Beet, Organic (Detroit Dark Red)

Botanical Interests Organic Detroit Dark Red Beet Seeds

Home-grown beets are simply the best. Tender and delicious, these 2½"–3" beautiful, deep crimson beets do not get woody as do smaller varieties if allowed to grow large. Perfect for pickling, roasting, and even raw in salads! The greens rival chard and spinach for tenderness and flavor, and are very nutritious. Beet seed is actually a dried fruit with 1 to 5 seeds in each fruit, so make sure to thin! This packet sows up to 33 feet.

Sowing Information:

• Light: Full sun
• When to Start Inside: Not recommended. Root disturbance delays maturity.
• When to Sow Outside: RECOMMENDED. 2 to 4 weeks before your average last frost date, when soil temperature is at least 45°F, ideally 60°-85°F, for early summer crop. 6 to 8 weeks before your average first fall frost date for late summer/fall crop.
• Seed Depth: Plant seeds ½ inch deep
• Seed Spacing: 1 seed every 4 inches
• Row Spacing: 12 inches
• Thinning: When 2" tall, thin to 1 every 4 inches
• Days to Germinate: 5-21 days
• Days to Maturity: 60 days

Growing Notes:

• Harvesting: For early spring sowings, harvest beets before summer heat. For late summer sowings, harvest before first heavy freeze. Harvest when roots are anywhere from 1"-3" in diameter. The smaller they are, the more tender. Greens are most tender when small, so start harvesting when they are 2" tall. You can take as much as one third of a beet plant's outer leaves without harming the root crop.
• Variety Info: 2 ½"–3" blood red, globe shaped. Leaf tops are dark green on red stems. Introduced in 1892, 'Detroit Dark Red' is the standard for beets. It has particularly good tasting greens, and withstands fluctuations in temperature quite well.