RHS Growing Guides
How to grow beetroot
Our detailed growing guide will help you with each step in successfully growing Beetroot.
Getting Started
Beetroot is a popular and easy-to-grow crop, ideal for beginners. Also known as beets, these plants take up very little room, especially when harvested young, so are ideal if space is limited, and they can even be grown in containers.
For the best flavour and texture, harvest when the roots are 4–7cm (1⅓–3in) across
These sweet, colourful and nutritious roots are packed with vitamins, minerals and other beneficial compounds. The leaves are edible too, and often tinted or veined with red, providing ornamental appeal.
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Choosing
When growing beetroot from seed, you can select from a range of colours, sizes and shapes
Most beetroot varieties produce rounded or oval roots, but there are also choices with long or tapered roots. They vary in colour too – as well as the usual deep purple-red, there are varieties with crimson, orange, yellow, white or even pink-and-white striped roots. The paler colours are easier to prepare in the kitchen, as they don’t stain your hands, however the rich red and yellow pigments have beneficial antioxidant properties. Colour can also indicate flavour, with darker roots usually having a richer, more earthy taste and pale ones being milder and sweeter.
Beetroot leaves can be used like spinach or eaten raw when young. Many varieties produce attractive foliage with dark red veins, while ‘Bull’s Blood’ has particularly attractive glossy deep-red leaves that make a colourful addition to salads.
What and where to buy
You’ll find a wide selection of beetroot seeds in garden centres and from online suppliers. Some offer collections of several different coloured varieties. A few suppliers also sell young plug plants in spring and early summer, ready for planting outdoors.
Recommended Varieties
Delicious, smooth skinned and suitable for early cropping. Good resistance to bolting.
An early maturing variety with bright red, round roots. Perfect for pickling.
Italian variety with rounded roots that have striking pink and white rings when sliced. They have a mild flavour.
Preparing the Ground
Choose a sunny site with fertile soil that drains well and doesn’t become waterlogged. Weed the ground thoroughly, then add plenty of organic matter, such as garden compost or well-rotted manure. This improves drainage and enriches the soil. Alternatively, if you're practicing no-dig, mulch the surface and sow or plant directly into the mulch.
If sowing in early spring, especially in heavy clay soil, it’s best to warm the ground first, for a couple of weeks, using cloches. This shouldn’t be necessary on light, sandy soil, which warms up more rapidly in spring.
Sowing
Beetroot seeds are large and easy to sow, in most cases made up of a cluster of seeds rather than just one. They are usually sown straight into the ground, from early spring to mid-summer, but can also be sown in modules indoors for an early start.
Sowing indoors
Early sowings can be made indoors, especially in colder areas. Use modular trays filled with peat-free seed compost and sow one seed cluster in the centre of each, at a depth of 2.5cm (1in). If more than one seedling germinates per module, thin out the weaker ones to leave the strongest. Alternatively, to grow clumps of small roots, sow up to four seeds per module and don’t thin out the seedlings. Transplant them outdoors without splitting them up (see Planting).
Sowing outdoors
Sow beetroot seeds outdoors once the weather starts to warm up in spring and the soil temperature reaches at least 7°C (45°F) – from late March or April through to July. You can sow earlier too if you wish, from late February, but choose a bolt-resistant variety and cover the row with biodegradable fleece or cloches to encourage germination. If you make regular sowings of short rows every few weeks, you’ll have harvests over a long period.
After preparing the ground, sow the seeds in drills, 2.5cm (1in) deep, with 30cm (1ft) between rows. Water along the base of the drill, then sow the seeds 10cm (4in) apart – the corky seed clusters are quite large, so are easy to sow individually. Alternatively, sow two or three seeds together, spacing each group 15cm (6in) apart, to produce clusters of smaller roots, ideal for harvesting as baby veg. This option is also useful when space is tight. Cover the seeds with soil, then water the row if the ground is dry.
Sow directly into containers outside, for an easy to harvest crop of roots and leaves
Sowing outdoors in containers
Beetroot seeds can also be sown in a large container at least 40cm (16in) wide, positioned in a sunny spot. Select varieties with rounded roots, rather than long deep ones. Fill the container with peat-free multi-purpose compost then water well. Space the seeds 10cm (4in) apart and cover with about 2.5cm (1in) of compost.
Thinning out seedlings
Thin out beetroot seedlings to 10cm (4in) apart if you want to grow larger roots
Planting
Young beetroot plants grown from seed in modules indoors, or bought as plug plants, can be planted outside once they’re at least 5cm (2in) tall and well rooted. Harden them off first, to acclimatise them to outdoor conditions, and prepare the soil as outlined above.
If planting in a container, choose one that’s at least 40cm (16in) wide and deep, and fill with peat-free multi-purpose compost. Transfer each module straight into the ground or the container, taking care to avoid any root disturbance. Space single plug plants 10cm (4in) apart. If the modules contain several plants, don’t split them up, just plant each clump 15cm (6in) apart. Firm in gently and water well.
If you sowed several seeds per module, plant the whole cluster of seedlings together
Plant Care
Watering
Water seedlings regularly during dry spells, until they are well rooted and growing strongly. Once established, beetroots don’t usually need much watering, although the roots will generally be more tender if the soil is kept fairly moist.
A lack of water can cause the roots to turn woody, while uneven watering may cause them to split. But don’t be over-generous – excessive watering can lead to too much leafy growth, at the expense of root growth. So, during dry spells or in very free-draining soil, water every 10–14 days. Plants in containers need regular watering throughout their growing period, as the limited amount of compost dries out quickly.
Feeding
If your plants aren’t growing strongly and need a boost, apply an organic high-nitrogen liquid fertiliser.
Weeding
Weed regularly to reduce competition for nutrients and water. This is particularly important while the plants are young. It’s best to weed by hand close to the plants, to avoid accidentally damaging the top of the root with a hoe blade.
Harvesting
As well as eating the sweet, succulent roots, you can cook beetroot leaves like spinach
The roots can be eaten raw, especially when young, or can be steamed or roasted to bring out their sweet flavour. Bear in mind – red varieties will stain your hands, so you may want to wear rubber gloves when preparing them.
Beetroot leaves can be cooked like spinach, and young leaves can be added raw to salads. The leaves can either be harvested at the same time as the root or you can take a few leaves from each plant through the growing season. Just be careful to leave at least four or five on each plant, to help it continue growing strongly and swelling its root.
Storing
In mild locations where there is no risk of the soil freezing in winter, late crops of beetroot can be left in the ground until needed.
Problems
Beetroots are easy to grow, resilient and usually trouble free. Harvest when young and water in dry spells to prevent them turning woody. In hot, dry weather or if sown in very cool conditions, beetroots may bolt (produce flowers rather than swelling the root) – to avoid this, choose bolt-resistant varieties. For more on this and other issues, see Common problems below.
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