Growing Beetroot in Queensland

This versatile little root vegetable is nutritious and easy to grow. Plant them regularly and you can have an almost constant supply of fresh beets for your table. They are not fussy, so plant them almost all year round in sun to part shade. They thrive in temperate weather, so you’ll get the best crops in spring and autumn.

Too much nitrogen will produce lots of (edible) greens, but small roots. Planting beets too close together will leave you with a crop of underdeveloped plants.

Beetroots grow in a variety of conditions. As the weather warms, they'll appreciate some shade in the afternoon.

Beetroots are not fussy, but they will appreciate some compost added to the soil before planting. If your soil in boron-deficient, then also add boron to your soil before planting. Boron is widely available at nurseries. Simply follow the instructions on the packet when applying it to your soil and be careful not to add too much.

Beetroots thrive in more temperate weather, so they aren’t the best crop to grow during the heat of summer. Try to have them out by the time it’s really hot. Plant some zucchinis in their place for a quick crop in the hottest months.

Soak seeds in water overnight. They’ll float when you first put them into water, when they sink to the bottom, you know they’re ready to plant.

Soak the corky seeds overnight and then sow them into well-prepared soil. Space them according to the instructions on the packet. Each seed that you plant is actually a cluster of seeds, so expect at least to plants to appear for each seed you planted. Once they’re up and big enough to handle, you’ll need to thin them out. Choose the strongest plant in each hole and remove any others. The thinned plants can be replanted (very carefully) or used in salads as micro-greens.

As with most root crops, its best to grow beetroot from seed. Beetroot seedlings are widely available, but they really to better when planted from seed. If you plant seedlings, be careful with their delicate roots and be sure not to let the soil dry our while they are settling in.

Once your seedlings are up, they’ll need to be thinned out. Thin to about 20 cm apart for decent sized beetroots. Weed well and regularly around your beetroots, root plants don’t like to be crowded or compete for water and nutrients.

Water beetroots regularly to keep the soil moist. They don’t like their soil to dry out, so if you live in an area of Queensland which experiences dry spells during the summer (or winter) be sure to keep the soil moist by giving them extra water.

Feed them every six weeks throughout their growing season, but be careful not to overfeed with nitrogen as this will result in beautiful greens and underdeveloped roots.

Mulching your beets will help keep the soil cool as summer approaches. Water them well and then apply an organic mulch like lucerne or sugarcane.

You can pick baby greens for salads from about 4 weeks.

Once the beetroot tops become visible above the soil they should be ready to harvest. Golf ball to tennis ball sized beetroots are still tender and sweet. Pull them firmly by the leaves to lift them out of the ground. The leaves are also edible and make delicious greens.