Growing Guide

Growing Beets

A complete, definitive, simple, and free guide to growing tasty (not bitter) beets in your own yard.

Selecting the Type of Beet You Want to Grow

Fastest Growing Beets: Robin Beets and Early Wonder Beets

Most Heat and Cold Resistant: Early Wonder Beets

Best For Tender Greens: Bull’s Blood and Early Wonder Beets

To Create Sugar: Sugar Beets

Doesn’t Taste Like Grandma’s Beets: Golden Boy Beets

Click Here for a Complete List of My Favorite 9 Beet Profiles

Beet Germination Temperatures

Minimum Soil Temperature: 40° F

Ideal Soil Temperature: 80° F

Maximum Soil Temperature: 90° F

Average Days to Emerge: 7-14

Beet seedlings are frost-sensitive and can die at soil temperatures below 31°F; however mature plants are quite cold-hardy.

Click Here to Learn Which Beets Can Survive Frost

Click here to find out how long it takes beet seed to germinate and what you can do to speed it up.

When to Plant Beets

Plant beets directly in the ground when the soil is over 40°F, ideally over 55°F, and when you still have 50 to 70 days with soil temperatures ranging between 50°F and 85°F.

If your growing season is short, beets can be sown indoors and transplanted. You can also choose a variety that matures faster.

Beet seedlings are sensitive to frost and temperatures below 31°F can kill them. Whereas mature plants can tolerate much lower temperatures.

Click here to find what month most gardeners in your state and region plant beets.

Beets Growing Profile

Sunlight

Minimum of 6 Hours Direct Sun Per Day is Ideal

Will Grow in Partial Sunlight (some shade)

Soil

Spring - Sandy Loam is Best

Fall - Heavier Soil is Better

Free of Debris

Good Aeration & Drainage

Soil pH 6.5 to 7 w/ plenty of Boron present

Learn more about soil here and the top 3 potting mixes I’ve grown beets in.

Water

Seedlings: Water less, but more often

Mature Beets: Water more, but less frequently

Maintain moist soil, do not let it dry out or get waterlogged.

Learn more about beet water requirements and my favorite automatic irrigation methods.

Soil Temperature

Ideal: 50°F to 75°F

Cold Tolerance: 20°F

Heat Tolerance: 90°F

How to Plant Beets

Seed Depth: 1/2 inch

Row Spacing: 6 inches apart

Seed Spacing: 3-4 inches apart for single sowing or 6” apart for multi-sowing

Square Foot Gardening: 9 seeds per square foot

Before planting, test soil and apply fertilizers as needed, working them into the top 4 inches of soil.

Water immediately after planting and use mulch or a shade net to keep the soil moist. Keep the top 3” of soil consistently moist for 5 to 15 days until seeds to germinate.

Click here for a detailed guide on planting beet seeds

Click here to learn about transplanting beets. (coming soon)

Click here to see the results of my beet spacing experiment. This spacing produced the most beets. (coming soon)

Click here to learn what varieties benefit the most from soaking before planting.

Thinning Beets

Baby Beets: For baby beets, grow in a cluster of 2-3. If more germinate, thin them when the seedlings are 2-3” tall with true leaves using clean scissors.

When one beet in the cluster is the size of a golf-ball, pull it out gently to make room for the other 2 to grow larger.

Continue thinning this way until all the beets are harvested.

Large Beets: For larger beets grown for sandwiches, thin the beets when they are seedlings, 2-3” tall and have true leaves.

Use a clean pair of scissors and thin at soil level, leaving only one beet every 3-4” in 12” rows.