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When garden space is at a premium, growing beets in containers is an easy way to cultivate this favorite vegetable. By adding beets to your garden-vegetable list, you’re getting a double harvest: Both beet leaves and beetroots are nutritious and easy to prepare. Beets can tolerate frosts as well as warmer weather, giving you a container-gardening crop throughout the seasons. Whether you prefer to start your beets indoors or to direct sow them, you can grow them out in a pot in just 2 months or less after germination. In this article, you’ll read about why and how to grow beets in containers, from beet seeds and seeding to potting mix and fertilizing.
Why grow beets in containers
There are many reasons why you might want to grow beets in containers:
- Gardeners with limited outdoor space can successfully grow beets in a pot.
- The whole beet plant is beautiful. The bright-green or deep-red foliage looks a lot like Swiss chard—a close relative—and adds interest to any landscape.
- Beets and beet greens are edible at any size. You can start harvesting beets to add baby beet greens to a salad early in the season, and you’ll enjoy beets and greens until they mature to full size. Each harvest makes room in the container for the remaining plants to grow.
- The loose soil mix used in containers is ideal for root vegetables, including beets.
- Beets grow in full sun or partial shade, preferring 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight each day. You have options for where to place your container.
- After harvest, beets store well in a refrigerator produce drawer or buried in a box of sand in a root cellar. You can grow beets abundantly in pots, harvest, and store them until you need them.
You may have even more of your own reasons for growing beets in containers.
The best varieties for growing beets in containers
Red beets are the most well-known type of beet, but there are actually several types, including red beets, golden beets, white beets, and stripped beets (called Chioggia beets). Decide what type you want to grow—or grow a combination of types.
Here are a few favorite varieties for growing beets in containers:
- ‘Detroit Dark Red’, a popular red heirloom beet
- ‘Moulin Rouge’, best when harvested small—ideal for container gardening
- ‘Chioggia’, beautiful striped beets whose leaves are like spinach when cooked
- ‘Albino’, my favorite of the white beets—sweet and less earthy than most beets
- ‘Touchstone Gold’, also sweeter and less earthy tasting than red beets
Choose your pot for growing beets
- Choose a pot for growing beets that meets these requirements: Excess water can drain away, such as through drainage holes in the bottom of the pot or through a fabric pot, so the roots can breathe.
- The container is made of food-safe materials.
- There is enough room in the container for the plant’s roots. It doesn’t need to be a deep pot: 8 inches is a good depth. Look for a minimum pot size of 2 quarts.
Which container soil mix is best?
Beets are pretty easy when it comes to soil. They like a neutral pH of 6.5 to 7, which is typical for bagged container soil mixes. (You can also make your own potting soil.) Beets don’t tolerate acidic soil, below 6.0 pH. For growing beets in containers, use a well-draining soil mix that has a balanced nutrient ratio.
Growing beets in containers from seed
Sow beet seeds 1/2 inch deep and 1 inch apart in your container. You’ll notice beet seeds are lumpy. These nutlets are actually fruits containing as many as four seeds. You’ll have to thin the seedlings as each seed from the nutlet germinates. These thinnings are edible and delicious. Thin the beets again as the seedlings grow and the beetroots start to crowd one other.
You can succession plant beets in the container—or in several containers—every few weeks to have beets throughout the season. Start seeding 3 to 4 weeks before your average first frost in the spring, and seed the last beets 8 weeks before your average first fall frost.
Planting beet transplants
While gardeners usually advise against transplanting root vegetables, planting beet transplants is the exception. Transplanted beets will mature 2 to 3 weeks ahead of their direct-seeded counterparts.
Start beets indoors 5 to 6 weeks before you hope to transplant them into their containers. Thin the seedlings after germination so there’s just one beet per cell. Plant these into containers with 3 inches in between. This farther spacing eliminates the need for additional thinning.
Watering and fertilizing advice
You’ll have the best results growing beets in containers with consistent water. Because soil mix in containers loses its moisture faster than garden soil, you may need to water every day. Try to keep the growing medium moist but not saturated. A layer of straw mulch will help hold soil moisture.
Beets need balanced nutrients. If you’re using fresh container soil mix, you probably don’t need additional fertilizer. To use leftover growing medium, mix in a balanced compost to refresh the nutrients that previous plants took away.
There are three important fertilizer tips for beets:
- A balance of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous is necessary for beetroot development.
- With too much nitrogen, beet greens will flourish while the roots will not.
- Phosphorus is important for good root production. Side-dress beets early in the season with bonemeal, rock phosphate, or another phosphorus-rich organic fertilizer like seabird guano.
When to harvest beets from pots
Harvest beetroots at any size. Golf-ball-sized baby beets are convenient because you don’t have to peel or chop them. Larger beets are nice when you’re feeding a crowd or don’t mind chopping and peeling. Harvest your beets before they turn woody. Read the seed packet to learn the beet variety’s intended size, and harvest before they grow any larger.
Additional care tips for growing beets in containers
Beets growing in containers are vulnerable to the same pests as beets grown in your garden. A few pests that may affect your beets are aphids, flea beetles, and leaf miners. Pay attention to the soil moisture level and the quality of the soil mix to keep plants healthy and strong. A piece of insect netting or row cover over the container can keep these pests away from your beet plants, as well.
Growing beets in containers is a great way to produce nutritious root vegetables, regardless of the amount of outdoor space you have. Not only that, but beet plants’ beautiful leaves will fit into a landscape or patio scape.
Can’t beat beets
By growing beets in a container, you have more control over their growing conditions than you would in the garden. You can choose your beet varieties, the type of container, and the soil mix—plus fertilizer and water solutions—to set up your beet seeds or transplants for success. Having this knowledge about growing beets in containers, you’re ready to give it a try on your own. Get ready for a great beet harvest from just outside your door.
For more information on growing in containers, please visit the following articles:
- Growing turnips
- When to harvest beets
- A primer for growing radish
- How to grow carrots in pots
