Growing bigger beets means larger roots to roast, and the reward is a rich, sweet and warming vegetable to enjoy in fall as a side with meat dishes, to pair with seasonal salads, or to add to many dishes.
While you can enjoy baby beets raw, there is a sweet earthiness to enjoy from roasted mature beets. If you aspire to grow bigger beets, there are a few aspects you need to get right, including watering and feeding the crop efficiently during the growing season.
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How to grow bigger beets – 5 aspects to get right
Beets are one of the easiest vegetables to grow, and you can get a long harvest of roots throughout the season. But sometimes you can be disheartened by the sight of small beets come harvest time. If you want to grow bigger beets in your vegetable garden, follow these five steps:
1. Pick bigger varieties
There are lots of different varieties of beets to grow at home, whether in the ground, raised beds, or if you want to grow beets in pots. There is quite a range among that list, too, with roots coming in different sizes, colors, and shapes.
From classic deep-red beets to yellow-fleshed varieties, or Chioggia, which is a particular favorite of mine with red skin and stunning red-and-white candy-striped flesh – you can get Chioggia beet seeds at Burpee to sow at home.
If you aspire to grow bigger beets, be considerate when ordering seeds and focus on those varieties known to produce larger roots. The roots won’t reach world record levels, but you can confidently get good-sized roots to pickle, bake, roast, or add to salads.
Here is a selection of 5 beet varieties that’ll give you good-sized roots:
2. Prepare the ground before planting
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Any dreams of growing bigger beets start with preparing the soil before planting. It might not sound key, but enhancing the soil will reap the rewards of stronger, healthier growth – and bigger roots to harvest.
Before you plant beets, take a bit of time to weed the ground to reduce the competition your beets will face. As beets like fertile soil types, it is recommended to add at least two inches of organic matter to the site.
The best organic matter to use is homemade compost (or store-bought bags of compost) or well-rotted manure (not fresh manure, as it burns plants). This will improve garden soil in three ways. It boosts soil nutrients, enhances the moisture-holding capacity, and also helps with drainage.
3. Thin the seedlings to give them room to grow
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Start sowing beets in spring and successively plant the vegetable throughout spring and summer for the longest harvests. You can sow seeds outdoors once the soil reaches 45°F, or you can sow seeds indoors earlier and transplant seedlings outside once the soil temperature rises.
Sow seeds outdoors in one-inch deep drills, taking care not to sow too thickly, as the large beet seeds are actually capsules with multiple seeds, rather than individual seeds.
Once the seedlings have germinated, thinning them means giving each one the space to develop into nice-sized bulbs. For larger roots, thin seedlings to four inches apart. Pick the strongest seedlings, and remove the weaker ones – but you can enjoy the thinned seedlings in salads.
Not thinning would be a beet growing mistake, and the result would be packed seedlings all competing for the same water, nutrients, and light. The ultimate size of the roots will be affected by such competition.
4. Water regularly – don’t let the soil dry out
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Several problems arise from insufficient watering of beets during the growing season, including disappointing size, splitting roots, poor flavor, and bolting. Beets need regular watering during their early stages, and will develop their best in consistently moist conditions.
Keep a close eye on when to water plants – a soil moisture meter can help gauge the moisture levels under the soil surface – and give plants around an inch of water per week. Regular deep watering as required is more effective than a little-and-often approach, especially during dry spells.
Mulching around beets will help to retain moisture in the soil for longer, to the benefit of your crop. Spreading straw, leaves, or grass clippings after mowing keeps the soil cooler, so less moisture is lost to evaporation.
At the other end of the scale, avoid overwatering plants as it can result in beets with excessive foliage rather than root development.
5. Fertilize often to help them develop
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Providing lots of nutrients is key to any aspirations to grow bigger beets. As well as enriching the soil ahead of planting, you can fertilize beets to give this hungry crop extra nutrients throughout the growing season.
Firstly, feeding with a balanced fertilizer around 6-8 weeks after sowing provides an excellent base of nutrients for a good crop to develop. Use a granular product, mix it into the top few inches of soil, and water it in.
A good example of such a product is this all-natural 4-4-4 vegetable garden fertilizer, available at Amazon.
You can also feed plants with a liquid fertilizer during the growing season. Use a liquid seaweed feed or a homemade comfrey fertilizer, which are high in potassium and other minerals such as zinc and copper.
The main fertilizing mistake to avoid is giving plants too much nitrogen. Using a high-nitrogen feed will result in lots of beet foliage, but only small roots.
This liquid fertilizer is a blend of hydrolyzed fish and seaweed concentrate and can help to improve the yield and shelf life of fruits and vegetables.
A compost made from 100% dairy cow manure that helps improve the soil and provides nutrients to your vegetables.
This soil moisture meter can quickly and easily reveal the moisture levels in the soil on a large and easy-to-read dial.
FAQs
How big should beets be to harvest?
Depending on the variety, beets take between 70 and 100 days from sowing to harvesting. You can harvest smaller, or baby, beets before maturity, but fully-formed beets are best for storing, slicing, or roasting.
Size can be a great indication of when to harvest beets, as mature beets want to be at least golf-ball size, though they can reach the size of a baseball and still be perfectly fine to use.
You want to avoid letting them get too large, though, as the roots can be tough and woody, which can be identified by a thick tan band around the shoulder of the root.
Another highly recommended way to guarantee a great harvest is by choosing good beet companion plants near the crop. For example, garlic and sage can deter pests, including the likes of aphids and cutworms that commonly trouble beets, while planting beans nearby adds nutrients to the soil and benefits surrounding plants.