Quick Reference
When to Start |
As soon as soil can be worked.
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Crop Rotation |
Avoid planting in the same spot that spinach, Swiss chard, or any member of the beetroot family grew in the previous year.
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How To Plant |
Plant seeds 1/2" deep in rows spaced 1 foot apart
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Spacing and Support |
Start seeds 3" apart. As they come in thin to 6" apart by removing the weakest plants
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When to Harvest |
Leaves can be harvested to use as salad greens throughout the season. Once root is showing above soil entire plant including beet can be harvested
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Storage |
Will stay good for a week or 2 in the vegetable crisper. For long-term pickling works best.
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Beets are probably one of those things you hated as a kid but it may be time to give them another try. There's a good chance you've only been exposed to pickled beets but once you grow them yourself you'll find there is a lot more you can do with them. You can also eat the stalks and the leaves that grow above the soil, making it 3 distinct vegetables in 1.
When To Start
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Beets are a cold tolerant plant late in the season, however they do need warm soil to get started. You can safely plant your seeds whenever you want, but they will only germinate and grow when the soil reaches a certain temperature. Seeds will germinate when the soil is between 75-80 degrees, and optimal growing temperature is 65-70 degrees. Have we ever actually considered the soil temperature? No, we haven't. After 6 months locked inside I'm getting my garden going as soon as humanly possible.
Generally speaking a good time to plant beets is late April, or about a month before the last frost date. |
Crop Rotation
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Avoid planting beets in the same spot that spinach, Swiss chard, or any member of the beetroot family grew in the previous year.
Click here to read about crop rotation and why it is so important It's important to not only avoid planting the same crop in the same spot 2 years in a row, but you also have to avoid plants in the same family as they typically draw on the same nutrients and have issues with the same pests. Click here to learn more about plant families and find a chart showing which ones are related. |
How to Plant
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Direct sow seeds right into the garden when the time comes. Seeds should be planted about 1/2" below the surface.
Beet "seeds" are actually dried fruits that contain 2-6 seeds inside. Just something to keep in mind if you're the type that tends to plant more seeds or plant them closer together than the recommendations |
Spacing and Support
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Plant seeds every 3" in rows spaced 1 foot apart. As the seeds germinate, pull out weaker plants so that there is a 6" space between plants.
If you're more interested in the greens than the root below, you can leave them at 2-3" apart. You may be tempted to give them more room but beets taste best when they are about the size of a golf ball. |
Harvesting
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Greens: Once the plant is well established you can remove 1-2 stalks at a time for a continuous harvest all summer long without killing the plant. Or you can just pull the entire thing out of the ground to use it all at the same time. There's no "right"time really. The younger they are the more tender and flavorful they will be.
Beets: You'll start to see the beets popping through the top of the soil just a bit when they are ready. You may need to just find out the hard way by yanking one out to see how they are coming along. It won't be a waste because you can eat the green/stalks. Beets are definitely in the category of the smaller the better. About the size of a golf ball is optimal. Once they grow bigger they become tougher and lose their flavor. |
What to do with way too many of them
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Juice them. A lot of people who start on a juice diet end up bailing because of the cost, and one of the most common and expensive items on the list is usually beets. Toss those beets into a juicer with some other fruits and veggies and add a nutrient rich treat to your day for a few weeks. If you don't have a juicer, you can just boil them and then put them in the blender. Save the juice int he refrigerator to add to smoothies or just drink as is.
Pickle them. Pickled beets are definitely one of those "you either love them or you hater them" kind of things. Even if it's not your thing, someone you know would definitely be excited to get a jar of pickled beets that you grew fresh in your own garden. It's also really easy. You basically just boil them, peel the skins, slice them, and toss in a mason jar with vinegar. Mash and freeze them. Basically here you are just going to make mashed potatoes using beets instead. Freeze the mashed beets in sandwich bags and pull out an instant side dish anytime you need one. You wont see this on any 5 star restaurant menus but definitely better than eating some processed junk in a can. |