How to Grow Beet Plants: The Complete Guide (2024)

Choose a planting site that gets full sun. Beets should ideally receive at least 6 hours of direct sunlight perday.

Beets grow best in well-prepared, fertile soil, but will tolerate average to low soil fertility. Asoil 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 otherobstacles.

Avoid planting beets where Swiss chard or spinach has recently been grown, as they are cousins of beets and aresusceptible to similar pests anddiseases.

When to PlantBeets

• 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’t exceed 75°F(24°C).
• In soil that’s at least 50°F (10°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 areaswith low moisture and rainfall, soak the seeds in water for 24 hours beforeplanting.
• 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 winterharvest.

How to PlantBeets

• We prefer to sow beets directly in the garden so that we don’t have to disturb their roots. However, beets—unlike many root crops—do generally tolerate being transplanted while still young. Since they are cold tolerant, beets typically have no trouble being started outdoors,though.
• Sow seeds ½-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 ofsoil.
• Make sure the soil remains moist for optimal germination. Soak seeds for 24 hours prior to planting to speed upgermination.

Beet seeds are actually capsules that contain several seeds, so you may get two or three sprouts from eachone.

Check out this video to learn how to plantbeets:

• Each wrinkled beet “seed” is actually a cluster of 2 to 4 seeds, so you will need to thin the young plants to 3 to 4 inches apart once the greensget to be about 4 to 5 inches tall. This allows their roots to grow to their proper size.
  • Tip: When thinning, don’t pull up the plants, as you may accidentally disturb the roots of the beetsyou want to keep. Instead, just snip or pinch off the greens (and eatthem).
• Mulch and thenwater regularlywith about 1 inch of water per square foot per week. Beets need to maintain plenty of moisture in order to growwell.
• Weed as needed, but be gentle around young plants;beets have shallow roots that are easilydisturbed.
• Consider covering beets with a row cover to prevent pests like leaf miners from attacking the plants’leaves.
• Supplementing with extra fertilizer is usually not necessary. If you do fertilize, go easy on nitrogen; excess will cause an abundance of greens but tiny bulbs beneath thesoil.

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 (picturedbelow)!

• ‘Chioggia’: red skin; when sliced open, reveals red andwhite concentricrings.
• ‘Detroit Dark Red’:Sturdy, traditional variety. Round, redroot.
• ‘Formanova’: Long, cylindrical beets that grow in the same fashion as carrots. Excellent forcanning.
• Yellow varieties include ‘Bolder’ or ‘TouchstoneGold’
• White varieties include ‘Avalanche’ or Dutch heirloom ‘Albino’

• Days to maturity tend to be between 55and 70 for most varieties. In other words, plan to harvest beets about 2 months afterplanting.
• Harvest roots when golf ball-size or larger; very large roots may be tough andwoody.
• Loosen the soil around the beet and gently pull it from theearth.
• 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-freeplace.

How to StoreBeets

• 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 greensseparately.
• For long-termroot cellar storage, make sure you brush off any soil clinging to the roots, then bury them in layers (but not touching) surrounded by dry sandorsawdust.
• Store in a cool, dry place.An unheated closet might do, or put them in a cooler in your basem*nt.Read more about a new way to store beets in the rootcellar.
• Sprouting is a sign of poor storage and leads todecay.
• Beets can be frozen, canned, and pickled,too!
• You can also freeze beet greensto use at a laterdate!

Catherine Boeckmann