Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Beets

If you know only canned beets, then beets from the fall or spring garden will be a surprise. First, they come in different shapes, from round to more oblong, and an array of colors. There’s the traditional deep red, but you can also find yellow, gold, white or striped. Even the leaves and stems are colorful greens and some reds. Sauté the leaves as a green, then enjoy the roots in salads, in soups (who doesn’t know of borscht?) and as a side dish.

More: How to grow vegetables in fall and spring

When to plant: Sow seeds in early spring to harvest beets in late spring or early summer. In mild-winter climates, you can also plant them at the end of summer and in early fall.

Days to maturity: 45 to 65

Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade

Water requirement: Regular water

Favorites: Big Red, Bull’s Blood, Chioggia, Crosby’s Egyptian, Cylindra, Detroit Dark Red, Formanova, Golden, Gladiator, Green Top Bunching, Little Ball, Little Mini Ball, Lutz Green Leaf, Red Ace, Ruby Queen, Sangria, Sweetheart, Yellow Detroit


Planting and care: Be sure the soil drains well and is free of rocks and lumps, which can hinder root growth. Keep sowing every month through spring and fall to ensure a steady crop. Plant seeds about an inch apart and cover with a quarter inch of compost or vermiculite.


When plants are small, combine care and harvesting by thinning the plants to about 2 inches apart and eating both roots and greens. Keep the soil moist until the seeds germinate, then continue to keep the garden well watered. Mulch will help keep the soil cool.

Pests are few, but you may attract some beetles, leafhoppers, leaf miners and wireworms. Rotating the crop will help keep problems to a minimum.


Harvest: After thinning, harvest beets when the top of the root is about 1 inch wide. Don’t let them get too big; about 3 inches is as large as you want. In cold-winter climates, finish all harvesting before very cold weather sets in. Or, if you want, cover the plants with about a foot or so of hay and straw to keep the ground from freezing and continue to harvest as long as the crop remains.

More: How to grow vegetables in fall and spring

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