Beets are a delicious and nutritious root vegetable that can be grown easily in home gardens. But knowing the right time to harvest your beets ensures you get the best flavor and quality from each plant. Follow these tips to identify when your beets are at their peak for picking.
Monitor Days to Maturity
Most beet varieties take 55-70 days to reach maturity and full size. Check the seed packet or plant tag to find out the days to maturity for the variety you planted. Mark your calendar and start checking beets around the beginning of that harvest window. This will give you an estimate of when to start testing for ripeness.
Look for Larger Leaves
As the beet root grows bigger underground, the leaves above ground will also get larger. Monitor the beet greens and watch for them to be fully sized with no signs of wilting or dying back. Big healthy leaves are a clue that the taproot below is swelling and maturing.
Test by Feeling the “Shoulders”
Once beets are nearing maturity you can check roots individually by feeling for the top “shoulders” of the beet. Gently clear soil from the top 1-2 inches of the root. Circle the top of the root with your fingers. Apply light pressure to feel the width of the top shoulders beneath the soil. This gives you a sense of size and indicates if the beet is ready for harvest. If it feels small re-cover it with soil and let it continue growing.
Look for Golf Ball Size
Mature beets are often best harvested when about the size of a golf ball. This size gives you tender, flavorful roots. Beets left to get much larger tend to be less sweet and can get woody. Use the shoulder test to gauge if your roots have reached golf ball proportions. This is likely the optimal time for harvesting.
Check if Root Yields to Pressure
An additional way to check roots for maturity is to apply gentle pressure with your hands to the top of the beet. See if the root moves and yields to the pressure being applied from above ground. If the beet is firmly in place and doesn’t shift at all, it likely needs more time to reach full maturity.
Watch for Cracks in Shoulders
As beets sit in the ground, their shoulders may start to emerge slightly from the soil. Check for any small cracks or openings developing in the tops of the roots. This can indicate the beet is overly mature and should be harvested immediately.
Consider Days Since Thinning
Take note of when you initially thinned beet seedlings down to 2-4 inches apart in the row or bed. Mature beets need adequate space to expand If it’s been 50+ days since thinning, go ahead and start testing your plants for maturity Crowded beets will mature faster and may be on the small side.
Harvest Before a Hard Freeze
Beets can withstand a light frost and may get sweeter as temperatures drop. But once the ground freezes solid, beets need to be harvested even if roots seem small. So prioritize digging up any remaining beets before the first hard freeze is expected in your area.
Time Second Plantings Accordingly
You can continue harvesting beets over a longer window by making successive plantings every 2-3 weeks through early summer. Then each new planting will be ready on a staggered schedule. Just be sure to stop planting beets at least 2 months before your first expected fall frost date.
Dig Carefully to Avoid Damage
Use a digging fork to gently loosen soil and lift beets by their tops to avoid nicking or bruising the roots. Cut tops off leaving 1-2 inches of stem attached. Handle beets carefully to prevent cuts and scrapes that reduce their storage life. Be thorough harvesting as any beets left behind likely won’t survive the winter.
Check Your Harvesting Method
If beets are consistently undersized or not reaching full maturity, re-evaluate your planting and care methods. Issues like soil compaction, insufficient watering, lack of thinning, and not enough fertilization can impact growth and maturity. Adjust these factors next season for improved harvests.
With a little practice, you’ll soon get familiar with the growth habit of beets and can reliably judge when your roots are ready for harvesting. Just continue observing plant cues throughout the summer. Then enjoy fresh homegrown beets all season long.
How to Store Beets from the Garden
Rinse your beets in cold water (dont scrub or youll remove their protective coating) and allow them to dry completely. Trim off the beet greens, leaving just about an inch or so attached.
If you have a root cellar or a basement that stays nice and cool, you can pack your beets in a container with some sand and then keep the lid ajar. Theyll keep for up to 2 months this way. Otherwise, your beets will go in your fridges produce drawer inside a perforated plastic bag.
Theyll last a few months before they decline in flavor and consistency.
Where to Grow Beets
You can grow beets in raised garden beds, large containers, or grow bags. Using some type of raised container (instead of growing in the ground) offers better drainage and weed control. Plus, you get to start with great soil from the very beginning. Youll definitely want to grow your beets in a container with a bottom (and drainage holes) if you have larger pests like voles in your area.
Your container should be at least 12 inches deep to accommodate the entire beetroot. Beets grow best in potassium-rich soil. I like to amend the planting area with plenty of compost first to give beets all the nutrients they need to grow nice and juicy.
Root crops like beets can take a while to germinate and grow. Even though I interplant most of my veggies, I prefer to grow beets in a bed all by themselves. If you do want to interplant, consider getting your beets started in the garden first so that their leaves have plenty of time to grow a couple inches tall before the other plants around them take off. Otherwise, you run the risk of those other plants blocking critical sunlight.
Beets prefer at least 6 hours of sunlight on their leaves each day. The plant needs to make and store a lot of energy to be able to form a nice, full root. If youve grown beets before and felt like your crop was taking forever to grow, it could have been a sunlight issue. Another sign of insufficient light would be pulling up a beet with large beet greens on top but a wimpy little root below.
When To Harvest Beets – Pick At The Right Time (Avoid Woody Beets)
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