How to Know When to Harvest Beets

Are my beets ready to be harvested yet?

Growing roots in your kitchen garden can be intimidating. I mean, what are those plants doing under the dirt anyway? And how do you know when they've finished doing whatever it is they're doing?

The truth is that root crops like beets or carrots can take their sweet time to grow to a size that's worth harvesting. And if you've never pulled a beet out of the ground a wee bit too soon, then you just haven't been at it long enough yet.

But if you want to be as certain as possible that it is, in fact, time to harvest your sweet beets, here's the "official beet test" from our Gardenary kitchen gardens to yours. The test consists of three simple steps.

Are you ready for this?

Step one to know if beets are ready for harvest

Most beets are ready about 55 to 70 days after planting, depending on the variety you're growing. Check your seed packet for the days to maturity and then begin checking on your beets at the beginning of the harvest window.

Clear the soil area around the base of one or two (or three) of your beet plants.

Without uprooting the plant, take two fingers and make a circle around the base of the beet plant. Apply pressure until you can feel the top "shoulders" of the beet. Expose the top third of the beet, if possible.

Step two to know if beets are ready for harvest

You make the call. If the beet is wide and large enough for your preferences, use your hands to tug on the top leaves of the beet plant and slowly uproot it. If the beet seems too small for harvest at this point, gently push some extra compost and soil back over the shoulders of the plant and give it a light watering in. Make sure the root is completely covered. Wait a few weeks before testing for more growth.

Generally speaking, it's best to harvest vegetables from the kitchen garden a little smaller than you would find them at the grocery store. Kitchen garden varieties are different than the grocery varieties that are grown to endure long storage and lots of trucking. So enjoy your beets on the smaller side (perhaps a bit bigger than a golf ball) for the best flavor and quality.

While we're talking about grocery-store produce vs homegrown, let me reassure you that it's perfectly normal for your garden beets to be more on the straight-and-narrow side than those wide, bulbous roots you're used to buying. Beets were originally grown for their greens and looked more like parsnips and carrots.

Step three to know if beets are ready for harvest

Did you pull one up too soon? No worries. You can still enjoy the top portion of the plant, even if the root is underwhelming. Beet greens are actually edible and so good for you! So eat up. My favorite way to enjoy these nutritious beets greens (which, by the way, you can harvest at any time while you're waiting on the root to form) is sautéing them like spinach.

Pro tip: If the leafy greens on the other beets look similar to the ones on the too-small beet, you know now to give the rest of your beet crop a bit more time to grow.

Did you leave a beet in the ground too long? Also not a problem. Roots that have been left in the ground too long tend to become tough, but that doesn't mean the beet isn't salvageable. Just give it a nice bath in olive oil and salt, and bake it low and slow in the oven—that's my favorite way to eat beets anyway.

You Can't Beet This Garden Accomplishment!

Congratulate yourself! You're growing beets and enjoying the sweet harvests of your labor.

Roots are actually the third step in learning to set up and grow an organic kitchen garden. So if you're already growing beets, you're clearly on your way to becoming a kitchen garden pro.