When you’re planning your garden, you have to know how much space to give to each plant.
Sure, the seed packets usually recommend how far apart to grow, but how deep will the roots reach?
Is my raised bed deep enough? What about the leaves? Will they grow so tall that they shade the neighbors?
Beets (Beta vulgaris) are typically considered a fairly small crop, but as with many things in life, there are exceptions.
Big, giant, huge exceptions. They can actually grow quite large. Or super small. Totally confused?
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Most table beets are similar in size, but sugar beets and mangelwurzel can be massive.
And there are some table beets that can be downright petite. And then there are the leaves aboveground.
So, if you’re interested in learning about beet sizes in all their varying glory, stick around. We’re going to cover the following:
Beet Root Sizes
So, how big can beets be? I know it’s the most frustrating answer, but “it depends.” Let’s look at the details:
For most home gardeners growing standard varieties, you can expect roots to reach one to three inches in diameter and two to three inches long for round varieties.
The leafy tops typically grow 12 to 18 inches tall with a spread of six to eight inches wide. But as you’ll see, there’s quite a range depending on variety and growing conditions.
Sugar beets and mangel are, by far, the largest of the beet family.
The Guinness Book of World Records states that the heaviest sugar beet weighed in at 52 pounds 14 ounces, though growers have reportedly grown larger ones without having been certified by Guinness.
Some accounts claim the largest ever at 156 pounds! That’s larger than many adult humans!
The longest variety, including the spindly taproot and not just the main part, was reportedly recorded at 322 inches. That’s longer than four mattresses laid end to end.
Mangelwurzel regularly grows up to 40 pounds and six feet long. I’ve had them grow nearly that large myself, so it’s not an unusual occurrence.
The bottom line is that beets are capable of growing exceptionally large.
But let’s talk about the average size in the garden, particularly for gardeners growing table beets. While these can grow pretty large as well, most of them are more of a medium size.
The long-time favorite ‘Detroit Dark Red’ grows to about three inches in diameter.
By the way, if you want to grow this particular cultivar, the roots are super dark red and deeply flavorful. I always end up coming back to it.
Okay, so that covers the root, but what about the leafy tops? How big these grow also depends on the cultivar.
Generally, you can assume the larger the root, the larger the leaves will be, but that’s not always the case.
Let’s go back to chunky ‘Bull’s Blood.’ The leaves on the mature plant can grow up to 18 inches tall. At the same time, petite ‘Early Wonder’ has greens about the same size.
With the exception of larger sugar and mangelwurzel greens, which can grow up to two feet tall, expect most greens to be about 16 to 18 inches tall at maturity.
You can influence this a bit by fostering green growth at the expense of root growth through careful fertilizer applications and pruning.
Now that you know how big beets can get, let’s talk about how much room they actually need to reach those sizes.
Most table beets need eight to 12 inches of loose, friable soil depth for proper development.
If you’re growing in raised beds, aim for at least 10 inches of depth to give them adequate room to expand underground.
Cylindrical varieties like ‘Cylindra’ appreciate the extra depth even more.
Your planting density is one of the easiest ways to control final size. If you want to harvest baby beets for pickling, plant them two inches apart.
For medium-sized roots perfect for roasting, stick with three to four inches. And if you’re going for those impressive, large roots, give them a full five to six inches of space in all directions.
The mature foliage spreads six to eight inches wide, so keep this canopy spread in mind when planning rows.
As a practical example, a standard four-by-four raised bed can comfortably hold 16 to 25 beet plants depending on whether you’re growing compact varieties or larger ones.
If you are growing beets in containers, choose pots at least 10 to 12 inches deep and eight to 10 inches in diameter for individual plants.
How to Influence Growth
To encourage root growth, give the plant what these vegetables need to be happy, like full sun, consistent water, and a bit of food. You can learn more about how to grow beets here.
As mentioned above, give them adequate spacing for the size you want.
Make sure the soil is super loose and rock-free. I grow my beets in raised beds to maximize the size, since I have heavy clay soil.
But if you haven’t been cursed by the soil fairies with heavy clay like I have, you can loosen up your soil adequately using lots of well-rotted compost.
Actually, even if you do have heavy clay, you can loosen it up with well-rotted compost, but plan to do so every year to maintain the looseness, since once the fairies curse you, the curse never lifts.
If you really want to encourage growth and go for super big ones, you’ve got to discourage the plant from focusing on the tops.
To do this, prune back the tops a bit to thin them out. You want to remove about a third to a half of the tops by cutting them down at the base.
Then, feed with bone meal. This encourages root growth rather than leaf growth.
Arbico Organics carries Down to Earth bat guano in four ounce, two pound or 10 pound compostable containers.
Either way, feed right around the time you first plant and then again a month later.
Grow Big, Beefy Beets and Greens
Whether you’re after heaps of greens or piles of roots, or maybe you’re just curious about what to expect when growing these plants, I hope we were able to shed some light on the subject.
Let me know how big your beets are in the comments section below!
If you’re shopping around for white varieties to plant, you may come across some seed packets labeled as either “sugar” or “forage” beets, possibly sold at a bulk or wholesale price.
That’s because white beets are grown commercially either for processing into sugar or for use as livestock feed.
Both can be eaten like any other type of beet when the roots are young and small, and their greens are delicious.
Ready to dig in?
1. Avalanche
‘Avalanche’ is an open-pollinated white cultivar with a sweet, mild flavor.
An All-America Selections winner in 2015, the creamy-white roots have all the sweetness of a red beet with no hint of bitterness.
The mild flavor and crunchy texture makes them ideal for slicing raw in salads, and they are delicious roasted or added to soups and stews.
‘Avalanche’ will convert even the most vocal beet-haters in your family into fans. My tip: pretend it’s not a beet when you prepare these.
Another advantage? You don’t have to worry about red stains all over your hands and chopping board!
Round roots are best harvested when they are two to three inches in diameter, after about 50 days. The light green tops can be enjoyed sauteed as a side dish.
Also known as ‘Candystripe,’ ‘Dulce di Chioggia,’ or ‘Bull’s Eye,’ this eye-catching heirloom cultivar takes its name from a small fishing town near Venice, in Italy.
From the outside, it has an unremarkable, round “beety” look. But slice it open and ‘Chioggia’ reveals concentric rings of pink and white.
With a delicate, sweet flavor, the unusual pattern adds a pop of color to salads. Cooking causes the ring pattern to fade.
‘Crosby Egyptian,’ sometimes listed as ‘Crosby’s Egyptian,’ is an heirloom cultivar that originated in Germany and was brought to the US as ‘Egyptian Beet’ in the 1860s.
Josiah Crosby, a market gardener in Boston, developed ‘Crosby Egyptian’ with its wide, three- to five-inch early maturing root. It first appeared in James Gregory’s seed catalog in 1880.
The roots have a flattened shape and a sweet yet slightly earthy flavor. Green tops with red stems are delicious harvested young for salads, or sauteed as mature greens.
‘Cylindra’ is an heirloom cultivar, ideal for pickling and canning. Elongated roots with smooth skin and deep red flesh have a sweet, mild flavor with just the slightest hint of earthiness.
The smooth-textured roots grow six to eight inches long and an inch or two in diameter. Sometimes known as ‘Butter Slicer,’ the uniform width is ideal for slicing.
Enjoy ‘Cylindra’ roasted, added to soups and stews, or go old-school and pickle slices in vinegar to the horror – or delight – of your family.
The leaves are reddish-green and have a slightly bitter flavor if eaten raw.
Roots mature in 60 to 70 days, and tops can be harvested after just 35 days. ‘Cylindra’ is ideal for growing in the smaller garden as the plants take up less space.
This classic heirloom variety was first introduced in 1892 by D. M. Ferry Seed Company as ‘Detroit Dark Red Turnip.’
But it’s not a turnip, it’s a beet. Deep red, rounded roots with smooth skin are sweet, mild, and tender, ideal for canning, roasting, and slicing raw in salads.
The tops are tender and flavorful, too, with dark green leaves and bright red stems and veins. Harvest baby greens for a pop of nutritious color in salads.
Upright, vigorous tops offer extra greens for fresh use. The long, smooth roots are tender and sweet, perfect for roasting, pickling, or slicing thin for salads.
If you want to trick your recalcitrant family into enjoying beets but aren’t tempted by the white varieties, then roast up some ‘Golden’ roots with a delicate balsamic glaze.
Also known as ‘Burpee’s Golden,’ this heirloom cultivar was introduced – you guessed it – by the Burpee Seed Company in 1970.
Glorious two-inch golden globes with yellow flesh and a sweet, mild flavor mature in just 55 days. Tender green leaves with yellow stems can be harvested after 40 days.
Tops are medium height, with green leaves and pale-pink stems. With its mild, sweet flavor and eye-catching interior, it shines roasted, pickled, or fresh in salads.
If you like a big root for tossing in your root cellar (do you have a root cellar? If so, I’m jealous!) and a harvest that will see you through the most miserable of winters, then try ‘Lutz Green Leaf,’ aka ‘Winterkeeper.’
You’ll be able to enjoy the six-inch, deep-red tubers pickled, roasted, tossed into soups and stews – and even in salads.
The greens are indeed “green,” and are delicious sauteed in butter and garlic, with a flavor that’s comparable to Swiss chard.
A rare heirloom from Scotland, ‘MacGregor’s Favorite’ is appreciated more for its glowing bronze‑red, glossy leaves than its roots.
It matures in 55 to 65 days and develops slender, tapering roots. The foliage arches gracefully, adding ornamental value to edible borders or containers.
Probably the sweetest of the red-rooted beets, ‘Merlin’ is an F1 hybrid cultivar bred for high sugar content, disease resistance, and both heat and cold tolerance.
In other words, you don’t need to be a gardening wizard to grow these.
Crisp when raw, and delectably tender when cooked, ‘Merlin’ will enchant with his exceptional sweetness. Even the glossy, dark green tops are delicious.
Calling all Star Wars fans, this one’s for you. Make Freya Fenris jealous and grow your very own ‘Red Ace’ spaceship in the comfort of your own garden.
An F1 fighter jet – sorry, I mean hybrid – an F1 hybrid variety, ‘Red Ace’ is a fast-maturing beet adaptable to a wide range of soil conditions, and is more cold-tolerant than other cultivars.
Smooth-skinned, deep purple, three-inch globes will push up through the soil in just 50 days. Cut them open and the scarlet flesh reveals clear concentric rings, with a mild yet hearty flavor.
Also known as ‘Burpee’s Red Ball,’ this heirloom cultivar has sweet, mild, red flesh and deep purple, smooth skin. Uniformly round three-inch roots are ready for harvest after 60 days.
‘Rhonda’ is a hybrid that matures in about 65 to 70 days.
The smooth, round roots measure approximately two to three inches across and retain their deep red color and sweet flavor even through extended storage.
It develops robust, upright foliage and delivers uniform roots that are ideal for harvesting in fall and storing well into winter.
‘Ruby Queen,’ an heirloom cultivar, was crowned an All-America Selection winner in 1957.
She grows happily in poor soil, and her perfectly round, two to three-inch deep-red roots are especially suitable for canning, with a sweet, mild flavor and toothsome texture.
Bred for strong disease resistance, including Cercospora leaf spot, this variety holds well in the field and maintains sweet, earthy flavor whether roasted, pickled, or eaten fresh.
There are quite a few, but when you consider the attributes you’re seeking – flavor, color, timing – you ought to be able to find one or two (or six…) that will be just right for your family!
And if you’re not already a family of beet eaters, wouldn’t you just love to introduce a new vegetable to your kids?
We’d love to hear which varieties you’ve tried and how they worked out for you. Tell us what part of the country you live in, and share your beet tales in the comments section below!
A refreshing a healthy drink with a little something special
Nothing cools and delights more than a fresh glass of lemonade, especially on a hot day. So why not experiment and take it to the next level? The juicing market is a global $100 billion plus market and juice bars are still popular with people looking for healthy and convenient ways to get their daily dose of nutrients. Why not chill out with this healthy marijuana beet lemonade, fun, relaxing and good for you!
Beets are unique for their cardiovascular and heart health benefits,” says registered dietitian Sarah Thomsen Ferreira, RD. “Due to a combination of compounds found in beets, they are able to enhance blood flow, improve the health of arteries, support lower homocysteine levels and reduce LDL cholesterol.”
Beets an excellent source of antioxidants, a reason they are found in most juice shops. And they pair great with marijuana since both give off a rich, earthy aroma. Beets and cannabis both help with inflammation which is another benefit. Lastly, it is great way to either relax and be focused to make the most out of your day.
Cut lemons and squeeze juice into a pitcher, use a strainer to catch seeds. Quarter beets and immerse in lemon juice, add a splash of water if needed to make sure they’re covered in liquid. Slice and add ginger if desired Allow to infuse for at least 1 hour, can infuse overnight.
Strain and add cannabis tincture and sugar, stir until dissolved Divide the mixture into two glasses with ice Top with water or seltzer and lightly stir Garnish with a lemon peel, lemon wheel and beet leaf for some extra pizzaz.
In an oven-safe container double sealed with foil, decarboxylate 3.5 grams finely ground cannabis at 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Put cannabis in a mason jar or vacuum sealed bag, pour over 2 oz vegetable Glycerin and seal tightly. Place in a water bath at just under boiling for 1 hour. Strain and keep contents in a sterilized container. Stores indefinitely in freezer.
Photo by Danielle Guercio
Infusions are so easy to make and have way less cleanup than true extraction juicing, but you can always juice the above ingredients and follow the same steps for adding the weed. Always add your tinctures after straining fruits or pulp, you don’t want any potency to be held in waste.
This juice is also great drank straight as a shot, and it can be used as a cocktail mixer too! You can even to get weird and make quick pickled things like onions for taco night or carrots for a fun appetizer, the lemon juice will tenderize most veggies after a few hours.
You’ve pulled your neglected bolted lettuce and harvested your hardneck garlic. You have holes in your garden bed and it seems a waste not to fill them. But with what? July is a great time to sow the same vegetables you planted in the spring, so that you can enjoy a late summer and early fall harvest.
But why plant what appear to be cool season vegetables in the middle of summer? Depending on your garden, planting these is actually a great idea!
First step is to gather information: 1) the first frost date for your area and 2) the days to harvest (the seed packet of the vegetable you want to plant will have that info). Then count backwards from the frost date. If the plant has time to mature before first frost, it’s time to plant! Just keep in mind, the average frost date is just that, an average over many decades. It can be sooner or later and not a hard date on the calendar. Also, remember that some of what you plant may be frost-tolerant and can handle a bit of cold without any harm.
So what can you plant now, in midsummer? We’ll break this down into groups.
Beets, carrots, and turnips can be planted midsummer for a fall harvest. The already warm soil gives these cooler weather vegetables a head start. Beets can be ready within as little as 40 days with the baby varieties, and nearly 60 days with the Bulls Blood variety. If growing carrots, remember to keep the soil consistently moist until they are established; the soil cannot dry out. Radishes can be succession sown monthly as they can be ready in as little as 30 days. Turnips, such as Hakurei, are ready in less than 40 days, whereas the traditional purple-topped variety can take about 50 days.
If greens is what you’re looking to harvest, you’re in luck. Not only do you have a great variety to choose from, but there’s the added benefit of only needing to wait for enough leaves to harvest. There are many types of kale, which you can continue to harvest well into late fall and even winter depending on where you live. Collards also fall into this category but are even hardier than kale and tolerate temperatures in the 20s. Chard is not as hardy but still can survive a light frost.
For spinach and lettuce, you’ll need a slightly different approach, since both tend to bolt in the heat. First choose slow bolting varieties if possible and plant them where they can get some relief from the summer sun—e.g., under your tomatoes, pole beans, or corn. Spinach is cold hardy, and if you have mild winters, you may be able to overwinter it. As for lettuce, consider the Chalupa or Monte Carlo varieties. They are both romaine types that can be sown in summer for an early fall harvest.
More cool-weather suggestions here! Broccoli needs about two months to form heads, and cabbage shares the same cold tolerance as collards but needs up to three months to mature. Why not try Caraflex, an unusual small cone shaped variety that’s ready in 68 days. Brussel sprouts may require up to four months to mature. If you are planning to have sprouts for Thanksgiving, plant now. Cauliflower has a range of colors and days to maturities to choose from. The white Fujiyama can be ready to harvest in about 45 days, the orange Clementine is ready in about 55 days, and Purple Moon is ready in just over 60 days.
Everything about beets (Beta vulgaris) makes me happy, from soaking those funky-looking seeds and setting them in the ground to lifting the robust globes of earthy goodness from the garden.
After planting, I’ve kept pests away from the foliage and stayed vigilant against diseases. Now, it’s just a case of waiting for the roots to develop.
The only thing standing between me and a goat cheese and beet salad? Bolting.
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Bolting is caused by stress. You and I might have a panic attack, stress eat, or scroll mindlessly through social media when we’re stressed. Plants send out flowers.
Seems like a healthier reaction to stress to me, but bolting can mean that you won’t be able to enjoy your delicious beets. When a plant bolts, the leaves turn bitter and the roots become woody.
So, what can a gardener do about it? There are preventative measures you can take and, if all else fails, you might just have to enjoy your roots or beet leaves early.
Here are all the things we’ll chat about in the coming guide:
First things first. We need to discuss why this phenomenon occurs.
Why Do Beets Bolt?
“Bolting” refers to the plant sending out flowers prematurely – at a time when we gardeners don’t want them to.
In the normal course of events, B. vulgaris flowers in their second year, as they are biennials,, which means they complete their life cycle in two years. Annuals take one year to complete their life cycle, and perennials require three or more years.
After the first year, beets send out flowers, which turn into seeds and then the plant dies. But those seeds carry their genetic material and become new beets.
Sometimes, beets will grow flowers in their first year of life. This is what growers refer to as bolting, and it usually happens as the result of stress.
Flowering is influenced by daylight hours, temperature, and other factors like water availability.
These elements influence the hormonal balance in the plant, suppressing some hormones and increasing others. In the normal course of events, the plant will put its energy into developing a big, healthy root, stalks, and leaves during the first year of its life.
But if something goes wrong, the plant enters a kind of emergency mode and sends out flowers and subsequent seeds as a means of reproducing. It is acting in its own best interests to ensure its genetic material survives in the face of some kind of stressor.
It’s not in the best interest of us gardeners, though, because once B. vulgaris bolts its root turns woody and its leaves become bitter and inedible.
If you wanted to create the perfect environment for your beets to bolt, here’s what you would do:
First, give the plants a nice long period of cool weather with extra moist soil while it is young. Then, provide it with long days filled with heat and very little water. Voila!
B. vulgaris needs consistent, even moisture.
Technically, the process of getting ready to flower in beets is known as vernalization. It happens naturally when the plants are exposed to prolonged cold.
The plant emerges in the spring to cool temperatures and short days, which gradually shift to longer and warmer days.
Seeds and seedlings need about five weeks between 41 to 48°F to vernalize. If seeds still on the plant from the previous year or in the ground after falling off are exposed to these temperatures for long enough, they will be vernalized.
Once a plant or seed has vernalized, it’s capable of producing flowers.
Now, if temperatures become too hot, over 65°F or so, depending on the number of daylight hours, the plant might become stressed enough to send out those flowers and complete the lifecycle earlier than it typically would.
Similarly, if it has been consistently cloudy and suddenly the weather changes to nonstop sun every day, that can also cause bolting.
Another common cause is setting out transplants too early, if the seedlings are exposed to a sudden drop in temperature, especially when combined with a lack of water.
Overfertilization with nitrogen, low soil fertility, and inconsistent water are the other culprits.
Once the veggie bolts, the sugar content of the root is reduced, and it turns hard and woody. The leaves also become tough and bitter at this point as well.
Beets tend to bolt more readily than some other species because they vernalize with a short period of cool temperatures. Some species require a long period to vernalize.
When bolting occurs, you’ll start to see flower stalks grow up out of the ground and rapidly develop insignificant blooms followed by seed pods.
How to Prevent Bolting
Because bolting is largely weather-dependent, there isn’t a lot you can do to control it.
If the weather takes a warm turn, it can help to put some shade cloth over the planting area. This will reduce the temperature during the worst of the heat.
Other than that, the best you can do is to maintain consistent soil moisture. Beets need a good amount of water as they develop, so try to keep the soil moist but not wet at all times.
If you’ve ever hand-washed some dishes with a sponge and you wring out that sponge well when you’re done, that’s the texture you’re aiming for. Not soggy wet, and not dry.
Don’t plant too early in the spring, and if temperatures drop below 45°F, make sure the plants have enough water.
What To Do If Your Plant Bolts
Once B. vulgaris bolts, there’s nothing you can do to fix it. You can snip off the flower stem, but that won’t stop the plant from otherwise completing the life cycle process.
Just because you removed the flowers, that doesn’t mean the root isn’t still going to shift the sugar content and toughen up the leaves.
Your best bet is to harvest the beetroots right away. If you catch it early enough, the roots will still taste just fine.
If the roots are far too immature to eat, you can always enjoy the leaves if you catch the bolting plant quickly enough. They’re pretty much the same as chard, anyway.
Don’t Stress
Nothing should dare get between my beet soup, salad, and roasted veggies. Not even bolting.
I’ve been known to dash outside with some shade cloth and obsessively monitor the soil moisture.
So, what seems to be causing the problem on your plants? Did you have a cool spring that jumped into a hot summer? Did the soil dry out for too long? Let us know what you’re experiencing in the comments.
Now that the bolting situation is under control, there’s more to know about making the most out of this root vegetable.
If you found this guide helpful, and I hope you did, these beet guides might also be useful for you:
When the cooler weather rolls in, my mind turns to beets. In soups, salads, roasted, boiled, raw, pickled, sliced, diced, I want beets.
I adore a blood-red option, with the juice staining my fingertips as I slice them open.
I’m a fan of the candy-striped types, adding decorative interest to the plate. But so many aficionados particularly love the golden ones, with their brighter flavor.
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So, why golden beets? Why not stick with the classic?
Well, for one, golden beets are more sweet and less earthy. If you know someone who hates beets, you might be able to convert them by feeding them some of these, roasted to bring out the sugar.
Then there’s the staining. I have stained my cutting boards, fingers, and clothes while dealing with beet blood. Sometimes it’s fun, and sometimes I’m not in the mood to deal with the massacre.
Plus, they’re just pretty.
If you’re interested in raising some of these glorious treasures, then stick around for the following:
Ready to go digging for gold? First, let’s talk about what sets these beets apart from the rest.
Cultivation and History
Closely related to chard, amaranth, and spinach, beets (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris) have been around for a long, long time.
They were first cultivated from sea beets (B. vulgaris subsp. maritima) that grew in the Mediterranean region.
At first, they were cultivated for their leaves by Ancient Greeks and Romans, a legacy chard carries today.
Along the way, those clever Romans decided that their roots were pretty tasty, and began cultivating them for those buried treasures.
At that point, all of them were either black or white rooted. By the 1400s, they became popular in other parts of Europe, too.
At some point between the Roman beet beginnings and then, yellow beets emerged. They were used as the parent to create modern sugar beets in the 1700s.
Golden beets contain antioxidants called betalains. Those with a yellow, gold, or orange hue have more betaxanthin and a smaller amount of betacyanins, whereas red and purple beets have more betacyanins and less betaxanthin, as well as more geosmin, the compound that gives beets that earthy flavor.
Red and purple beets have a higher amount of nitrates, and all colors have a good amount of vitamins A and C, along with heaps of beta-carotene, folate, and manganese.
As a result of this chemical makeup, golden beets tend to be sweeter and have less of those earthy notes that stand out so prominently in red ones. Golden roots also tend to have thinner skin.
Golden Beet Propagation
Beets don’t transplant well, what with their large roots, but they grow so well from seed, so that’s the way we do it.
Most types mature in about two months, so plant the seeds about two months before you want to dig in and when you will have local temperatures between 28 and 70°F.
Anything hotter than that and your plants run the risk of bolting, which is when the plant stops growing and puts its energy into producing seeds instead.
Before you plant, soak the seeds in water for a good hour or two to soften up that tough exterior.
You can also scarify the seeds by nicking them with a nail clipper or file. I find soaking works well enough, though.
You can start beets indoors if you don’t have a long growing season, but be sure to use biodegradable pots to reduce the shock to the roots when you transplant.
I like CowPots because they’re made using the extremely renewable resource of cow poop. Don’t worry, they don’t smell, and they’re safe to handle.
Grab deep ones, like the four-inch diameter, four-and-a-half-inch tall rounds from CowPots. Arbico Organics carries them in quantities of 144 or 300.
Fill your containers with loose, rich potting soil.
Or, if you’re direct sowing, dig down at least six inches and loosen up the soil, tossing out any rocks as you go. Work in lots of well-rotted compost too.
Remember, beets are happiest when you sow them directly into the garden.
Next, sow a seed or two (in case one doesn’t germinate) in each pot or in the prepared ground spaced three inches apart. Seeds should be sown about a quarter to half an inch deep.
Moisten the soil so it feels like a well-wrung-out sponge. You don’t want it any soggier than that.
Place the pots in an area with at least six hours of direct sunlight or under supplemental grow lights.
Keep the soil moist as the seeds germinate, which might take up to two weeks. Seeds will germinate more slowly in cool soil. Optimally, it should be above 50°F.
When the seedlings are three inches tall, thin out the weaker ones so the plants are three inches apart.
If you started your seeds indoors, harden the seedlings off for a week before you place your pots in the soil. The soil should be above 50°F when you transplant them.
To harden them off, place the pots in the spot where you intend to plant them and let them sit there for an hour. Then, bring them back inside.
The next day, give them two hours outdoors. Keep adding an hour each day for a week, and then you’re ready to transplant.
Into succession planting? Feel free to sow a few batches every few weeks so you can have a continual harvest.
How to Grow Golden Beets
If you want those pretty, uniform roots, you must prepare the area in advance.
If the roots encounter rocks or tree roots, they’ll be misshapen or stunted. And a good amount of well-rotted compost will never go amiss. Work some in unless you have some extremely loose, loamy, rich soil. The rest of us need to put in a little extra work.
You can also grow your root veggie gold in raised beds or containers filled with specialty raised bed soil or a potting mixture.
When building a raised bed or amending the soil, I like to use either my own compost or Happy Frog Soil Conditioner from FoxFarm.
It contains earthworm castings, bat guano, and forest humus to enrich the soil.
Once you’ve done the prep work, it’s smooth sailing. Your biggest jobs are going to be monitoring the soil moisture, and kicking weeds to the curb.
Weeds compete with the young beets for food, sun, and water. Plus, they act as hosts to nasty bugs and pathogens.
Just pluck them out with your fingers when they’re young. You don’t want to use a trowel or weeding tool near the plants because you might disturb the roots.
Beets like a good amount of moisture, but not too much. In my experience, too much water actually stunts the root growth.
They always look fantastic above ground with lots of greens, but below ground, the root is smaller than you’d expect.
You want the plant to put its energy into growing roots rather than the leaves. Otherwise, you would have planted chard, right?
Water infrequently and deeply. I let the soil dry out completely before adding more moisture.
If you see cracked roots when you harvest, it might be a sign that you let the soil become too dry. Obviously, there’s nothing you can do about it now, but keep that in mind for next time.
If you worked in compost or soil conditioner, there’s no need to fertilize. As with water, too much causes the plant to concentrate on its foliage and not its roots. We don’t want that.
Growing Tips
Prepare the ground well to remove rocks and loosen it up.
Weed the beds thoroughly.
Allow the soil to just dry out before watering again.
Golden Beet Cultivars to Select
There are too many marvelous options to choose from and you can’t go wrong with any of them.
That said, here are a few popular cultivars and the reasons you might opt to go with one or more of them.
Badger Flame
‘Badger Flame’ was bred for foodies. It hits all the right notes, with a visually pleasing oblong root, which is unusual for beets.
It has a fiery-orange skin and a golden, ringed interior. If you’ve ever seen the white and red concentric rings on the interior of ‘Chiogga’ beets, picture them in orange and pale yellow instead. That’s what ‘Badger Flame’ looks like.
It was bred by plant geneticist and professor Irwin Goldman of the University of Wisconsin over 15 seasons specifically to have less geosmin than usual, so it lacks much of the polarizing earthiness that is the hallmark of red beets.
That means it’s sweet enough for raw eating and lends itself perfectly to cooking as well.
Don’t go thinking it isn’t delicious, though. It’s simply milder, with a crunch that lets it stand up next to other items like carrots and jicama on a raw veggie platter.
Unlike many new cultivars which are immediately patented so they can’t be reproduced, ‘Badger Flame’ was released as part of the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI), which was founded, in part, by Goldman.
That means the plants can be reproduced and shared far and wide. I always like to support those who make their hard work available to others.
If you do too, look for a seller that gives a portion of their profits back to the breeder or to OSSI, such as High Mowing Seeds.
A portion of their sales go back to the breeder. Buy a packet, and you can be enjoying your fantastic treats in just 55 days.
Boldor
‘Boldor’ gets compared to ‘Touchstone Gold’ a lot because they look extremely similar from the outside, but ‘Boldor’ has better germination rates and is more vigorous.
They grow so well that you might mistake this variety for a hybrid, but it’s an open-pollinated heirloom.
The roots are three inches across and perfectly round, with bright orange skin.
Inside, the flesh is pale yellow. While ‘Touchstone Gold’ wins in the vibrant flesh department, ‘Boldor’ has an exceptional flavor that few others can touch.
The golden veins and stems of the leaves of this heirloom are almost too pretty to eat. But they taste so flavorful that it’s a shame not to. The roots are ready to eat in 55 days.
High Mowing Seeds has seeds available in various quantities if the thought of digging in is making your mouth water. I know it is for me!
Burpee’s Golden
The dark golden skin encasing deep yellow flesh is enough to send these to the top of any beet lovers list.
But they’re also sweet, mildly earthy, and flavorful enough to be eaten raw, roasted, or pickled.
The greens are as delicious as they are beautiful, with a bright crunch and golden veins.
Some people thought this cultivar, which was released by Burpee in 1970, was identical to ‘Detroit Golden.’ Though they look similar, they are distinct cultivars.
Ready in just 50 days, you’re mere weeks away from enjoying these in your salads, soups, and stir fries.
Grab packages of 200 or four ounces of seeds from Burpee.
Detroit Golden
When people think of golden beets, this is often the one they imagine. With a mild flavor and bright color, it’s a feast for the eyes and the mouth.
The orange-red skin encases golden yellow flesh that turns buttercup yellow when cooked. The leaves aren’t to be outdone, either. They have bright yellow veins.
The shoulders don’t stay green, as can happen with some beets, and they’re much more vigorous and resistant to disease than the other classic, ‘Burpee’s Golden.’
The large, pyramidal shape of these heirloom veggies looks just as good bundled up in a farmer’s market basket as they do on the plate.
The golden globes are ready in just 60 days, so get started by heading straight to True Leaf Market to pick up a two-gram pack or an ounce, four-ounce, pound, five-pound, or 25-pound package of seeds.
Golden Boy
Drought tolerant, resistant to fungal issues like Cercospora, and slow to bolt in the heat, on top of being productive and high-yielding, you might pick ‘Golden Boy’ because he’s the best in the class.
But these roots have more than all that going for them. They’re also extremely tasty, with a sweet, slightly earthy flavor.
The perfectly round, uniform roots are ideal for bunching and are ready in about 65 days.
The leaves can sub in for rainbow chard with their bright yellow veins. Pick up a gram of seeds at Botanical Interests.
Touchstone Gold
Released by Alf Christianson Seed Company (now Sakata Seed Company), ‘Touchstone Gold’ is a beet by which all others can be measured.
It was bred to improve on the golden beets of yore, which tended to have poor germination rates and root uniformity that was all over the place.
It’s also resistant to zoning, which is a disorder that can affect the flavor.
The perfectly round four-inch roots have ‘Chioggia’-like rings in the buttery yellow flesh. On the outside, the bright orange skin is topped by pale yellow-veined green leaves.
It’s an extremely vigorous plant, and the seeds have a high germination rate and grow quickly.
The roots are ready to harvest in under 55 days. Find packets of 750 milligrams of organic seeds at Botanical Interests.
Yellow Mangel
This heirloom cultivar is incredibly tasty, which is a surprise, because mangel or fodder beets are usually considered only flavorful enough to feed to livestock.
But the white- and yellow-ringed roots are sweet and juicy, without the fibrous texture that some mangel types have.
This cultivar shows promise for breeding new beets, but it’s flavorful enough on its own.
The roots vary wildly in shape and size, ranging from around three inches up to seven inches long. They can be round, oval, or even elongated like a parsnip.
Regardless, they’re all ready to go in anywhere from 65 to 100 days from planting, with the younger beets having a sweeter flavor.
If you let them grow to full size, they can store in the field over winter and will grow up to 10 pounds! At that point, they make excellent fodder.
I first came across these at my farmer’s market and noticed that they seemed to have quite the devoted following, with people lining up to grab them.
My interest piqued, so I brought some home, and fell in love with the mildly sweet flavor. You should give them a try if you get the chance.
Managing Pests and Disease
Golden beets aren’t special in that they aren’t immune to the usual beet pests and diseases.
Certain cultivars exhibit some resistance, but as a group, they will experience all the same issues as red or white types.
Insects
Beets are distressingly popular with pests. There are at least 13 relatively common critters that will feed on beets, from aphids and nematodes to all kinds of beetles and maggots.
We have a full guide to beet pests that goes through all these unwanted visitors in detail, so pop on over there for the rundown.
I will say that healthy beets aren’t usually troubled too much, meaning that pests only rarely visit, and when they do the damage is minimal.
Aphids are the most common, I find, though they usually only feed on my plants if I let them go to seed or forget to be diligent about weeding.
Most of the time, you can just spray the aphids off with a steady stream of water. If that doesn’t work, read our guide to aphids to learn more strategies.
Disease
When I first started growing beets, it was years before I ran into any diseases.
So, as any unsure grower does, I headed to the internet to try and diagnose the first disease that struck my plant.
Boy, was that a mistake. Just as you will find a horrifying list if you do an internet search of your medical symptoms, there is a long list of diseases that can attack beets.
Yes, there are lots of potential diseases. If you read our guide to beet disease, we’ll go over 15 of the most prevalent problems.
Downy mildew, powdery mildew, and fusarium are some of the more frequently encountered ailments.
But few of them are common and most can be avoided through crop rotation, appropriate watering and spacing, and by controlling weeds and pests.
The easiest way to know that they’re ready is to watch for the shoulders while keeping track on your calendar starting from the date planted.
Every cultivar is a little different, so make note of your recommended harvest date and be ready to pull them when that day arrives.
It never hurts to pull them a little early. They’ll still be delicious, if a little smaller and milder.
Waiting too long, however, can have negative consequences. Roots that stay in the ground too long can become woody and they might crack.
You can’t always rely on size. Beets planted closer together, or those that didn’t receive enough sunlight, moisture, or nutrients might be a bit smaller or elongated. It’s fine; they’ll still taste good.
My rule of thumb is to pull everything no later than five days after the recommended harvest date.
To harvest, loosen up the soil around a root using a trowel or rake. Gently grip the beet at the base of the leaves and then lift it up from below, using your trowel or even your fingers.
Greens can be snipped any old time you want, with the younger leaves tending to have a better flavor. Don’t take more than a quarter of the leaves at one time if you still want big, healthy roots.
Preserving
Beets last a long while in storage, which is yet another checkmark in the positives column.
If you plan to eat them in a week or two, store them with the leaves still attached in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.
Anything longer than that, and you should remove the leaves. The roots alone can last up to three weeks in the fridge or in a cold storage area like a root cellar.
Place them in a waxed, food-grade cardboard box or wood box.
If the roots start to turn soft, you can still eat them. I like to use these for quick pickles or roasting.
You can also place the roots in a bowl filled with water and keep it in the fridge for a day or two. This will plump them back up a bit. Make sure you clean them thoroughly before use.
There are lots of reasons to pick our golden friends over their darker cousins.
Blood-red fingers, countertops, cutting boards, and even urine (visit Foodal for a quick guide to beeturia), to name a few… Dealing with all that juice can be obnoxious.
Then, there’s the fact that they taste a little less earthy and more sweet, which makes them appealing even to those who profess a dislike for beets.
My favorite reason? They’re just pretty! Sometimes it’s okay to be superficial.
Which cultivar do you plan on planting? How will you use your harvest? Share with us in the comments.
If you’re eager to learn more about these polarizing plants, we have a few other guides to beets that might strike your fancy, starting with these:
