Want the best beets? Get growing!
2026-09-18T10:13:44+10:00
With edible leaves and roots, beetroot is a versatile and delicious crop. It’s also wonderfully productive, and grows happily across climates
There’s a whole lot more to beetroot than the typical red globes you see in shops. In the garden, you can grow varieties with golden, white and even candy-striped flesh, along with elegant cylindrical types that slice into perfectly even rounds.
Beetroot is a wonderfully productive, nutritious and versatile crop to have in the patch. The fresh leafy tops can be cooked just like spinach or kale, while the sweet, earthy roots will store for months, ready for roasting, juicing or grating fresh into salads.
It grows happily across the climates – from cool to warm. In temperate regions, sow seed from late winter to autumn; in the tropics, grow during the dry season; and in the subtropics and arid regions, autumn through to late spring is ideal.
Originally from the Mediterranean, it struggles in wet, humid summers, when fungal diseases quickly take hold.
Want to know more about beeting it? We cover getting started, growing and harvesting, along with quick guides to choosing varieties and solving problems, in our October issue – get your copy now!
Image: iStock
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