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Amaranthaceae FAMILY

Beta vulgaris (Leaf Beet Group)

Beta vulgaris (Leaf Beet Group)

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitBiennial
Growth—

Beta vulgaris is originally a native of the warm temperate zone, though it has spread further north to the cold temperate zone. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 15 - 25°c, but can tolerate 4 - 35°c[1]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -6°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at 0°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 600 - 1,500mm, but tolerates 500 - 2,500mm[1]. A very easily grown plant, it succeeds in sun or light shade in moist soils but prefers a rich well-drained light neutral to alkaline soil[2, 3]. Beets grow well in a variety of soils, growing best in a deep, friable well-drained soil abundant with organic matter, but doing poorly on clay. They prefer an open position and a light well-drained soil[4]. The optimum pH is 6.0 - 6.8, but the plant can tolerate 5 - 8.3[1]. Some salinity may be tolerated after the seedling stage. Beets are notable for their tolerance to manganese toxicity[5]. Plants are tolerant of saline soils and respond positively if salt is added to non-saline soils at a rate of about 30g per square metre[6]. Spinach beet and chard are often cultivated by gardeners for their edible leaves[7] - they do not make very good commercial crops since the leaves quickly droop after being harvested and so do not stand the journey to market. If the leaves are harvested regularly, selecting those on the outside of the rosette, then it is possible to harvest individual plants for up to two years. The leaves can also be made available all year round by successional sowings[PFAF]. Spinach beet is a good hot weather substitute for spinach[8]. The leaves can be available all year round from successional sowings if the winters are not too severe[PFAF]. In severe winters it is possible to dig up some plants and move them to a protected area such as a greenhouse in order to produce fresh leaves[9]. Plants usually self-sow freely if they are well-sited and the ground is disturbed by hoeing etc[PFAF].

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ in early mid spring for the summer crop and again in early July to August for the winter and spring crop. It is also possible to obtain an earlier crop by sowing the seed in a tray in a greenhouse in early spring and planting out in mid spring[6]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Beta+vulgaris+%28Leaf+Beet+Group%29>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. — Organ. J. · Faber · 1960 · ISBN - ↩︎Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.
  3. [3]The Gardener's Assistant. — Thompson. B. · Blackie and Son. · 1878 · ISBN - ↩︎Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.
  4. [4]Salads all the Year Round. — Larkcom. J. · Hamlyn · 1980 ↩︎A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.
  5. [5]Handbook of Energy Crops — Duke. J. · - · 1983 · https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html · ISBN - ↩︎Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.
  6. [6]Vegetables — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Macmillan Reference Books, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0 333 62640 0 ↩︎Excellent and easily read book with good information and an excellent collection of photos of vegetables from around the world, including many unusual species.
  7. [7]New Vegetable Growers Handbook. — Simons. · Penguin · 1977 · ISBN 0-14-046-050-0 ↩︎A good guide to growing vegetables in temperate areas, not entirely organic.
  8. [8]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  9. [9]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  10. [10]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  11. [11]The Vegetable Garden. — Vilmorin. A. · Ten Speed Press · ISBN 0-89815-041-8 ↩︎A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.
  12. [12]Medicinal Plants of China — Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. · Reference Publications, Inc. · 1985 · ISBN 0-917256-20-4 ↩︎Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
  13. [13]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
  14. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎