Grow Tasty Beets for Spring or Fall Harvest (2024)

Homegrown, garden-fresh beets are a delicious combination of sweet, rich, hearty, and earthy. This is a cool-season vegetable that you can plant twice a year, once in the spring and again in late summer for a fall harvest. Both the leaves and the fleshy roots of beets are edible, which makes this vegetable exceptionally productive for small spaces, such as raised beds, and also for container gardening.

Beet varieties range from those with deep crimson roots to ones with golden yellow and candy-stripe red-and-white roots. Plant a couple of varieties and explore the different colors and shapes.

Where to Plant Beets

Plant beets in a location with partial to full sun and rich, well-draining, slightly acidic to neutral soil that is free of large rocks.

Avoid spots where other members of the amaranth plant family, such as spinach, were grown for two years prior, preferably longer. Following crop rotation helps to prevent soil-borne diseases and nutrient depletion.

How and When to Plant Beets

Plant beet seeds directly in the garden in early spring, 2 to 4 weeks before the average last frost date for your area, and again in mid- to late August (or September in warmer climates) for a fall harvest. Sow seeds 1/2 inch deep and 1 inch apart in rows 12 to 18 inches apart. Cover the seeds with a loose layer of soil and keep the soil evenly moist.

When the seedlings are 3 to 4 inches tall, thin them to stand 3 to 4 inches apart (save the thinned-out plants to use in salads). Thinning is especially important because every beet "seed" is a cluster of several seeds. If seedlings are not thinned, the young roots won't have space to grow and will be stunted from overcrowding.

Beets Care Tips

Beets are an easy vegetable to grow as long as their basic requirements are met.

Light

Beets grow best when they receive at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day.

Soil and Water

Grow beets in loose, well-drained soil with a pH between 6.0 to 6.8. If your soil is clay or boggy, plant beets in raised beds or large containers filled with quality topsoil.

Beet plants need consistent moisture, so water deeply during hot or dry spells.

Temperature and Humidity

Beets do best in cooler spring or fall temperatures and the mature plants tolerate light frost in the fall. They do poorly in temperatures above 85 degrees F.

Fertilizer

Apply a complete, slow-release organic vegetable fertilizer 6 weeks after the seedlings emerge.

Pruning

There is no need to prune beets but thinning the seedlings when the tops are 3 to 4 inches tall is crucial to give the roots room to grow.

Potting and Repotting Beets

Beets are well-suited to be grown in containers. Choose a container that is at least 12 inches tall and wide with large drainage holes. A 12-inch container fits about 5 beet plants.

Because container plants dry out faster than garden soil and beets needs consistent moisture, make sure to water frequently.

Pests and Problems

A common pest of beets is flea beetles, which chew small holes in the leaves. Cercospora leaf spot is a serious fungal disease that causes defoliation and can potentially destroy the harvest.

In hot, dry weather, the roots become tough.

How to Propagate Beets

Beets are propagated from seeds (see How and When to Plant Beets, above). Collecting seeds from your plants can be challenging, as beets only flower in their second year and they are typically grown as an annual.

Harvesting

Beets are harvested at different stages of their growth. The roots are ready to harvest when they are 1 to 1½ inches in diameter. These petite beets are often called baby beets. Mature beets average 3 to 4 inches in diameter.

Beet greens are especially delicious when they're young and tender. Treat mature beet greens like chard when cooking.

Harvest beets before the ground freezes in the fall.

Types of Beets

Beet types include many heirloom varieties which often go back decades if not centuries.

‘Early Wonder’

This early-maturing heirloom variety dates back to 1811. The 2- to 3-inch beet roots have tall green tops. 50 days to maturity

‘Chioggia’

Also called Candystripe Beet or Bull’s Eye Beet, the inside of this Italian heirloom beet has alternating concentric white and red rings. The leaves are green. 54 days to maturity

‘Bull’s Blood’

The dark purple foliage makes this variety a favorite for greens but the red beets are also delicious when harvested young. 35 days to maturity for leaves and 40 to 52 days to maturity for beets

‘Detroit Dark Red’

A versatile beet that was introduced in 1892, the round roots are 3 inches in diameter, tender, sweet, and fine-grained, with tall tops. 60 days to maturity

‘Golden’

Unlike red beets, golden beets do not bleed or stain. They have a sweet, mellow flavor and taste less earthy than red beets. 45 days to maturity

‘Boldor’

These uniform round golden beets with yellow stems and light green tops keep their color when cooked. 51 days to maturity

Companion Plants for Beets

Pair beets with other cool-weather plants such as spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, bush beans, lettuce, onions, and garlic.

Marigolds and mint also make good companion plants for beets.

Carrots

Carrotsgrow best in cool weather, like beets. Plus, carrots and other root vegetables improve the soil structure, which benefits other root vegetables.

Cabbage

Cabbageis a classic vegetable with an attractive rosette of foliage that comes in a surprising array of colors and textures. It enjoys the same well-draining soil and full sun as beets prefer.

Swiss Chard

Swiss chard is an edible ornamental that is as pretty as it is productive. Its large leaves are used like spinach, and its colorful edible leaf stalks add vertical interest to the garden. Like beets, chard delivers the best flavor in cool weather.