Thinning involves removing excess seedlings to ensure the remaining plants have adequate resources to grow and mature. Beets are unique because their “seed” is actually a corky fruit called a utricle, which contains a cluster of two to six true seeds. This means that when you plant a single beet seed, multiple seedlings are likely to emerge in a tight clump, causing instant overcrowding. Successfully cultivating large, healthy beetroots relies entirely on timely and correct thinning techniques.
Why Timing and Spacing Are Critical
Beets are root vegetables, meaning they require sufficient subterranean space to expand and form their characteristic bulbous root. When beet seedlings are too close, they compete intensely for limited water, sunlight, and soil nutrients, particularly nitrogen. This competition results in stressed plants that focus their energy on producing excess foliage rather than developing a sizable storage root. This often leads to small, stringy, or malformed roots.
The appropriate time to begin the thinning process is when the seedlings have developed their first set of true leaves, which are distinct from the initial, oval-shaped seed leaves. Seedlings are typically one to two inches tall at this stage, about two to four weeks after germination. Delaying thinning allows the root systems to become intertwined, making it almost impossible to remove one plant without severely damaging the roots of its neighbors.
The initial thinning should leave the strongest plants standing approximately one to two inches apart, which still provides enough room for them to grow into small, “baby” beets. This first round of spacing is temporary, allowing you to gauge the health of the remaining seedlings before committing to the final distance. Thinning early reduces stress on the young plants, giving the keepers a head start on growth without resource competition.
Step-by-Step Thinning Techniques
Proper soil preparation is the first step in successful thinning to minimize trauma to the remaining plants. Thoroughly watering the beet bed a few hours before thinning will soften the soil, allowing the seedlings to be removed more easily. Working with moist soil helps prevent the roots of the keepers from being accidentally yanked or disturbed when an adjacent seedling is removed.
After preparation, you must identify the strongest seedling within each tight cluster, selecting the one that appears the most vigorous and upright. The preferred method for removing the unwanted seedlings is to use a clean, sharp pair of small scissors or snips to cut the stem at the soil line. Pinching the stem off with your fingers at the base is also effective, provided you are gentle.
Avoid pulling the unwanted seedlings out of the ground, even if they are small, as the delicate taproots are often already entangled. Pulling can cause underground trauma, loosening the soil around the remaining plant’s roots and creating an entry point for disease. By cutting the stem instead, the removed plant’s root is left to naturally decompose in the soil, which avoids disturbing the roots of the neighboring, desirable plant.
Maximizing Yield and Utilizing Beet Greens
After the first thinning, a second, final thinning is necessary to ensure the beets reach a mature, full size. For standard beet varieties, the final spacing should leave approximately three to four inches between the remaining plants. This distance provides the necessary space for the beetroots to swell into a proper size without obstruction.
If you are growing larger varieties, increasing the final spacing to five or six inches will maximize the potential size of the root. This final stage can be done once the beets have reached the size of a marble or golf ball, allowing you to harvest the small roots and greens from the thinnings. The greens removed are highly nutritious and entirely edible, offering a bonus harvest.
These young, tender greens can be used immediately in salads, or lightly sautéed or steamed, much like spinach or Swiss chard. Utilizing these thinnings ensures that no part of the initial planting is wasted while providing an early taste of the garden’s bounty.