Growing Beets in Florida Zone 9B

Beets are a cool season vegetable that can be grown in central Florida gardens. Last year at this time (November) I tried growing beets. I ended up with a few small ones. They didn’t grow very well, and I ate more of the beet greens than the root.

This Fall I planted beets a little early (September) to see what happened. Some of the seeds did grow. I bought a few varieties, including golden, Lutz, and Detroit red. The first planting was done in grow boxes. The boxes were recently overhauled to improve drainage and make space for crops.

Beets will grow in little clumps of 2 or 3, and need to be thinned. I cut off the extras, leaving the roots undisturbed.

Now, it is December. My beets are looking good. I’ve eaten a few leaves with my salad greens.

My later planting of beet seeds was done in the ground. Those are still very small.

Cooking My First Beets of the Season

Some beets look ready to be pulled, so I pulled two golden beets. I cooked them, with the greens, for supper. The taste was pretty good, but they were small.

Challenges of Fall and Winter Growing

It’s funny trying to grow Fall crops in Florida. The beginning of “fall” is very hot. September and into October can be too hot for winter crops. But if you miss the warmer planting time, then the cold can move in and seeds won’t want to germinate.

Check out this December planting guide (UF IFAS) to winter vegetables and herbs. REMEMBER – they don’t say growing from seed. I believe this guide is referring to transplants.

Early planted seeds don’t do much. They slowly push up and then seem to stop growing. Once the cold hit us in November, most of my Fall crops seemed much happier. My growing plan is to have decent size seedlings already growing when the cold arrives.

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