How To Grow Beetroot

Growing beetroot is easy, giving you delicious, round, red roots that can be boiled, roasted and pickled – and even grated into salads. The colourful young leaves can be picked fresh and used in salads, and mature leaves can be wilted and used as spinach. There’s a wide variety of beetroot to grow, with orange, yellow and pink cultivars to choose from.

Sow beetroot seeds outdoors from mid-April to late June, into a shallow drill, 1cm deep. Space seeds 10cm apart, with 30cm between rows. Water beetroot plants regularly and keep the area free from weeds. Harvest the beetroot when they’re the size of a cricket ball – larger roots can become woody.

When to plant beetroot depends on the equipment you have to hand. Sow beetroot seeds direct in the soil outdoors from mid-April to late June, into a shallow drill, 1cm deep. Space seeds 10cm apart, with 30cm between rows. Being a root crop, beetroot does best if the soil is free of large stones.

To extend the beetroot season and ensure an early crop, select a variety known for its resistance to bolting and sow under cloches from the beginning of March.

• Buy cloches from Crocus

Growing beetroot in pots of sifted garden soil or high-quality compost such as John Innes No. 2 is a good option if you’re short on space. It’s an attractive crop and perfect for an ornamental kitchen garden.

You can also sow beetroot in modular trays and transplant the plants outdoors later on. In this clip from Gardeners’ World, Monty Don sows beetroot in modular trays indoors, explaining which compost to use and the best way to sow the seeds for good results. He also recommends his favourite variety:

You can buy beetroot plug plants or