How do I know when beets are ready to harvest?
Written by
Liu Xiaohui
Reviewed by
Prof. Charles Hartman, Ph.D.Harvesting beets at peak ripeness guarantees the highest sweetness and potential for storage life. I discovered this after harvesting roots that I thought were too small and bland from a few years ago. Timing is everything; if you time it right, you will harvest tender, tasty beets instead of woody disappointments. When you harvest, it plays a role in the quality of your eating.
Visual Signs
- Shoulder visibility: Colorful crown breaks soil surface
- Size confirmation: 1-3 inch diameter at soil line
- Leaf condition: Dark green upright foliage
Tactile Checks
- Root firmness: Solid feel when gently squeezed
- Soil resistance: Light tug meets slight resistance
- Surface texture: Smooth unblemished skin
Plan on picking your beets in the morning, when root sugar is at its peak. A cooler night helps the sugar to concentrate in the roots; warm temperatures during the day resorb it. I begin harvesting at dawn, when the dewy leaves are still fresh and crisp. Your beets will taste inexplicably sweeter when you harvest at this time.
Using proper lifting techniques with a garden fork all starts with the insertion of the garden fork 6 inches away from the plants while angling the fork away from the roots. Then, you gently lever up while pulling on the greens. This can be exciting to unfold, but my grandfather taught me this technique to avoid affecting other plants.
Correctly handle greens by gently twisting them off 1 inch above the base of the crowns. Cutting them may cause some of the juice to bleed down into the root, staining the roots. Greens are most nutritious when consumed within a few hours of harvest. Personally, I make pesto as soon as I get home after I harvest them.
Use succession harvesting and always pull your biggest roots first. This will allow smaller beets to have plenty of room to grow bigger. I like to mark my ready plants with colored ties, so it's easy to tell which ones to harvest first. Your bed will continuously produce for several weeks.
Check days to maturity, but rely more on what you see visually. Seed packets recommend when plants should be harvested, but the weather is an inherent part of any growing season. My Detroit Dark Reds are closer to 70 days after they start to grow, rather than 60. Always depend on the appearance of the plant rather than a number on your calendar.
Read the full article: How to Grow Beets from Seed Perfectly
