Tested varieties we liked
- Chioggia, by Renee’s Garden. Candy-red beets with red and white striped flesh, fine texture and rich, earthy flavor.
- Red Baron, by Renee’s Garden. Vigorous Dutch variety with tasty tops and succulent, rich-flavored roots. 55 days to maturity.
- Burpee Golden, by Sustainable Seed Company. Eat raw or cooked. Can have lower germination than red beets, so plant extra. 56 days to maturity.
- Bull’s Blood, by Sustainable Seed Company. Heirloom beet from 1840, primarily grown for its tender, sweet, deep red-burgundy foliage, but the beets are tasty when 2-3″ size. Leaves are an excellent spinach substitute.
2018 Plantings
- Badger Flame, by row7seeds.com. All the vegetal sweetness of a beet without the polarizing earthiness. The brilliant Badger Flame is here to redeem the beet’s dirty reputation. 6-7″ cylindrical yellow-orange roots. 80 days to maturity, 55 days for small beets. The flame-like colors deepen as the season progresses. Slice thin; serve raw. Salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil. New this year!
- Cyclindrical, by Hume Organic Seeds. Dark red, 8″ long cylindrical beet. Ideal for eat fresh, canning, freezing and pickling. Young leaves make delicious greens. Can be stored for winter use. Approximately 60 days to harvest. New this year!
- Chioggia, by Renee’s Garden.
- Burpee Golden, by Sustainable Seed Company.
How to Grow Beets
- Plant Feb-June; or August-September. Allow at least 10 weeks before fall frosts.
- Full sun.
- 1/2″ deep, 1″ apart. Firm soil over seeds will ensure best germination.
- Germinates in 5-10 days.
- Thin to 3-4″ apart.
- Approximately 55 days to harvest.
Plant seeds in the ground about 4 weeks before our last expected frost in the spring, then sow more seeds every 2 weeks, to keep a steady supply of fresh, tender beets. Stop planting when the temperatures hit 75 degrees but then begin sowing seeds again about 8 weeks before the first expected fall frost for a delicious late-season harvest.
Though beet seeds can be started indoors under lights, it’s far simpler to sow them directly in the garden. Soak the seeds in warm water for a few hours before sowing them to increase the chances of germination.
Beets grow best in full sun and well-drained soil. Sow beet seeds to a depth of ½ to 1 inch and space rows 12 to 18 inches apart. Thin the seedlings to leave 2 to 4 inches of space between plants, using the wider spacing if the beets will be harvested at their fully mature size. It’s important to note that most beet seeds are multigerm (though a handful of monogerm varieties do exist), meaning there is not just a single embryo in each seed but rather a cluster of several. This results in multiple plants emerging from each planted seed, making thinning compulsory. Keeping the soil moist throughout the growing season results in roots of better quality. A layer of organic mulch helps retain soil moisture, stabilize temperature, and suppress weeds.
Beets require an ample amount of phosphorus to produce large, healthy roots. Since this nutrient is not very mobile within the soil, it is most often applied as a side dressing by distributing it along the length of the rows. Soil pH also affects the availability of phosphorus; the mineral is most accessible to plant roots when the pH is between 6.0 and 7.0, which is the favored pH range for beets. If a soil test notes a lack of phosphorus, an early-season, side-dress application of bonemeal or rock phosphate should fill in the gap. [Hume Seeds says to add lime to soil for better flavor and texture.]
A few insect pests occasionally bother beets. To protect beet foliage from leaf miners, flea beetles, leafhoppers, and other potential troublemakers, cover the newly planted rows with floating row cover and leave it in place until harvest.