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Freshly dug beets with their red-stemmed leaves in a wooden crate

Oregon · Washington · Idaho

When to plant beets

Plant in the garden: Portland and Seattle Mar 15 – May 10; Spokane Apr 15 – Jun 10; Boise Apr 1 – May 27; Bend May 12 – Jul 7.

Beets are grown for both their round, sweet root and their leaves, which cook like chard, a close relative. Red is the classic color, but golden beets don't bleed, and Chioggia beets show red-and-white rings when sliced. Sugar beets, a big crop in Idaho's Snake River country, are the same species bred for sugar.

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Puts beets on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.

Difficulty
Moderate
Sun
Full sun; tolerates light shade
Spacing
Thin to 3 inches apart
Planting depth
½ inch deep
Frost
Handles light frost
First harvest
About 60 days after planting

Each seed cluster sprouts several seedlings; thin to 3 inches apart.

Beet planting dates

TownsPlant in the gardenPlant again for fall
Portland, OR, Seattle and Tacoma, WAMar 15 – May 10Aug 6–20
Spokane, WAApr 15 – Jun 10Aug 3–17
Boise and Meridian, ID, Astoria, ORApr 1 – May 27Aug 6–20
Bend and Redmond, ORMay 12 – Jul 7—

Dates for six main cities. For any of the other 80 towns, type it in the box at the top of the page or browse all towns.

Beet year at a glance

TaskJFMAMJJASOND
PlantMarAprMayAug
HarvestJunJulAugSepOctNov

Around Portland. Colder towns, especially east of the Cascades, run a few weeks later; the table above has your town's planting dates.

How to grow beets

  1. Prepare the bed: loosen the soil and mix in an inch or two of compost.
  2. Plant seeds on your city's dates, ½ inch deep, Thin to 3 inches apart.
  3. Keep the soil evenly moist until sprouts appear, which can take one to three weeks in cool soil.
  4. Plant again on your city's dates for a fall harvest.
  5. Harvest: Pull at golf ball to tennis ball size. The greens are edible too.

Growing beets in your part of the Northwest

The same plant behaves differently on the wet west side, the foggy coast and the dry, colder east side.

West-side valleys

Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, southern Oregon

Beets do well in spring and as a fall crop sown in July. Leaf miners make tunnels in the leaves; pick off affected leaves and cover the rows if you eat the greens.

Coast

Oregon and Washington coast

Cool summers suit beets, and you can sow them from spring into midsummer.

East of the Cascades

Columbia Basin, Yakima, Boise, Spokane, north Idaho

The soil surface crusts quickly in dry wind, which keeps seedlings from emerging, so keep it moist until they sprout. Curly top virus, spread by the beet leafhopper in dry interior valleys, can stunt plants; row cover in early summer helps.

High desert and mountain towns

Central Oregon, high eastern Oregon valleys, McCall, Salmon

Beets handle cold well and grow steadily in the cool nights. Sow after the soil warms a little in spring and again in early summer.

More beet varieties

More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.

Detroit Dark Red

Round red, classic · 60 days

Smooth, round, deep red roots with sweet flavor and tasty greens. A dependable standard for fresh eating, canning and pickling.

Both sides

Chioggia

Striped Italian heirloom · 55 days

Pink skin with candy-cane rings of red and white inside. It has a mild, sweet flavor and makes a striking raw or roasted beet.

Both sides

Early Wonder

Early round red · 48 days

One of the fastest beets, with slightly flattened red roots and lots of tender greens. Good for an early start in cool spring soil.

Both sides

Touchstone Gold

Golden round · 55 days

Orange-gold roots with bright yellow flesh that won't bleed red on the cutting board. It has a mild, sweet flavor and germinates better than many golden beets.

Both sides

Cylindra

Long cylindrical red · 60 days

Long, carrot-shaped roots that cut into even slices, handy for pickling. It grows well in tight spacing and produces a lot from a small bed.

Both sides

Bull's Blood

Red-leaf heirloom · 58 days

Grown as much for its glossy deep red leaves as its sweet roots. The leaves make colorful baby greens, and the color deepens in cool weather.

Both sides

How much to grow

How many to plant

For a family of four, a 10-foot row every three to four weeks from spring to midsummer.

What to expect

About 3 to 4 beets per foot of row once thinned, or 2 to 3 pounds, plus the greens.

Storing the harvest

Cut the leaves off, leaving an inch of stem, and keep roots in a bag in the fridge for two to three months.

What to plant after beets

Around Portland, the beet harvest wraps up around November. These crops can still go into the same bed, and they come from a different plant family, which helps with rotation.

Portland dates. Pick your town at the top of the page for yours.

Key numbers

Top care tip: Thin each seed cluster to one seedling every 3 inches, and eat the thinnings as baby greens.

The plant science

The plant biology behind the advice above, in plain language.

One seed, several seedlings

A beet "seed" is actually a dried fruit cluster containing two to four seeds, so seedlings come up in small clumps. Thin to one plant every 3 inches once they're a couple of inches tall; crowded beets grow leaves instead of roots. Monogerm varieties have one seed per cluster and need less thinning.

Soil, pH and boron

Beets grow best in loose soil with a pH of about 6.0 to 7.5 and don't do well in acidic soil. They also need more boron than most vegetables. A shortage causes black, corky spots inside the root and dying leaf centers. If that's happened before, test the soil; if boron is low, add it in very small amounts, since too much is toxic to plants.

Temperature

Beet seeds sprout in soil from about 50 to 85°F. Plants grow best in cool weather. Beets are biennials, and a long cold spell after planting can make spring plantings bolt, so wait until the soil has warmed a bit. White rings inside the root usually come from fluctuating temperatures or heat stress and don't affect flavor much.

Water

Keep the soil evenly moist. Dry spells make roots woody and tough, and a sudden soak after drought can split them. A light mulch helps once seedlings are up.

Pests

Leaf miners tunnel through the leaves, leaving pale, papery blotches. Pick off affected leaves early and cover young plants with row cover. Slugs go after seedlings.

Harvest and storage

Pull beets at golf ball to tennis ball size, when they're most tender. Leave an inch of stem when trimming the tops so the roots don't bleed. The red color comes from betalains, water-soluble pigments that stain; golden beets are less messy. The greens are edible too. Stored cold and humid, in the fridge or a root cellar, trimmed beets keep two to four months.

Good neighbors and crop rotation

Good neighbors

  • Lettuce and onions. Shallow or narrow plants that fit around beets without shading them.
  • Bush beans. Different nutrient needs and timing; beans fill the bed after spring beets come out.

Beet family: Beets, chard and spinach are close relatives and share leaf miners, whose pupae overwinter in the soil. Rotate them on a two- to three-year cycle.

Pests and problems

What most often goes wrong with beets in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.

Leaf miners

Signs: Pale, papery blotches in the leaves.

What to do: Pick off spotted leaves and use row cover in spring.

Scabby or cracked roots

Signs: Rough patches or splits on the skin.

What to do: Water evenly and don't add lime unless a soil test asks for it.

Crowding

Signs: Lots of leaves and tiny roots.

What to do: Each seed is a cluster of several seeds. Thin seedlings to 3 to 4 inches apart and eat the thinnings.

Common questions about growing beets

When should I plant beets in Oregon, Washington and Idaho?

Plant in the garden: Mar 15 – May 10 in Portland and Seattle, Apr 15 – Jun 10 in Spokane, Apr 1 – May 27 in Boise and May 12 – Jul 7 in Bend. Pick your town at the top of the page for your own dates.

Why do several beet seedlings grow from one seed?

Each beet "seed" is a cluster of two to four seeds. Thin to one plant every 3 inches, or grow monogerm varieties, which have one seed per cluster.

Why are my beets all leaves and no root?

Most often crowding: beets need about 3 inches each. Too much nitrogen, too much shade, or uneven watering can also cause it.

What are the black spots inside my beets?

Usually boron deficiency, which causes black, corky spots inside the root. Test your soil and, if boron is low, add a very small amount. Too much boron is toxic, so don't add it without testing.

Also on these lists:

See what else to plant in March, April, May or August.

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