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Growing Beetroot

(Beta vulgaris)

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(Best months for planting Beetroot in Australia - cool/mountain regions)


  • Easy to grow.
  • Harvest in 55-70 days
  • Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
  • Best planted at soil temperatures between 7°C and 25°C.
  • Space plants: 40-60cm

Soak seeds in water 24 hours before planting so that you can separate the seeds Thinning is nearly always required as seedlings emerge from a seedball of several seeds. If you don't thin them, you will get a number of rather pathetic plants which don't grow to an edible size. Harvest in 55 - 70 days but will keep in ground for longer. Tolerates light frost.

Keep well-watered. Dry beetroot develop a woody and inedible core.

For tasty and tender beetroot, start harvesting at golfball-size.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Beetroot

Apart from boiling whole for salads, beetroot roast well, cut in wedges.
They also make a tasty salad grated raw with carrot and a little fresh orange juice.

Your comments and tips

08 Nov 09 pete (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
try using small beetroot leaves in your salad - they are very good and look terriffic
19 Nov 09 adam synnott (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
hello cake lady. You won't unfortunately be able to grow bulbs from the tops, but you will get leaves for salads etc. They will bolt and produce seed from the tops if planted in the ground, then you could plant these . Free seed, gotta be a bargain. You can do this with carrots and parsnips too.
22 Nov 09 trevor fenton (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Good Morning Please help. The problem I have growing beetroot is it goes to seed prior to developing a decent size beet. Any help wil be gratefully received. Regards Trevor Fenton
24 Nov 09 Barry Walker (Australia - temperate climate)
I planted some beetroot about a month ago. End of October. I live in Penrith NSW. How long will they take to be ready for picking/eating?
27 Jan 10 Evelyn (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Our beetroot went well into winter and spring and we tried a borscht for the first time. Wonderful stuff with a blob of sour cream. Next year we are going to try pickling our own beetroot. We also enjoyed beetroot, apple, carrot and parsley juice. What a versatile veg.
28 Jan 10 Diane (Australia - temperate climate)
Some of our beetroot has grown looking nice and red, but some turns white when cooked. Any ideas about what's wrong?
25 Feb 10 sharon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Beetroot will turn white when cooked if you cut the stalks to close to the bulb before cooking Leave some stalk on when cooking or they bleed out into the water.
05 Mar 10 brian slane (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Just like a previous writer, I would like to know when beetroot is ready to harvest
07 Mar 10 Lisa (Australia - temperate climate)
Beetroot will push upwards when it is ready and you can usually see a decent sized top over the top of the soil.
08 Mar 10 Sherale (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
whats the best fertilizer for beetroot as I planted a month ago and seedlings very small..

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