Beetroot

01 About

Fast, colourful, and delicious roasted, pickled, or raw in salads. Beetroot is one of the most forgiving and rewarding crops for beginners. Sow directly from April and you can be harvesting sweet baby beets within 10 weeks.

02 What to Grow

Beetroot offers far more variety than the standard dark red globe. Golden and striped Chioggia types add colour to salads and roasting trays, while long cylindrical forms like Cylindra slice into perfect even rounds for pickling. For beginners, bolt-resistant varieties like Boltardy are the safest choice for early sowings. Baby beet specialists like Babybeat can be harvested within 8 weeks.

03 Varieties

The number of varieties shown for each crop is based on UK consumption data (2025/26) — the more popular the crop, the more variety choices we include.

🔴 Classic Red

The dependable red globe beetroots that form the backbone of any kitchen garden. Smooth, sweet, and reliable.

Boltardy

Red round · Seed

A classic UK favourite with excellent bolt resistance, making it ideal for early sowings. Deep red, smooth, and sweet with reliable performance in most soils.

• AGM
• Bolt-resistant
• Beginners

Pablo F1

Red round · Seed

A reliable hybrid with smooth round roots and strong bolt resistance. Useful for successional sowing with a sweet, tender texture when harvested young.

• AGM
• F1
• Bolt-resistant

Detroit 2 Crimson Globe

Red round · Seed

A dependable globe beetroot with deep red flesh and good uniformity. Popular with UK growers for steady cropping and rich traditional flavour.

• Beginners

🌈 Coloured Varieties

Golden, striped, and white forms that add drama to the table. Milder in flavour and non-staining.

Chioggia

Striped heritage · Seed

An Italian heritage variety with spectacular red and white ringed flesh. Mild and sweet, excellent for salads and roasting.

• Heritage
• ⭐ Flavour

Albina Vereduna

White · Seed

A pale white beetroot that does not bleed when cooked. Sweet, earthy flavour and a useful novelty crop for UK gardens.

• Heritage
• ⭐ Flavour

Boldor F1

Golden · F1 · Seed

A round, smooth-skinned golden beetroot with bright yellow-orange flesh and a mild, sweet flavour. Bleeds far less than red types and holds its colour when cooked. Sow Apr–Jul; pull at golf-ball to tennis-ball size.

• F1
• ⭐ Flavour

📏 Special Forms

Long cylindrical and baby types that offer different kitchen uses and harvesting options.

Cylindra

Long cylindrical · Seed

A distinctive long-rooted beetroot that slices into even rounds, ideal for pickling. Good yields from limited space.

• Pickling
• Long Storage

Cheltenham Green Top

Long tapering · Seed

An old British variety with long tapering roots and excellent keeping ability. Traditional earthy flavour, well suited to autumn lifting and winter storage.

• AGM
• Heritage
• Long Storage

Babybeat

Baby · Seed

A fast-maturing variety bred specifically for small, tender roots. Ideal for containers and successional sowing where quick harvests are wanted.

• Baby type
• Fast-maturing

🌿 Heritage & Leaf

Dual-purpose and heritage varieties valued for foliage as well as roots.

Bulls Blood

Leaf & root · Seed

Valued for its deep red leaves as much as its small sweet roots. Attractive in beds and useful for baby leaf salads.

• Heritage
• ⭐ Flavour

Moneta

Monogerm · Seed

A monogerm variety that produces single seeds, reducing the need for thinning. Round roots with good flavour and reliable results.

• Beginners

Solist

Red round · Seed

A modern monogerm beetroot producing neat, uniform round roots useful for close spacing and steady crops.

• Fast-maturing

Crosby's Egyptian

Heritage root · Seed

A very early flat-topped Victorian heritage variety of American origin. Small to medium roots with dark red skin and sweet, tender flesh. One of the oldest named beetroot still in cultivation. Good for early sowing and baby beet production.

• Heritage
• Early
• Baby Beet

MacGregor's Favourite

Heritage leaf · Seed

A Scottish heritage beetroot prized almost entirely for its extraordinary deep blood-red foliage. Tall, ornamental leaves make it highly decorative in the kitchen garden bed. Small, sweet roots. Primarily grown as an ornamental heritage variety with some culinary merit.

• Heritage
• Ornamental
• Scottish

04 Where to Source

Beetroot is almost always grown from seed, widely available from garden centres and online. Each cluster contains 2–3 seeds — monogerm varieties like Moneta produce single seeds, reducing thinning. Sets are not used for beetroot.

📬 Seeds by Post

Online seed companies offer the widest variety range — including monogerm types, heritage colours, and bolt-resistant selections unavailable in garden centres. Order from January for the first April sowings. Seed is inexpensive — buy several varieties to sow in succession.

🏪 Garden Centres

Garden centres reliably stock Boltardy, Detroit 2, and one or two other standard varieties from February onwards. Selection is limited but the seed is fresh and ready immediately. A good backup if online orders are delayed.

05 Planting Options

🌱 Open Ground

The most natural and productive method. Beetroot is always direct-sown — it dislikes transplanting. Prepare a fine, stone-free seedbed. Sow in shallow 2cm drills, 30cm apart. Each seed cluster contains 2–3 seeds; thin to the strongest seedling once established. Sow every 3–4 weeks from April to July for a continuous harvest of baby and full-sized roots.

Suitable varieties: All varieties. Full-sized maincrop types like Detroit 2 and long Cylindra types perform best with the unrestricted root run of open ground.

🪵 Raised Bed

Raised beds warm earlier in spring and drain freely — both of which suit beetroot well. The loose, deep growing medium allows roots to develop without compaction. Sow direct as for open ground. Raised beds give particularly good results for early sowings as the soil warms 2–3 weeks ahead of open ground. Successional sowings every 3–4 weeks maintain a steady supply.

Suitable varieties: All varieties. Baby beet types like Babybeat and Moneta are especially productive in raised beds — harvest at golf-ball size for the finest flavour.

🪣 Container

Beetroot grows well in containers provided the pot is at least 25–30cm deep. Use peat-free multi-purpose compost. Sow seeds directly into the container and thin to one plant per 8–10cm once established. Baby beet varieties are the best choice — harvest small for the finest flavour. Water consistently; containers dry out quickly in warm weather. Feed fortnightly with a balanced liquid fertiliser once plants are established.

Suitable varieties: Baby beet varieties — Babybeat, Moneta, and Boltardy. Avoid long-rooted Cylindra types which need greater depth.

🏠 Greenhouse / Cloche Start

Beetroot does not need a greenhouse to succeed but an early start under glass or cloches gives a 3–4 week advantage in the North. Sow into modules or deep root trainers in a cool greenhouse from mid-March — not heated above 15°C, as warmth triggers bolting. Transplant carefully at the two-leaf stage, disturbing roots as little as possible. Alternatively, warm open ground with cloches for two weeks before direct sowing from mid-March.

Suitable varieties: Bolt-resistant varieties only for early starts — Boltardy is the benchmark. Avoid non-bolt-resistant varieties before late April in the North.

06 Companion Planting

✅ Grow nearby

• 

  🧅 Onions

  Onions and beetroot are said to benefit each other when grown in close proximity. Onion scent may help deter pests, and both crops have complementary root depths and similar soil requirements.

• 

  🥬 Lettuce

  A classic catch crop pairing. Lettuce fills the space between beetroot rows and is harvested before the beetroot needs the full space. Both prefer similar cool, moist conditions.

• 

  🥦 Brassicas

  Beetroot grows well alongside brassicas and is a good companion in the brassica rotation bed. It takes up little space and shares no significant pests with the brassica family.

❌ Keep apart

• 🫘 Climbing Beans — Runner and climbing French beans are poor neighbours for beetroot — the nitrogen they fix into the soil encourages leafy growth at the expense of root development.
• 🌼 Charlock & Field Mustard — Wild brassica relatives can host beet leaf miner and other pests that transfer readily to beetroot. Keep the area around the bed weed-free.

07 Sowing — How To

Beetroot is always sown direct — it dislikes transplanting and the multi-germ seed clusters can produce 2–3 seedlings per station that need thinning once established. Sow from April when soil has warmed to at least 7°C. For earlier crops, warm the soil with cloches two weeks before sowing. Bolt-resistant varieties allow sowings from mid-March.

1. 

   Prepare the drills

   Rake to a fine, stone-free tilth. Draw shallow drills 2.5cm deep, 30cm apart. Firm the base of each drill gently.

2. 

   Sow the seeds

   Sow seed clusters 10cm apart along the drill. Each cluster may produce 2–3 seedlings — thinning is essential. Space clusters evenly.

3. 

   Cover with soil

   Gently rake fine soil back over the seeds to cover to 2.5cm. Firm lightly with the back of the rake and water in with a fine rose.

4. 

   Germination

   Germination takes 10–14 days in warm soil. Do not re-sow for at least 3 weeks — cold soils slow germination significantly.

5. 

   Thin seedlings

   Once seedlings are 5cm tall, thin to one per station. Use thinnings as baby salad leaves — the red leaves are excellent raw.

6. 

   Harvest

   Begin harvesting when roots are golf-ball to tennis-ball size for the best flavour. Twist off leaves rather than cutting to prevent bleeding.

Regional sowing timing

Region	Sow / plant	Harvest	Notes
Scotland & Far North	Apr–Jul	Jul–Oct	Wait until April — cold soils cause bolting in unresistant varieties. Choose Boltardy for earliest sowings · Apr–Jul
Northern England	Apr–Jul	Jul–Oct	Sow from mid-April under cloches; open ground from late April. Successional sowing every 3 weeks gives steady harvest · Apr–Jul
Midlands & Wales	Mar–Aug	Jun–Oct	Bolt-resistant varieties can go in from late March. Successional sowing through to August for autumn roots · Mar–Aug
Ireland & Isle of Man	Apr–Jul	Jul–Oct	Sow from April in most areas; bolt-resistant varieties from late March. Regular watering essential in drier easterly areas · Apr–Jul
South & SE England	Mar–Aug	Jun–Oct	Earliest UK sowings from mid-March under cloches; open ground from late March. Long season into October · Mar–Aug
South Coast & SW	Mar–Aug	Jun–Nov	Longest season — sow from mid-March, harvest into November. Mild autumns allow very late sowings · Mar–Aug

08 Using a Propagator

A propagator is useful for beetroot only for very early sowings in late February or March, when outdoor soil is still too cold. Use a cool propagator — no more than 15°C. Higher temperatures encourage bolting in seedlings before they are even established.

Heated propagator

Set to no more than 15°C — beetroot is unusual in that excessive warmth triggers bolting rather than helping germination. A gentle bottom heat of 12–15°C is sufficient to bring seeds up in 7–10 days from late February. Remove seedlings from the propagator immediately after germination and move to a cool, bright windowsill.

Standard unheated propagator — A lidded seed tray traps warmth and humidity around germinating seeds without electricity. Performance depends entirely on room temperature — best placed on a warm windowsill and used from March onwards. Replace the lid promptly after watering. Remove it completely the moment seedlings emerge to prevent damping off.

09 Soil Requirements

pH

6.5–7.5

Best

Loam, Sandy loam

Tolerates

Clay loam

Avoid

Very acidic, Waterlogged, Stony

10 Ongoing Care

💧 Watering

Water regularly in dry spells to keep growth steady and even. Inconsistent watering — long dry periods followed by heavy rain — causes the roots to split and develop a tough, woody texture. Aim for even moisture throughout the growing season rather than irregular soakings.

✂️ Thinning

Beetroot seeds are actually clusters of 2–3 seeds — each sowing position will produce multiple seedlings. Thin to one seedling per position when plants are 5cm tall, spacing to 10cm. The thinnings are edible — use them in salads.

🌿 Weeding

Keep the bed weed-free, especially in the early stages when seedlings are small and easily overwhelmed. Hoe between rows carefully — beetroot has shallow surface roots that are easily damaged by deep hoeing. Hand weed close to the plants.

🫚 Harvesting

Harvest beetroot when the size of a golf ball to a tennis ball — at this stage they are sweet, tender, and at their best. Larger roots become woody and tough. Pull carefully by hand or ease out with a fork. Twist off the leaves rather than cutting to prevent bleeding.

11 Watch Out For

🐛 Insects & pests

• 🐌 Slugs & Snails — Silver slime trails on leaves, soil, and pots — often the first sign before damage is found
• 🐜 Aphids (Blackfly & Greenfly) — Curled, distorted, or stunted growing tips — aphids inject saliva that causes leaf curl to protect them
• 🌿 Leaf Miner — Pale, winding tunnels or irregular blotches between leaf surfaces — visible when held up to light

🍄 Diseases to watch

• 🔵 Downy Mildew — Downy mildew is caused by oomycetes (water moulds) and is completely unrelated to powdery mildew despite the similar name. It thrives in cool, wet, humid conditions and is most damaging in spring and autumn. Each host plant has its own specific downy mildew species. Lettuce downy mildew can destroy an entire bed within days in the right conditions.
• 🌱 Damping Off — Damping off is a collective term for seedling death caused by several soil-borne pathogens including Pythium, Phytophthora, and Rhizoctonia. It is the most common cause of seedling failure in the propagation stage. Entire trays of seedlings can collapse and die overnight — there is no cure once symptoms appear.
• 🩶 Botrytis (Grey Mould) — Botrytis cinerea (grey mould) is the most ubiquitous fungal pathogen in temperate gardens — present in virtually every garden soil and on plant debris. It becomes a disease only when conditions favour it: cool, humid, poorly ventilated environments with damaged or senescent plant tissue. In a greenhouse in autumn it can destroy an entire tomato or grape crop.

Full identification and treatment advice is in the Pests and Diseases sections.

12 Storage & Preserving

🌿 Store in Sand

Lift roots in October before hard frosts. Twist off leaves and store layered in dry sand in a cool, frost-free shed. Will keep for several months.

🫙 Pickle

Small beetroots are ideal for pickling. A British kitchen garden classic. Follow a tested recipe.

🍳 Cook and Store

Roast, peel and store in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze in portions for up to 6 months.

13 Expert Tips

14 Common Mistakes

15 See Also

• 🌼 Companion Planting
• 🔄 Crop Rotation