Beet
Also known as: Beetroot · Table beet · Beta vulgaris
6 types of beet
Bull's Blood
50 days (35 days for greens)Deep burgundy foliage as ornamental as it is edible. Roots are red-purple heirlooms — grown for baby greens as much as beets.
Chioggia
55 daysalso: Candy stripe
Italian heirloom with concentric pink-and-white bull's-eye rings when sliced. Mild, sweet.
Cylindra
60 daysLong carrot-shaped red beet — uniform slices, ideal for pickling. Great in heavy soils.
Detroit Dark Red
60 daysThe classic deep-red round beet — smooth skin, sweet flesh, excellent for canning and roasting.
Early Wonder Beet
52 daysalso: Beta vulgaris
Early heirloom beet with round, deep-red roots and tasty greens. Good for canning or fresh eating.
Golden
55 daysalso: Touchstone Gold
Bright yellow flesh — won't bleed onto other foods. Sweeter and milder than red. Lower germination — sow thickly.
When & where
Germination
Spacing & depth
How to plant
Soak seed 24 hrs before sowing. Each 'seed' is a cluster of 2–4 embryos — always thin to one strongest sprout.
Grower's tip
Greens are edible and delicious — harvest a few outer leaves without pulling the root.
Soil preferences
Deep, loose, stone-free sandy loam — rocks and clumps fork roots.
6.0–7.0
Avoid fresh manure or heavy nitrogen (causes hairy or forked roots). A light compost and rock phosphate work well.
Watering
Steady moisture — 1 in per week. Uneven watering causes cracking.
Deep soaking; avoid shallow daily watering that keeps roots near the surface.
Overwatered: cracked or rotted roots, foliage disease. Underwatered: woody, hot-flavored, or bitter roots.
Prefers top-watering — Top-water deeply at the soil surface so the whole root zone stays evenly damp — bottom-watering isn't practical in the ground.
Temperature tolerance
60–75°F (15–24°C)
45–65°F (7–18°C)
Carrots, parsnips, beets sweeten after frost. Storage roots can often overwinter in the ground under heavy mulch.
Container growing
Possible with the right cultivar
12+ in deep for full-size carrots and parsnips; 8 in deep is fine for radish and short carrots
Pick short or round cultivars (Parisian carrots, Chioggia beets) for shallow containers.
Succession planting
Radish every 2 weeks. Carrots and beets every 3–4 weeks spring through late summer.
Detailed harvesting
Loosen soil with a fork before pulling to prevent snapped tops. Twist off greens 1 in above the crown for storage; leave 1 in of stem on beets to prevent bleeding.
Post-harvest storage & preservation
Trim tops; store unwashed in damp sand or perforated bags in the fridge or root cellar at 32–40°F. Most root crops keep 3–6 months.
Culinary, medicinal & other uses
Fresh, roasted, fermented (kraut, kimchi), pickled. Tops of beets, radishes, and turnips are edible greens.
Medicinal or traditional uses are shared for interest only — this is not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before using any plant medicinally.
Seed saving
Biennial and insect-pollinated. Root crops cross widely (carrots cross with Queen Anne's Lace).
1/2 mile in the open or use cage with introduced pollinators.
Overwinter the best roots; replant in spring; collect the dry umbels/seed stalks in year 2.
Your zone's planting calendar
Pick your USDA hardiness zone and we'll estimate the key dates for beet in your area. These are regional averages — always check your own last-frost forecast before sowing.
From your kitchen — grow beet from what you already have
Also biennial — a stored beet replanted in spring will bolt and set seed year 2.
- 1Plant a whole beet root in spring, top just below soil surface.
- 2It sends up a 3–5 ft flower stalk that sets small hard clusters ('seedballs' — each is actually a cluster of 2–4 seeds).
- 3Cut stalks when seedballs are tan-brown; strip into a bag and rub off.
- 4Store dry. Sow in cool spring soil.
Storage: 4–5 years dry.
My Beet notes
Beet seeds on hand
Track packets and loose seeds you already have. Private to your account.
Par level — leave at 0 for no alert. Anything below par shows on Seed Starting and your shopping list.
Order more seeds
Running low? Reorder from one of these seed stores.
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