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How to grow Beetroot in the UK

Sweet purple roots - and it will turn your pee pink!

• DifficultyEasy peasy
• WhereBeds or Pots
• Grows to30cm
• Spacing10cm
• Time to first pickabout 12 weeks

When to sow, plant and harvest beetroot

Dates are for central England. Sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland, and up to two weeks earlier in the south and south west. Get the dates for your postcode.

Starting it indoors

1. Fill a small pot or tray with seed compost
2. Push the seeds in (2cm deep) - a couple per pot
3. Water gently, then put them on a bright windowsill
4. Keep the compost damp but not soggy - check it every day
5. When they have 2 proper leaves, give each seedling its own pot

Sowing it outdoors

1. Pull out any weeds and rake the top of your bed until it's crumbly, like cake crumbs
2. Make a little line in the soil (2cm deep) with your finger or a stick
3. Drop the seeds in, about 10cm apart in the row, with rows 30cm apart
4. Gently cover them with soil and pat it down
5. Water with a watering can that has a sprinkler head
6. Push in a label so you remember what's there

Planting it out

1. Toughen them up ('hardening off'): put them outside in the day for a week, bring them in at night
2. Dig a hole a bit bigger than the pot
3. Tip the plant out gently, holding the leaves, not the stem
4. Pop it in the hole, firm the soil around it, and water well
5. Space the plants about 10cm apart in the row, with rows 30cm apart

Top tips for growing beetroot

• Each 'seed' is actually a cluster of seeds, so you'll need to thin them.

Looking after beetroot

• Week 3: Thin them out so each beetroot has a hand-width of space

Soil and feeding

Light, crumbly soil with no stones. NO fresh manure - it makes carrots and parsnips split into funny forked shapes! Use soil that was manured last year, or plain compost.

Pests and problems

• Blackbirds & sparrows: peck seedlings, pull out onion sets and steal ripe fruit
• Slugs & snails: munch seedlings overnight, worst in wet weather

• Bend canes or plastic pipe into hoops over the row
• Stretch netting over the hoops, pulled tight so birds can't get tangled
• Peg or weigh down the edges so nothing can sneak underneath
• Check it every day

Harvesting and eating beetroot

Pull them up when they're the size of a golf ball to a tennis ball.

How to eat them: Roast in the oven, or grate raw into a salad.

Storing beetroot

Keeps 2-3 weeks in the fridge, months in a box of damp sand.

• Twist off the leaves, leaving a short stalk (so they don't 'bleed')
• Keep in the fridge, or layer in a box of damp sand in a cool shed

Cook them first, peel, slice and freeze. Or pickle them in jars.

Good varieties of beetroot

• Boltardy: Reliable, and fine to sow early.
• Chioggia: Pink and white candy stripes inside!
• Burpee's Golden: Golden beetroot that doesn't stain.
• Cylindra: Long beetroots - perfect even slices.

Companion planting

Grows well with

• Onions: they grow at different depths, so share space well
• Garlic: they grow at different depths, so share space well
• Salad leaves: quick lettuce fills gaps while beetroot grows
• Sweet alyssum: hoverflies that eat greenfly

Saving your own beetroot seed

It only makes seed in its second summer.

1. This plant flowers in its second year, so leave one or two strong plants in the ground over winter
2. Next summer they grow tall and flower - bees love them
3. Cut the seed heads when they're brown and dry, and shake out the seeds
4. Cabbage-family plants cross with each other, so seed may not come true

Things to build for beetroot

• Hoop tunnel cover:
• Cold frame:

Where to buy beetroot seeds

Thompson & Morgan · Suttons · Amazon

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Beetroot questions

When should I sow beetroot in the UK?

In the UK, sow beetroot indoors from early March to early July or outdoors from early April to mid July. These dates suit central England; sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland and up to two weeks earlier in the mild south and south west.

When do I plant out beetroot?

Plant beetroot out from early April to late July.

When can I pick beetroot?

Beetroot is ready from mid June to late October. Pull them up when they're the size of a golf ball to a tennis ball.

How long do beetroot take to grow?

Roughly 12 weeks from sowing or planting until the first harvest.

Are beetroot easy to grow?

Beetroot are rated 'easy peasy' for beginners, and can be grown in the ground or a raised bed or in pots and containers.