FULL SUN – BEET, Detroit Golden – Beta vulgaris, native to the coastal regions of southern Europe, the beet has been cultivated since prehistoric times for its green tops. Not until the 1500s was the vegetable cultivated for its roots.

Detroit Golden is an improved variety of an ancient beet known as ‘Golden Beet’ and grown in the US before 1828. The orange-yellow roots are tender and sweet and remain so even when harvested late. The tops are also sweet and tasty.

Golden Beets have a lower germination than other beets, so plant more thickly. Beets can be sown in the early spring for a summer crop and mid-late summer for a fall crop. In the spring, plant as soon as the ground can be worked. Soil should be deeply spaded before planting. Beets are best grown in sandy loam soil. Beets grown in dense clay soils can be tough and stringy while beets grown in rich soils tend to go to seed quickly. Rows should be 18 in. apart.

When seedlings are 1 in. high, thin, leaving 6 in. between plants.

Beets become sweeter with exposure to frosts. Adding lime to the soil before planting will also sweeten beets. They should be harvested young and small or they tend to become woody.