋人 for England as so much of our history and lore is from that part of the world! In terms of gardening zones, most of England would be considered Zones 8b or 9a: https://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-united-kingdom-plant-hardiness-zone-map-celsius.php This is indeed most comparable to the Seattle area. See the USDA map: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/ However, there are still differences due to microclimates and other factors. I do believe that RHS in Engalnd has developed their own zone map; perhaps that would be of help?
Can beets be planted in the same place year after year, or do they need to be rotated with other crops? If they should be rotated, what are the best vegetables to rotate them with?
While not as problematic as some veggies, we do tend to rotate our crops by family. Beets are part of the Root Crops鈥攐nion family, beets, carrots, parsnips. See more on our Crop Rotation Guide.
How do you know when they鈥檙e done. I planted them in Oct some time. They are a shorter variety, so the leaves don鈥檛 get very tall. Just don鈥檛 know what to look for before I harvest. Thanks!
Often, the top of the root ball peaks out from under the soil, indicating it’s time, or close to time, to harvest. You don’t indicate your location or when in October you planted, but check the maturity period of the seeds; it’s usually expressed in the number of days. And, while beets do well鈥攐r at least can be started鈥攊n a chill, in spring, the weather usually gets warmer and the Sun shines longer with each day. Fall brings opposite conditions: usually increasing chill and diminishing sunlight. So you may have missed the 鈥渟econd season.鈥
This year when I thinned my beets at seedling stage I created a new row with my pulled seedlings by just burying them! They are doing great!
