General Culture: Click for monthly care information.
Best grown in moist, fertile, organically rich, light to sandy, well-drained soils in full sun to light shade. Beet seeds (dried "seed clusters", each with 3 or 4 seeds) may be sown in the ground about 30 days prior to the last spring frost date. Plant seeds clusters 1/2" deep. Several seedlings will emerge from each seed cluster. Young seedlings should be thinned carefully by hand to a spread of about 3-4" between plants. When grown in rows in vegetable gardens, leave about 18" between rows. Successive plantings may be made at monthly intervals during the season (seed planted in the heat of the summer may not germinate however). Baby leaves develop in 35 days. Baby beets develop in 9-11 weeks. For proper growth, beets need regular and consistent moisture, with additional water provided during hot and dry summer periods.
Noteworthy Characteristics:
Beta vulgaris, as used herein, refers to the red beetroot or beet that is sold in grocery stores as a vegetable under the common name of garden beet. Although proper nomenclature for this species is complicated, garden beet cultivars are often abbreviated in commerce as Beta vulgaris followed by the cultivar name. This beet may be cooked for use as a vegetable, pickled for use as a condiment, added to salads, bottled/canned or made into the classic soup known as borscht. Each plant typically forms a dense rosette of dark green leaves that grow in a clump to 18" tall (sometimes more). Beets are best dug and harvested when 2-3" in diameter. Non-showy, greenish flowers (sometimes tinged red) appear in dense spikes. Plants of this species have historically been selected, bred and cultivated for a number of different purposes, including not only the garden beets (root vegetable) described herein but also sugar beets (sugar extraction), mangelwurzel (livestock fodder) and swiss chard/spinach beets (leaf vegetable).
Problems: Click for detailed list of pests and problems.
No serious insect or disease problems. Beets may suffer from fungal leaf spots, downy mildew, powdery mildew and root rots. Watch for leaf miners, flea beetles, leafhoppers, aphids and caterpillars.
Uses:
Garden vegetable.
© Missouri Botanical
Garden, 2001-2010
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