Bountiful beetroot
Beetroot is easy to grow, and one generous sowing will produce for months. PHIL DUDMAN shares his tips for a bountiful harvest
There’s more to beetroot than the round red roots you commonly see at greengrocers. Beets can have yellow, orange, white and even colourful candy-striped flesh, and some produce beautiful, long, cylindrical roots that are ideal for slicing. You can discover them all when you grow them yourself, and best of all, eat them at the peak of their nutritional goodness.
Beetroot is an easy crop to grow, and one planting can supply ongoing harvests of delicious roots over many months, not to mention the colourful leaves, which can be tossed into salads or cooked like its cousin, silverbeet.
The best beets are produced in cool to warm conditions. In temperate areas, that’s spring to autumn, or in the tropics, the dry season. In the subtropics, where I live, I can grow beetroot most of the year except for the wettest months in summer.
getting started
Beetroot likes about 5–6 hours of sun a day, but will do okay in as little as four. Good drainage is vital, and raised beds are ideal, or you can mound soil to improve drainage. Add some garden compost or well-rotted manure before planting. Spread around some blood and bone or pelletised poultry manure, too, and gently rake this into the top 2–3cm of soil.
A pH of 6–7.5 is optimal, so add lime or dolomite if your reading is below 6. If you’re short on space, grow your beets in pots. They’ll do particularly well over the coming months as temperatures cool. Use a 50:50 mix of quality potting mix and compost.
Sowing beetroot seed is easy and far more economical than buying sufficient seedlings. When sowing directly in the ground, dribble seed into drills that are 1–2cm deep and 30cm apart, then backfill. Keep them moist and the tiny seedlings will emerge in 7–10 days. Thin to about 5cm apart, then thin again for an early harvest of roots when they are about golf ball size. These baby beets will be sweet and tender, and are perfect for roasting, steaming or pickling whole.
I like to raise my seed in cell punnets first as it allows me to get plants up and running while I’m waiting for premium space to become available in my patch. I multi-sow, dropping 3–4 seeds into each cell. When the seedlings are established, I plant the clumps 25–30cm apart. This means there’s enough room for each root to push out and find its own space to develop. It’s a relatively intensive approach that delivers high returns.
care & harvesting
The plants need a steady, even supply of moisture to form tender, juicy roots, but don’t flood them. Dryness can lead to
woody roots or cracks that expose roots to rot. Mulch well to preserve moisture, and on hot days, shelter with shadecloth to reduce transpiration and stress.
Liquid-fertilise once a fortnight with diluted fish emulsion and liquid seaweed, which will give you tastier, more tender results. Beets also like a little boron, a micronutrient that is often lacking in our soils. Find it in powdered form at garden centres, and dilute according to the label’s recommendations. A one-off application in the life of the crop is all that’s normally required. Too much can be toxic to plants.
It takes 2–3 months for the roots to get to the baby beet size (30–50mm wide). When pulling these up, use your opposite hand to firmly hold neighbouring plants
in position. This will minimise their root disturbance and allow them to keep growing. I continue thinning the largest roots as I need them, letting a few reach tennis ball size. Anything larger than
this tends to lose quality. Leaves can be continually harvested anytime from about six weeks onwards. Pick from the outer leaves and always leave five or six on the plant to support continued growth.