11 Beet Varieties You Can Plant In Fall

Garden-fresh beets are so tasty that you’ll willingly eat them without the coercion of missing dessert. In addition to flavorful roots, their leafy greens are rich in vitamins A, C, iron, potassium, and folic acid with antioxidant benefits.

Beets come in many varieties, and they are all cold-tolerant, frost-hardy root vegetables that grow best in the cool weather of fall and spring. Sow seeds six to eight weeks before your first anticipated frost for an autumn harvest. In mild climates, sow multiple crops throughout the winter.

Beet Overview

These hearty vegetables are native to the Mediterranean, Europe, and Asia. They grow well in containers, vertical planters, raised beds, and the ground. Enjoy their sweet, earthy flavor fresh in salads and for snacking or roasted, steamed, canned, or pickled. Cook them into stews and soups to warm up chilly nights.

Harvest when roots are one to three inches in diameter; they’re most tender when small, as are their leafy tops. Begin harvesting young leaves when they reach two inches tall. Enjoy as much as one-third of the leaves while the roots develop below.

Beet seeds are dried fruits that each hold one to five seeds. Thin seedlings as they pop up to prevent overcrowding, and use the sprouts as a tasty salad addition.

Companion plants to grow with the cool-season crops include broccoli, cabbage, kale, garlic, sage, and spinach. By the nature of their growth habit, beets break up and loosen the surrounding soil. This aeration is an added benefit for future plantings.

‘Early Wonder’

	botanical name Beta vulgaris ‘Early Wonder’
	height 18”

‘Early Wonder’ is a favorite heirloom with a quick turnaround. It stands out for its abundant, flavorful leafy tops, which many gardeners deem to have the best flavor. 

The 1911 classic is an early producer. ‘Early Wonder’ yields one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half-inch purple-red globes in about 50 days. The roots are smooth, shiny, and plum red.

‘Early Wonder’ grows in cool soils suitable for fall and early spring growing. Plants are cold and frost tolerant. They’re ideal for multiple sowings in mild climates.

Dark green leaves contrast with red stems and veins. Grow them year-round as microgreens for pretty color-packed with nutrition. Plant them in the kitchen for easy, quick use in fresh salads, as garnish, and juices and smoothies.

‘Robin’

	botanical name Beta vulgaris ‘Robin’
	height 15-17”

‘Robin’ is a baby beet, sweet in size and flavor, best harvested at one to one and a half inches around. Baby beets are perfect for containers like Greenstalks and raised beds.

‘Robin’ yields bunches of small, two-inch globes in deep red. Harvesting begins at 45 days.

The uniform roots remain tender and crisp in their small package, and the plants resist bolting. Enjoy ‘Robin’ roasted, canned, pickled, or for fresh eating. The baby green tops are soft and flavorful.

‘Golden Boy’

	botanical name Beta vulgaris ‘Golden Boy’
	height 12-18”

The perfect fall-hued beet variety, ‘Golden Boy’ has sunny golden orange flesh with a mild, sweet flavor. It is best harvested young. Orange selections have a less earthy taste than their red relatives. 

Gardeners looking for a mild culinary addition may opt for gold varieties. Golds also lack the staining juices of the reds for convenient slicing and cutting board cleanup.

‘Golden Boy’ boasts firm, well-formed roots with orange skins and flesh. Attractive bright green leaves have sturdy, uptight gold to creamy white stems. The three-inch rounds mature in 65 to 70 days.

‘Chioggia’

	botanical name Beta vulgaris ‘Chioggia’
	height 18”

This 1800s Italian heirloom bears the name of an island fishing village in Northern Italy near Venice. Its striking interior has white and pinkish-red swirls, like a peppermint surprise. 

A candy-striped fall beet variety, ‘Chioggia’s’ concentric rings of red and white vary in the amount of each color per beet. The slightly flattened, one to three-inch roots have pink, orange, and red-hued skins. The flesh is relatively free of bleeding and staining.

‘Chioggia’ is an early producer maturing in 55 days. Each seed produces multiple seedings, making thinning necessary as they sprout.

The heirloom has medium-tall green leaves with red shading. Roasted or steamed, it adds a playful mix among other root vegetables.

‘Detroit Dark Red’

	botanical name Beta vulgaris ‘Detroit Dark Red’
	height 12-18”

Since 1892, ‘Detroit Dark Red’ has been the standard for what makes a good beet in the vegetable garden and the kitchen. With a wide range of adaptability, it tolerates temperature fluctuations and resists downy mildew.

‘Detroit Dark Red’ has two-and-a-half to three-inch deep crimson rounds. Roots remain tender and crunchy even if left in the ground a little too long. ‘Detroit’ is also known for its flavorful, dark green leaves with red stems, similar to spinach and chard.

‘Touchstone Gold’

	botanical name Beta vulgaris ‘Touchstone Gold’
	height 12-18”

‘Touchstone Gold’ is another bright orange variety with a sweet, mild flavor. It features improved germination and performance among gold selections.

‘Touchstone Gold’ matures in 85 days with three-inch globes. It’s tastiest harvested a little earlier, starting at one inch in diameter. 

Combine these golds with red and candy-stripe varieties for full color, fresh or roasted, with other autumn vegetables. They retain their vivid color when cooked.

‘Bull’s Blood’

	botanical name Beta vulgaris ‘Bull’s Blood’
	height 16”

An intense-sounding beet, ‘Bull’s Blood’ is a French heirloom selected from a blood turnip beet. Rich, dark red covers the plant from tip to toe in its foliage, stems, and roots. 

The showy leaves are sweet, tender, and among the darkest of the beets. Like ‘Detroit Dark Red,’ the delicious greens are soft and flavorful, resembling spinach and chard. Harvest leaves as baby greens for colorful fresh salad additions, ready as early as 35 days. Roots develop in 60 days.

‘Bull’s Blood’ elongated roots reach two to three inches. The interiors may feature variations of candy striping like ‘Chioggia.’

‘Albino’

	botanical name Beta vulgaris ‘Albino’
	height 10-14”

‘Albino’ hails from Holland with white roots and bright green stems. This is one of the sweetest beets, even used to make sugar. 

White selections never stain. To retain the pure color and prevent green tops, hill up soil around shoulders as they develop above the soil. ‘Albino’ grows quickly and is ready for harvest in about 50 days.

‘Early Crosby Egyptian’

	botanical name Beta vulgaris ‘Early Crosby Egyptian’
	height 16”

‘Early Crosby Egyptian’ is a robust selection from an  1880 introduction from Germany. Carefully refined over the years, this is one of the largest early varieties. Carefully refined over the years, this is one of the largest early varieties.

Roots mature to three to five inches, with a slightly flattened shape. Smooth, dusky red skins conceal a rich, purple-red interior.

‘Crosby Egyptian’ boasts tender flesh. The rounds are ready in about 60 days and slightly earlier for smaller beets.

‘Merlin’

	botanical name Beta vulgaris ‘Merlin’
	height 15-17”

‘Merlin’ is a reliable beet and gourmet favorite with a high sugar content. Its robust taste is good for eating fresh or canning. 

With super smooth burgundy skins, the well-formed rounds are ready as babies in 48 days with bright green leaves.

‘Merlin’ has good disease resistance to leaf spot and downy mildew. It tolerates warm temperatures and is slow to bolt. The seeds are reliable and productive and have a good germination rate.

‘Babybeat’

	botanical name Beta vulgaris ‘Babybeat’
	height 6-9”

A true baby, ‘Babybeat’ is one of the best mini-beet varieties with well-proportioned rounds that stay small for quick fall harvests. The uniform spheres develop a small tap root early on and retain their one-and-a-half-inch size even when left in the ground too long.

The petite, shiny vegetables in mahogany red are perfect for snacking, fresh eating, and steaming. They’re crisp and crunchy with heightened sweetness.

The interiors are blood red with magenta rings and short tops. Ready in 40 days, ‘Babybeat’ yields an early harvest and fits into small garden spaces.