Last Updated on December 22, 2023 by the Dobies Horticultural Team
Versatile beetroot can be grown for the leaves to use in salads as well as its tasty roots!
Growing from seed is the most cost-effective way to achieve a tasty harvest and, given good conditions for germination, we are confident that you will be delighted with the results. To help you achieve tasty beetroot we have put together some hints and tips for growing!
Step 1
Prepare Your Plot
Choose a sunny site, making sure the ground is weed free. Create a straight line with string and canes, and draw a shallow 1-2cm drill in the soil. Space your drills 30cm apart, to give the plants room to grow. Sow the beetroot seeds by sprinkling it thinly along the drills.
Step 2
Sow Seeds
Cover your seeds with soil and water them well making sure you don’t wash the seeds away! Ideally use a watering can with a rose attachment. Mark your drills with plant labels, so you know what you’ve sown and where. Keep the seeds moist until germinated.
Step 3
Thin Out Seedlings
As seedling appear, thing them out to leave one seedling every 5-8cm – gently pull the extra seedlings out by hand. These can be replanted to create more rows or wash them and eat them in salads and sandwiches for a bonus early harvest!
Step 4
Harvest
Start to harvest when the roots are about the size of a golf ball and no larger than a tennis ball or they can go woody and tough.
Top Tip
When harvesting remove the tops by twisting them off as this stops the beetroot juice bleeding and staining your hands.
These large leaves can be added to salads or steamed like spinach or cabbage.
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