How to Grow Beets All Year

Growing beets can be a bit of a challenge and in todays video I try and give a rundown of how we grow thousands of bunches of beets per year on a market garden scale.

This video covers: how to grow beets, how to grow beets for storage, how to grow beets in the summer, how to grow better beet greens, should you spray beets with salt water, marketing beets, and more.

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[notillgrowers]

I usually try to mention that I'm in KY, zone 6b but I forgot. So, uh, yeah, KY zone 6b!

[kimberlybontrager]

I like to add a little cheap cinnamon to my seed trays I have even gotten away with recycling soil and have no damp off problems whatso ever because the cinnamon kills all fungus. It also is a great rooting compound

[hennieloubser]

I am a veges farmer in Botswana Africa and are sowing beets direct throughout the year. Detroit Dark Red or Crimson Clobe gives good results. Close them up with 30% shade net sheets which I pull over a bended 20mm black plastic pipe to form a bow. Pin them down with a "U" bended piece of wire at each bow about 5m spaced. Sow 7 rows of beet seeds on a 1 meter raised bed.
Germination takes about 2 weeks but needs lots of watering at the start, 25mm the first day and 2nd day again. We have very hot summer days of 40 degree celcius but with enough water they manage. Winter germination 2 weeks, but then I cut the shade nets out, and just watering.
Beets handle our cold nights very well, which can go minus 1 to 2 degrees celcius.
I have build a rolling hole press to "hole" the beds, pull it with a tractor which runs across the beds. before I put 2 seeds per hole by hand. A bit labour intensive to plant, and then I thin out 3 weeks after sowing, to be left with a seedling per hole.
I do this on commercial scale and harvest 10kg per running meter which gives me 60 - 65 beets.
People more intersted in more info send me a note I willing to share my results as long as you are making a harvest!

[workinprogress]

Thanks! This video beets all others I have seen, so far.

[codedesigns]

Not sure if it’s the best idea, but while we grow a lot of beats, we take a couple leaves from each as the season goes for beat-top salads. It’s a great replacement for lettuce which does not grow well in warm weather. Hope this helps someone! 😀

[TheRealLukeOlson]

I love the editing, side-bar commentary, and dad humor. Big fan of the whole vibe of the channel. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 Some very excellent content.

[Cherryparfait]

Love this upbeet video!
Always trying to up my game on beets and looking for the secret that will work for me.

[Horse]

I freeze beets so freezing breaks cell walls making nutrients available. Then I thaw them out and dice them for a salad. I use olive oil and Apple Cider Vinegar for my dressing.

[davemikenstephenson]

Love that you get to the relevant stuff while having fun and being witty

[agb]

Growing beets for the first time and thoroughly enjoying them in our urban raised bed garden. For dinner last night we had beet greens sautéed with bacon and riced cauliflower. Then placed seasoned tilapia fillets on top, baked in the oven. Ummm Ummm good! I also made beet stalk refrigerator pickles! I love beets ♥️. Update on the beet stalk pickles….. too stringy.

[B.LoerincHelft]

We intercrop beets with garlic to keep away leaf miner.

[MamaKat]

You mentioned people tend to buy the red round beets over the other varieties. Have you ever considered selling a "sampler" bunch to introduce them to the different kinds of beets?

[purplethumb]

I love your easy-going, friendly, "I'm not a perfect know-it-all" delivery. Lots of great information. Thank you!

[homesteadgal]

I grow in Zone 6b/7a, northern Shenandoah Valley, VA.
I grow mostly the Goldens and do pretty well with them. This year we converted our large garden #1 to raised beds. Our fill was a mushroom compost mix. I direct seeded in a bed that was to be planted w/ tomatoes. Took for germination (much longer than normal, but our weather was not 'normal'). Without a doubt, growing beets in the raised bed makes for much easier seeding and harvesting, and the compost mix is great for beets (heck, for ALL of our garden so far). I've been harvesting the greens for about 3 weeks now; yesterday, pulled some beets for a meal...delicious! No insect damage to leaves at all, beautiful roots. Direct sowing was on April 14, so a little over 60 days to harvest beets.
I will be direct sowing again today (Detroit Reds), and since this is a very cool June, I'm gambling that we'll get 'summer beets' this year.
After listening to your raves about tunnel-growing, I'll try a small patch in my greenhouse for Fall.
I also save seeds, so some of my earlier beets will be left in the ground to bolt.
We eat raw and cooked beets (mostly in stir fries), raw and cooked leaves. Every part of the beet is delicious.
New subscriber...I get a kick out of your calculations...math can be a gardener's friend. :-)

[julietardos]

Fun fact about beets: their color does not stain fabric. This is because its color molecules are too large to stick to fabric. Chemists and dyers have been trying for centuries because their color is so beautiful, but at this point, I don't think it's going to happen.

Best beet recipe: Peel, dice, simmer in orange juice with a dash of nutmeg until soft. Eat. Yum.

[artwithmycoffee]

‘Dry climate crop’ 😮 sorry I just have to chuckle at how things can vary. I’m in Juneau, Alaska and we are in the Tongas National Rain Forest. Our summers are very wet, but beets are one of our best crops. The temps are moderate and cool and seem to like the moisture. We usually grow the Detroits and have excellent, and delicious beets that will store in the fridge for several months. I enjoyed your video. Thanks for sharing!

[paulsoutbackgardenaustrali]

Yep..been growing Detroit beets for over 20yrs...and they are the best...and you can easily grow year round as long as last seeds are planted 4_6 weeks before frost...🤔☺🇭🇲

[jumpyjenny]

I like your comments about not wasting anything. I separate the beet, leaves and stems and use them in different ways but I like to cut the stems in small uniform pieces and pickle them. Even when I thin my beets I save them for micro greens on my salad.

[TheNewMediaoftheDawn]

I love beets as well, pretty underrated by most except for old people, Eastern Europeans, foodies, health freaks, and market gardeners…🤣 My favourites are golden as a home grower, but I find them more finicky too, worse germination rates, slower growing, but so purdy and tasty. Starting 2020, I did a cut and come again on the greens and the new green growth replaces the old harvested in under 2 weeks. I get at least 5-7 leaf harvests before I harvest the whole beet with still full leaves and root, that looks like a normal fully intact beet plant.

[lauragillespie]

Thanks, Jessie! I personally love your puns. Growing beets first time, middle GA.