Beetroot is one of the easiest and most rewarding crops to grow — colourful, nutritious, and great for succession sowing. It loves sun, fertile soil, and consistent moisture. You can grow it from March to October, with harvests well into winter.

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January

🧤 Plan & Prepare

• Choose your varieties:

  • ‘Boltardy’ – reliable, early, bolt-resistant.

  • ‘Chioggia’ – pink and white rings, decorative.

  • ‘Golden Detroit’ – mild flavour, golden roots.

• Choose a sunny, open position with well-drained soil.

• Add compost or well-rotted manure to enrich the soil.

• Avoid recently manured soil for spring sowings (it causes forked roots).

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February

🌱 Soil Preparation

• Rake beds to a fine tilth.

• Add general-purpose organic fertiliser (e.g., Growmore).

• Cover soil with fleece or cloches to warm it for early sowings next month.

• Check seed supplies and tools are ready.

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March

🌿 First Sowings

• Begin outdoor sowing if the soil is workable and frost is light.

• Sow 2 cm deep, 10 cm apart, rows 30 cm apart.

• Protect with fleece in cold areas.

• Alternatively, sow indoors in modules and plant out later.

• Water lightly and keep soil evenly moist.

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April

🌱 Main Sowing Time

• Ideal month for reliable germination.

• Continue sowing every 2–3 weeks for succession.

• Thin seedlings to 10 cm apart for round roots or 5 cm apart for baby beets.

• Use thinnings in salads — they’re edible and tasty!

• Keep beds weed-free and water regularly.

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May

☀️ Steady Growth

• Continue sowing for a staggered harvest until July.

• Feed lightly with liquid seaweed feed once seedlings are established.

• Mulch between rows to keep soil moist and reduce weeds.

• Watch for leaf miner or aphid damage — remove affected leaves.

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June

🌾 Rapid Growth

• Plants grow quickly now — water deeply during dry spells.

• Thin again if crowded — good airflow prevents mildew.

• Feed every few weeks with a balanced fertiliser.

• Harvest early beets when golf-ball sized for the sweetest flavour.

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July

🥕 Harvest & Succession

• Begin regular harvests — pick young roots while tender.

• Continue sowing final batches early in the month for autumn crops.

• Water consistently to avoid tough or woody roots.

• Remove old leaves to prevent disease and promote new growth.

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August

🍃 Harvest & Care

• Keep harvesting — regular picking encourages new growth.

• Water well in hot weather.

• Feed lightly to maintain healthy foliage.

• Start thinking about storing beets — choose firm, unblemished roots for keeping.

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September

🍂 Harvest & Store

• Main harvest month.

• Lift mature roots gently with a fork — avoid damaging skins.

• Twist off tops (don’t cut) to prevent bleeding.

• Store in boxes of damp sand, compost, or sawdust in a cool shed.

• Leave a few in the ground under fleece for fresh picking into November.

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October

🌾 Late Harvests

• Continue lifting and storing remaining roots before frost.

• Clear and compost old leaves.

• Mulch the bed with compost to protect soil for winter.

• Save a few small roots to force beet leaves (beet greens) indoors over winter.

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November

🌱 Soil Care

• Prepare next year’s beet bed — add compost but avoid fresh manure.

• Cover soil with cardboard or cloches to keep it workable.

• Check stored beets regularly — remove any that start to rot.

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December

🪴 Rest & Reflect

• Continue using stored roots for roasting or pickling.

• Plan crop rotations for next year — avoid sowing beetroot after other root crops.

• Order new seed varieties for the spring ahead.

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🌼 Key Growing Tips

• Sun: full sun.

• Soil: fertile, moist but well-drained.

• Spacing: 10 cm between plants, 30 cm between rows.

• Watering: deep, consistent watering (don’t let it dry out).

• Harvest: 8–12 weeks after sowing.

• Feed: fortnightly liquid feed once established.

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🌤 Tip of the Season

“Sow little and often — young, tender beetroot are far sweeter than old giants.”