Crop lessons · Root crops
Growing Beets in Florida
Beta vulgaris · Chenopodiaceae (beet family)
Beets are an easy, nutritious cool-season root crop, and the leaves are edible too. Their long planting window in Florida makes them ideal for sowing in batches to stretch the harvest. Moisture at sowing matters most: dry soil gives poor germination.1, 2
Planting1, 2
| How to start | seed; seedlings started in trays can be transplanted at about 4 inches tall |
|---|
| Seed depth (inches) | ½ to 1 |
|---|
| Spacing in the row (inches) | 2 to 4 after thinning (sow about 1 inch apart, then thin) |
|---|
| Between rows (inches) | 12 (SP 103 minimum); Gardening Solutions gives 12 to 30 |
|---|
| Days to harvest | 50 to 70 from seed |
|---|
SP 103 planting dates: north Sept to Mar, central Sept to Feb, south Oct to Jan. Gardening Solutions gives north Aug to Feb, central Sept to Feb, south Oct to Jan. Stagger sowings across the window for a longer harvest. Pulling soil up around young plants ('hilling') strengthens them and keeps sun off the root.
Varieties UF/IFAS lists for Florida1, 2
- Tall Top
- Early Wonder
- Detroit Dark Red
- Cylindra
- Red Ace
- Yellow Detroit
- Chioggia
- Little Ball
- Asgrow Wonder
- Green Top
- Pacemaker III
Growing1, 2
| Sun | Full sun. SP 103 advises a garden spot with at least six hours of direct sun a day (general advice, not specific to this crop). |
|---|
| Soil pH | 5.8 to 6.3 (SP 103's general target for vegetable gardens on sandy soil; no change is needed anywhere from 5.5 to 7.0). No crop-specific figure was found. |
|---|
| Water | Keep the soil moist at sowing or germination will be poor, and keep plants well watered while roots develop. |
|---|
| Fertilizer | Start feeding once the second set of true leaves appears, after a soil test or advice from the county Extension office. SP 103 notes that root and tuber crops such as carrots respond to potassium fertilizer (general advice for root crops). |
|---|
Prefers well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Very cold tolerant. Thin early so roots have room to swell.
Pests and diseases in Florida3
- Leaf diseases: Cercospora leaf spot, Alternaria, powdery mildew, downy mildew: Listed in the beet fungicide table of the commercial Vegetable Production Handbook (CV300), not a home-garden guide.
- Aphids, flea beetles, caterpillars and leafminers: Listed among carrot and beet pests in the same commercial handbook chapter.
Harvest1, 2
Roots are ready 50 to 70 days from seed. A large harvest can be frozen, pickled or canned.
In an aquaponics system4
suited with care
The FAO manual groups beets with bulbing crops of medium to high nutrient demand. It says root vegetables such as beets should be grown in wicking beds attached to media beds, and that root crops in general need special attention and grow well only in deep media beds or wicking beds, not in rafts or NFT pipes.
What this lesson doesn't cover yet
- No UF/IFAS home-garden source on beet pests was found; the pest list is from the commercial Vegetable Production Handbook.
- SP 103 and Gardening Solutions disagree on the north Florida planting window (Sept to Mar vs Aug to Feb); both are given.
- No crop-specific soil pH figure was found.
Your county extension office and its Master Gardener volunteers can fill these in for your garden.