Growing Beets in Your Denver Backyard Garden
Discover the magic of beets! Packed with goodness like vitamin A and C, beet tops are perfect for adding a nutritious punch to your meals, whether you cook them up or enjoy them fresh. And don't forget about those roots – they're fantastic pickled in salads or cooked whole, adding a burst of flavor when sliced or diced. Plus, you can *hide* them in homemade fruit roll up, smoothies, and juice.
Let’s dive into how you can cultivate beets in Denver! You can’t beat a homegrown beet.
In this blog, you’ll learn:
When to Plant Your Beets
Planting Tips: Spacing & Depth
Thinning for Thriving Beets
Beet Care Essentials
Harvesting Your Beets
Storing Your Beet Harvest
When to Plant Your Beets in denver
Pop your beet seeds in the ground about a month before the last frost date for your area. For Denver, that’s usually late March or early April (achem, like nowish).
They like warm weather but get off to a better start in cool, moist conditions. Keep the supply steady by planting new seeds every few weeks until midsummer.
Planting Tips: Spacing & Depth
Give your beet seeds some breathing room. Plant them about half an inch deep and 3” apart or 9 per square foot and don’t let them dry out or they won’t germinate properly.
If you're feeling fancy, grab a seed ruler to plant them perfectly spaced apart.
Thinning for Thriving Beets in Colorado
Fun fact: each beet seed actually contains 1-4 beet roots within its seed ball.
Choose to thin to one beet every 3” or keep them all for smaller beets & larger greens. You can even cook up the extras as tasty greens.
And if you're feeling adventurous, you can try transplanting them – just be gentle with those roots!
Beet Care Essentials
Weeds can hinder beet growth, so engage in regular, gentle soil cultivation to keep your beet beds clear. Early weeding ensures your beets don't compete for nutrients and water.
HOT TIP:
Keep those weeds at bay. Beets aren't fans of competition, so give 'em a hand with some early weeding.
Harvesting Your Beets in denver
Pick your beets when they hit the size you like, usually around 60 days. Anything bigger than 3 inches might get a bit tough, so keep an eye on them. (pro tip - look for the shoulders to pop the same way you do with carrots)
HOT TIP:
Look for the shoulders to pop the same way you do with carrots!
Selecting & Storing Your Beet Harvest
You can snag your beets at any stage – from thinning to full-grown. Store'em in the fridge in a plastic bag with a little air, and keep an inch of stem on to lock in that moisture. Just remember, beet greens need their own space to stay fresh!
Growing beets offers a rewarding gardening experience with delicious and healthy outcomes. With these tips, you're well on your way to enjoying your own homegrown beets, adding zest and nutrition to your meals throughout the year.
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Meet the Gardener
I’m Elisa Mack - a mom and Denverite who went from being a green-ish thumb to a kitchen garden fanatic simply by dedicating myself to the study of all things Colorado gardening.
Landscapers don’t design. And nurseries don’t make house calls.
We take a more full-service approach, from designing your dream garden to keeping it beautiful year-round.
And as your coach, I’ll help eliminate the guesswork through every season, no matter your level of knowledge.
