Even if you have a black thumb, you CAN grow beets! In this post, we will teach you how to not kill beets. Learn all about the basics that will help you become a successful beet gardener, including which varieties are available, how to plant, harvest, and preservation. 

Beet Digger 101

Here’s a fun fact just in time for Mother’s Day- when my mom was a senior in high school, her parents made her move to new town, which meant a new high school. For twenty years, she continued to complain about how much she hated that move. And she continued to laugh at her new high school’s mascot… the beet digger! Twenty years later, she still found great humor that her new community was so beet obsessed that their high school mascot was literally someone digging up beets!

She did however, love beets. Especially pickled beets. The last weekend that I spent with my mother, we spent canning things that she had purchased at a local farmer’s market. We pickled beets and I (somewhat) begrudgingly took a jar home.  

She died unexpectedly six weeks later and for almost a year I let those beets sit in my pantry. I even took them out a couple of times to stare at the jar and think of her and her beet digger days and every glorious day that I got to spend with her since then. I finally ate them on a salad just before they got to their expiration date. They were some of the best tasting beets that I have ever eaten.

Choosing the Best Beet Variety for Your Garden

Most beet varieties are distinguished by their colors. Most people think of beets in their familiar red color, but they also come in golden (an orange color) and white. There is also a variety known as Chioggia which is also called candy cane as they are striped red and white. Chioogia and red are the sweetest of the beet varieties.

Beets are full of Vitamin C and their edible tops are full of Vitamin A, as well as many other vitamins and nutrients, which makes for some tasty and good for you eating!

How to Grow Beets (aka How Not to Kill Beets)

Beets love cool weather. They grow best when the temperature is below 75 degrees. They can even stand some freezing temperatures. They also prefer their soil to be loose and well draining.

Beets are a direct sow veggie and can be planted 1 inch apart (thinned to 3 inches)  in traditional gardens and 9 per square foot in square foot gardens.

Beets also like moisture, so be sure to keep them well watered. A layer of mulch will be beneficial as well.

Overall, beets are easy to grow and make a great addition to your garden.

How and When to Harvest Beets (and Storage and Preservation)

Beets grow pretty quickly and can be harvested 50-70 days after planting. Be sure to use the tops as a salad green. Store beets with about an inch of the top still on them. They can be kept in cold storage in a similar manner to potatoes and onions.

Beets can be sliced thin and eaten raw, roasted, pickled, and added to sweets. Before eating or preparing, be sure to remove the thin skin… but beware, it will probably dye your hands red!

But this really leads us to an important question… do you grow beets? How do you eat them? Head over to our Facebook page (Black Thumb Garden Club with Lauresa and Mariah) and join the discussion!

This is the first year that I have beets in my own garden. They are about ready to be pulled (which I suppose will officially make me a beet digger?!?). I look forward to the eating the final pickled version (and maybe trying a new way to eat them) and thinking my beet digger heritage.

Beet Fast Facts

Crop Rotation Group: Root Crop

Planting Method: Direct Sow

Structural Support: None Needed

Number per Square Foot: 9

Days to Harvest: 50-70