How to Grow Beetroot At Home: From Seed to Harvest

01/11/2024 Sav Taylor

Beetroots are among the easiest vegetables to grow in your garden, and the rewards are unmatched. If you, too, want to join in on the fun and grow your own delicious beets, here's a step-by-step guide on how to grow beetroot from seed to harvest.

Packed with essential vitamins and minerals, beets are deliciously sweet in flavour and are great in a salad, soup, or as a side to a roast dinner.

There are many variations of the root vegetable, including orange, pink, or even yellow, but the beetroot we're most familiar with is deep purple. We'll be talking about that one in detail today.

Here’s what we’ll be covering in your WM James guide to growing beets:

How to Grow Beetroot from Seed

So, you’ve got your packet seeds at the ready, but where do you begin?

Use the steps below as your checklist, and tick off each step as you go. Before you know it, you’ll be a beetroot pro (and people will be asking you for gardening advice!).

Beetroot Growing Stages

Step 1) Soil Preparation

As with all vegetables, beetroots require specific growing conditions to thrive and produce the highest-quality crop possible.

Your beetroot plant will be thankful for well-drained, de-weeded soil with plenty of compost or well-rotted manure.

Beets also prefer a warmer temperature, so ensure your soil reaches 7 degrees if you're sowing in early spring.

Here are some things you could benefit from when preparing soil for your beets:

Step 2) Plant Your Beetroot Seeds

Now that you've prepped your soil, it's time to start sowing. The easiest way to do this is by sowing them directly into the ground outside once the weather starts to warm up in late spring/early summer.

Plant your seeds directly in the ground at a depth of around 2cm, with 10cm between seed and 30cm between rows.

To accurately sow, try using a Dibblet and Dibber. This will ensure you get the right size hole and spacing for your seeds, resulting in even growth.

Due to beetroot seeds often being in clusters, seedlings (once 2-3cm tall) should be thinned to one plant every 10cm. Don't worry, there won't be any waste. You can use the thinned seedlings in a salad!

Growing Beets in a Pot

You can, of course, grow beetroot in pots outside. In fact, this is a super easy option, especially if you have limited garden space.

Choose a pot at least 40cm wide, and fill it with multi-purpose compost, adding organic matter if you can.

When selecting your seeds, choose a variety with rounded roots as opposed to long ones. Now, plant your seeds 10cm apart and a quarter inch deep.

Place your pot in a warm, sunny spot, and water gently so you don’t disturb the seeds.

How to Grow Food in Pots & Containers

Step 3) Maintaining Your Beetroots

Caring for your beetroot plant is important to ensure you get the most out of your seeds and ultimately grow a bountiful harvest.

Bear these things in mind…

Watering Beetroots

Beetroots benefit from consistent watering, especially during the early stages of their growth. Watch out for waterlogging, however, as this can cause roots to rot or crack.

When to water your crop depends on the weather (the British weather is notoriously unreliable, as we know), but during hot or dry spells, more frequent watering may be required.

You should avoid disturbing the root of your beets by using something like our 10-litre Plastic Watering Can with Rose Attachment, which ensures the water is evenly dispersed without damaging the roots.

Reduce the amount of watering towards the final stages of beetroot growth.

Sunlight & Beetroot Plants

The beetroot plant should receive full sun for 6-8 hours per day. It’ll tolerate some shade, but more sun is ideal for a thriving beet.

Pest & Disease Management

Pests that seem most attracted to beetroots are aphids, leaf miners, and slugs. Fungal diseases are also common with beetroot plants.

Here's how you can eliminate these issues:

Step 4) Harvesting Your Beetroot Plants

So, what do beetroot look like when ready to harvest? Beets should be ready to harvest in 40-60 days, but there’s an easy way to check if they're done.

Push away the soil around the base of the greens with a hand fork, and expose the top of the beet. If the top of the beetroot is the size of a golf ball or larger, it is ready for harvest.

If they still look a bit small, cover them again and let them grow for a few more weeks.

The Royal Horticultural Society says roots can be eaten raw, especially when young, steamed or roasted. They also suggest it's best to wear rubber gloves when preparing the purple/red varieties because they can stain your hands.

Conclusion: Growing Beetroots for a Rewarding Harvest

You should now have everything you need to grow a successful crop of beetroot. We hope you enjoy the hearty soups and sweet salads!

Growing beets is an excellent option for first-time gardeners. They'll definitely help you get to grips with basic sowing. Maybe next time, you can try something more tricky, like spinach or cauliflower.

Shop our range of helpful sowing tools below!

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