Beets—or “beet roots”—are a colorful, cool-season crop that is easy to grow from seed in well-prepared soil and grows quickly in full sun.
They are a great choice for northern gardeners because they can survive frost and near-freezing temperatures. This also makes them great as a fall crop.
If you are a beginner, look for bolt-resistant varieties, which have less of a chance of bolting (maturing too quickly) in warm weather. There are many different varieties of beets, showcasing deep red, yellow, white, or striped roots of different shapes.
Beet roots can be harvested from the time they’re about the size of a golf ball to the size of a tennis ball; larger roots may be tough and woody. Plus, beet greens have a delicious and distinctive flavor and hold even more nutrition than the roots!
For more information on how to grow Beets click the following hyperlink to Farmers Almanac Beets.
For other resources please click on Cornell Universities Beets link or click on Gardening Know How's Beets link.
Beet, Detroit Dark Red Medium Top
Description: Perfectly round 3" beets have striking dark-red, succulent flesh infused with deep, sweet flavor. Heirloom’s baby beets make for excellent eating. Harvesting promotes growth of the remaining beets. When planting, mix beet seeds with fast sprouting radish seeds to mark the rows.
Description: Burpee introduced this savory golden beet, a color breakthrough in the beet world, in the 1940s. Now, generations later, it remains an heirloom favorite. Gardener-chefs prize the 2" globes’ sweet, mild flavor and golden glow. Delicious roasted, in soups, and in salads when complemented by grapefruit and red onion.
Description: This is an Italian heirloom beet from the town of Chioggia, near Venice, and has been popular since the early 1800s. It's beautiful and sweet flavored. Sliced roots look like bull's-eyes having concentric rings of white alternating with wine-red. The green leaves are an excellent spinach substitute.
Description: Detroit Supreme is an heirloom improvement of the variety Detroit Medium Top. It has better disease resistance, smoother skin, and lovely blood red flesh with glossy green tops. A good "pick" for your garden.
Description: When it comes to beets, the earlier the better. A dual-purpose heirloom beet, with sweet, early-producing, 3-4" roots and extra tall and flavorful tops for harvesting as greens. Cut the 18" tall greens, and use in lieu of spinach, kale or chard. Beets also freeze well. Since the roots develop and mature over an extended period, theres no need to successively sow seeds.
Description: ‘Merlin’ is one sweet treat of a beet. Remarkably smooth, uniform, 2-3" round, scarlet roots are marvels of sweet, earthy flavor and nutrition. Topped by glossy, tasty dark-green leaves, ‘Merlin’ sets a new standard for beet sweetness, thanks to its high sugar content. Roasted, baked, or boiled, ‘Merlin’ excels in salads, borscht, and as jewel-toned co-star to fish or meat. Good resistance to leaf spot/fungus.
Description: A unique long and cylindrical beet gives 3 to 4 times more uniform slices than round beets. Sweet, dark red roots are 8" long, 1 3/4" across. GROWING HINTS: Baby beets make excellent eating, and harvesting them helps the remaining beets grow better. When planting, mix beet seeds with fast-sprouting radish seeds to mark the rows. Grows best in full sun.
Description: Brilliant bright golden, red and white beets combined together for a delicious and healthy blend. Sweet and earthy beets are scrumptious roasted, baked into chips or sliced thin and served raw.
Description: Cooks Garden Favorite. We make up this mix for those of you with small gardens or who simply haven't yet discovered what a wonderful vegetable homegrown beets can be. Includes all the beets currently in stock (except Bulls Blood) to yield a variety of beets that mature over a long period of time. Mixed packet of seed.
Description: The flavor captures the full spectrum of beets’ signature dark, sweet essence. Profound, deep, wine-purple-red color. Roots best harvested when 1” diameter.
Description: The unique taste of ‘Avalanche’—2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner—can’t be beat. Hefty, rounded, white-fleshed 2-3" beet champion, offers rich, sweet flavor, free of earthy notes. For a deep, aromatic, profoundly delicious gourmet surprise, roast these beauties: cut them into wedges, add oil, bake till fork-tender, and sprinkle with salt. Amazing. Easy-growing ‘Avalanche’ delivers a big harvest and tip-top garden performance. Resistant to the leaf spot; will survive a bit of frost. Direct-sow seeds in spring, late summer, or early fall. In regions with mild falls and springs, sow every 3-4 weeks for a prolonged season of sweet white beet nirvana.
Description: An heirloom beet, Bulls Blood has the reddest foliage we have ever seen. The earliest thinnings spark up spring and fall salads with a leaf color as richly dark red as radicchio. As the roots enlarge, the baby beets are also delicious cooked and mixed with salad. The small sweet red roots are best when harvested young. When sowing, mix beet seeds with fast-sprouting radish seeds to mark the rows. Grows best in cool weather and full sun.
Description: This is a classic Burpee bred variety with uniform roots 3" in diameter and smooth, deep red skin. Its been proven tops for productivity, flavor and wide adaptability. Baby beets make excellent eating, and harvesting them helps the remaining beets grow better. When planting, mix beet seeds with fast-sprouting radish seeds to mark the rows. Grows best in cool weather and full sun.
Description: Sweet-earthy flavor. Gorgeous ruby-red color. Satiny smooth texture. Maximum nutrition in roots as well as leaves. In short, the perfect beet! “Mono” simply means each seed makes only one plant (typically beet seeds generate a few), so clumping is eliminated — you won’t be thinning, plus your harvest will be nice and uniform. Each compact plant takes up only about a square foot in your vegetable patch.