How to Grow Beetroot: A Practical Guide from Seed to Harvest

Beetroot is one of those vegetables that gives you a lot back for very little effort. It’s easy to grow from seed, doesn’t take up much room and is perfectly happy in the ground, raised beds or containers.

You can also harvest it at almost any size. We like to pull some while they’re young and about the size of a golf ball, then leave others to grow on. The young leaves are edible too.

The main thing with beetroot is to keep sowing little and often. A short row every few weeks will spread your harvest of young roots over the whole summer.

Give it reasonable soil, regular water during dry spells and enough space to develop, and it will generally grow well with little more than the occasional bit of weeding.

When to Sow

Beetroot has quite a long sowing season. We tend to find small spaces in the vegetable and flower borders to plant it.

You can start sowing under cover from February or March if you want an early crop, particularly if you have a greenhouse, cold frame or somewhere sheltered to grow the young plants. For most outdoor sowings, April is a good time to get started once the soil has warmed a little.

Continue sowing small batches every three or four weeks through spring and into summer. I much prefer doing this to sowing a long row all at once. You get young, tender roots over a much longer period and there's less chance of everything becoming ready together.

Sowings made in July can still give you roots for harvesting in autumn, especially with quicker-growing varieties. They will need to be watered carefully to help them germinate.

It is tempting to sow early, but when the soil is cold germination is slow and later sowings will soon catch up.

Preparing the Ground

Beetroot isn't particularly demanding about soil, which is one reason it's such a useful crop. It will grow in most reasonably fertile garden soil as long as the ground isn't badly waterlogged or compacted.

Before sowing, loosen the soil with a fork and remove any large stones. A loose, crumbly surface makes sowing and early growth easier.

Rake the surface reasonably level, breaking up any large clods as you go.

If your soil is very poor, adding some well-rotted compost beforehand will help. Avoid piling on fresh manure or lots of high-nitrogen fertiliser. Beetroot needs reasonable fertility, but overly rich ground can give you plenty of impressive leaves without necessarily improving the roots.

It also does well in raised beds and containers. For pots, choose something at least 20–25cm deep and make sure it has good drainage.

One useful thing about beetroot is that it doesn't need the very best spot in the garden. Full sun is ideal, but it will tolerate a little light shade.

How to Sow

Beetroot seed is much easier to handle than something tiny like carrot or lettuce seed. What looks like one wrinkly seed is actually a little cluster that can produce more than one seedling, which explains why several plants sometimes appear from exactly the same spot.

For direct sowing, make a drill about 2cm deep. If the ground is dry, water along the drill first, then place the seeds roughly 5–10cm apart. Cover with soil, gently firm it down and keep the row moist until the seedlings are established.

Leave around 25–30cm between rows.

You can also start beetroot in modules, and I often find this useful for getting an early crop underway or filling gaps later. Sow one seed cluster per module and let the seedlings grow together rather than worrying about separating every single plant. I also use lengths of old guttering to start early crops.

For a steady harvest, sow a short row or a few modules every three or four weeks. Unless you're planning to pickle enough beetroot to see you through winter, you really don't need to empty the packet in one go.

Thinning and Growing On

Because each beetroot seed can produce several seedlings, don't be surprised when your carefully spaced row suddenly looks rather crowded.

Once the seedlings are large enough to handle, thin them to give the developing roots some room. Somewhere around 7–10cm between plants is a good spacing if you want decent-sized beetroot. If you're planning to harvest them young, they can be a little closer.

Don't throw the thinnings away if they're a useful size. Young beetroot leaves are perfectly edible and make a nice addition to salads.

If you've grown seedlings together in modules, you don't necessarily have to pull the little cluster apart. Plant the whole module out and give it a bit more room. As the roots develop, they tend to push away from one another surprisingly well.

Keep weeds under control while the plants are small, taking care not to disturb the roots. Once the leaves have filled out, they'll shade the ground and make life considerably easier.

If roots begin pushing their shoulders above the soil, don't worry. That's perfectly normal with beetroot and there's no need to keep covering them up.

Watering and Feeding

Beetroot will tolerate the odd dry spell, but the best roots come from reasonably steady growth.

Water young plants while they're establishing and give the crop a good soak during prolonged dry weather.

What you want to avoid is allowing the soil to become extremely dry for long periods. Drought-stressed beetroot can become woody and growth may stop.

Container-grown plants need more attention because compost dries much faster than garden soil. Check pots regularly during warm weather and water thoroughly when needed.

In reasonably good garden soil, I don't usually feed beetroot at all.

On particularly poor ground, a little general-purpose feed can help, but avoid overdoing nitrogen. Loads of enormous leaves aren't much consolation when you pull the plant and discover a beetroot the size of a marble underneath.

Steady growth rather than lots of feeding is what you're aiming for.

Harvesting

You can start harvesting beetroot as soon as the roots are large enough to be useful.

Personally, I think they're at their best when they're somewhere between golf-ball and tennis-ball size. Young roots are sweet and tender, and you don't gain much by leaving every beetroot to become enormous.

Have a look around the base of the leaves and you'll usually be able to see the top of the root sitting above the soil. If it looks about the right size, pull it.

Grip the leaves close to the crown and lift steadily. In dry or heavy soil, loosening the ground with a fork first makes things easier.

If you've grown plants in clusters, harvest the largest root first and leave the smaller ones behind. They'll suddenly have more room and often grow on surprisingly quickly.

Later sowings can stay in the ground into autumn, but I'd lift the crop before prolonged hard frost or very wet winter conditions.

When harvesting, twist the leaves off rather than cutting them close to the root if you're storing beetroot. Leave a couple of centimetres of stalk attached to help reduce bleeding.

Common Problems

Beetroot is generally trouble-free, which is another reason I like growing it, but there are a few things worth watching for.

Bolting is most common with early sowings that experience cold conditions. Instead of concentrating on making a decent root, the plant sends up a flower stalk. Choose bolt-resistant varieties for early sowings and don't be too keen to put young plants outside into cold ground.

Leaf miner can leave pale, papery patches or tunnels inside the leaves. It often looks worse than it really is. Remove badly affected leaves and don't leave them lying around the crop.

Birds can sometimes pull at young seedlings, while slugs and snails may have a nibble too. Beetroot is fairly robust once established, but it's worth keeping an eye on very young plants until they're growing strongly.

Small or poorly developed roots are often caused by overcrowding. If you've got masses of healthy leaves but very little underneath, check the spacing before reaching for fertiliser. Give the plants enough room to swell.

Woody roots are usually the result of leaving beetroot in the ground for too long or allowing plants to struggle through very dry conditions. Harvesting little and often generally gives you much nicer roots.

You may occasionally notice marks, scabs or rough patches on the roots. Unless the damage is severe, peel the affected area away and the rest is usually perfectly usable.

And don't worry if every beetroot isn't beautifully round. Depending on the variety and soil, you'll get different shapes and sizes. That's home-grown veg for you — if it tastes good, it's done its job.