Growing Beets to Harvest: 5 Varieties & 2 Raised Bed Soil Mixes Compared

[@susanneziebarth8379]

I love the garden setup with the chickens surrounding it!

[@JohnJohn-wr1jo]

Great video, love the soil comparisons. Also in zone 7 and are able to overwinter most winters. We start direct sowing in mid March and succession plant every few weeks. The first 2 or 3 plantings typically are the most productive which we usually focus on our canning efforts. I have a secondary bed that is partially shaded that I start planting in early June and does decent during hotter months.. Some years better than others.. It's a nice crop to be able to pull from the garden 8 to 9 months out of the year. I rarely ate beets until my son urged me to eat them. They truly are a super food.

[@williamjamesenkerwitz9495]

I'm glad I watched your blog it will help me a lot it was worth it would you consider doing how to grow onions as I spotted them in the other beds thank you for showing from South Africa

[@andrewerlandson4030]

My favorite is Lutz winter keeper then ruby queen. The Lutz winter keeper gets big without getting Woody and stays sweet too. Love the sweet flavor

[@thebeginnersgarden]

I tried Ruby Queen this year and it did well! Will have to try Lutz; thank you for the suggestion.

[@koltoncrane3099]

I bought beet seeds that were in strips or in a paper that folded out in long strips and that was super convenient and worked great. I think I did two rows of that and then direct sowed another row by it.

[@koltoncrane3099]

That’s interesting people say beers bolt when it gets hot. My beets didn’t go to seed and it was 90s, maybe a week or two above a 100. But in Utah it’s dry. Maybe humidity affects it. I have seen lettuce go to seed though.

[@susank6267]

Nice video! I just found your channel. I am now a subscriber. Thanks!

[@carybradley3968]

I’d love to hear how you pickle them and what your recipe is. Thanks!

[@koltoncrane3099]

Well when I grew beats a year ago we had some small ones. We didn’t thin it just had close rows in a raised bed. The beets just pushed themselves and filled in most of the spaces. Course we harvested maybe in September before it really snowed. It might have froze once I can’t remember. Maybe it depends on the variety. We had some small ones but we planted maybe twenty foot by four foot area. I like not thinning at least for me cause the two let’s us water only twice a month cause for some reason the town keeps allowing new subdivisions and buildings even though they know people use the water without owning water rights so we lost water like in mid August no more irrigation one year. So now they cut us back to watering twice a month maybe three times. It’s horrible. But having beets thick helps retain the moisture especially if you have super hot days.

[@adrianf1969]

I haven’t had good results with cylindra. I think it will be fun to try some of the varieties you showed next year.

[@thebeginnersgarden]

Glad I'm not the only one! I thought it was just me!

[@racebiketuner]

I have not had good luck with cylindra any time of the year in Zone 9B.

[@jimchristensen965]

It's hard to go wrong with the Detroit variety. I have done others over the years but stick with Detroit now. The golden beets I tried a couple of times were not good producers so not good for me. Nice comparisons but as mentioned the outer rows probably have an advantage. As far as taste goes no big preference detected but your test was mainly about production. Thanks from zone 5, central Iowa.

[@loriwebster8574]

Will you do a video shopping how you pickle beets?

[@thebeginnersgarden]

A full tutorial is in my online course, Harvest to Kitchen. journeywithjill.net/harvesttokitchen

[@shanthamahendran8923]

What is the soil mixture you use. I am in Canada and I have to plant in pots because there is no garden space.

[@jperiksen]

sunflowers hurt the growth of other plants around them

[@wnshelton]

Nice video. But which beets tasted the best🙂?

[@amandawells7777]

Loving your podcast! What do you use to weigh all your harvest? I need to get some scales but haven’t looked to see what would be easiest to use.

[@thebeginnersgarden]

Thank you, Amanda! I just use a regular kitchen scale, but it's not always the easiest because it only goes to 10 pounds. I'd eventually like to get a larger one, but I haven't looked at what's available yet. I think I'd prefer to have a flat area so I can put my baskets directly on the scale; that's really the only preference besides weight capacity I'd have.

[@paulsoutbackgardenaustrali7674]

Don't the chickens run in the garden..also I found my beetroot leaves turning Red..did a ph test and it's very Acid..have put in lime and hope my nxt crop will improve..what do u think..🤔

[@thebeginnersgarden]

Chicken manure is acidic but I can’t imagine letting them in the garden would make that big of difference. I wonder if the soil is naturally acidic to begin with.

[@paulsoutbackgardenaustrali7674]

@@thebeginnersgarden ok.thnx

[@MAGAChickenMomma]

If you let the chickens in the garden they will eat everything. Great bug control but you’ll have no seedlings. I let my girls in during the off-season to mow down any weeds & eat all the bugs & grubs they can find. Loved seeing your ladies eagerly awaiting their treats ❤️

[@jkjourney8592]

Are you zone 7? I'm looking at planting beets this week. Zone 8a.

[@thebeginnersgarden]

Yes, and I usually plant a month before my average last frost date.

[@paulsoutbackgardenaustrali7674]

Ps..Detroit is the Best and only 1 I grow..☺🦗🇦🇺

[@DjChelan]

Your gardens are so beautiful! I want to grow beets in my #GreenStalk, Have you ever tried them in your #GreenStalk? Happy Fall 2022! Today Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest today, a very somber day for the World and watching your videos are helping me smile Your beets look so yummy!