Beetroot Growing Stages. Beetroot (Beta vulgaris) is grown from seed and goes on several stages until it matures. When beetroot is mature enough it can be harvested in about 55 to 70 days. But how does a beetroot grow?
Beetroot Growing Stages
Stage 1. Seed
The beets are producing a lot of seeds per plant. The plant will grow a long stalk and will grow smaller branches of stalks on it, and a lot of flowers which turn into seeds will grow on them.
The seeds of beetroot are small, a little bit rough and rounded, and brownish in color. High-quality beet seeds will have a high chance to germinate. Mature and good seeds will germinate fast and great plants will appear.
Stage 2. Germination
The best seeds will germinate in about 5 to 10 days. In some cases, it can germinate much longer than that. The speed of germination will depend on some factors like the quality of seeds, weather, etc. When the beets are planted in a good environment they will grow roots fast.
In the early days, it will grow a root but after a while, it will grow more but still small roots. The roots will continue to grow and increase in size and length. Also, a leaf or two leaves will come out from the seed. And a plant will emerge in the soil.
The young beet plant is small in the early stage. It has a very thin stem, few leaves, and tiny roots. The young plant doesn’t need much sunlight and water in this stage but as days pass by they need those things to help them grow better.
Stage 3. Seedling
After a few days, about 10-20 days it will become a beets seedling. The beet seedling will have longer roots and more leaves. At this stage, the plant still doesn’t have the beetroot underneath the leaves. It needs more time to grow and develop.
The beets seedling needs enough water, sunlight, and nutrients to grow. Those things will help the plants thrive better. The seedling will become bigger and bigger after a few days or weeks.
Stage 4. Vegetative Growth
When the beets receive consistent water, and sunlight and they are receiving enough nutrients they will become bigger and lots of leaves will grow on the plant. The beetroot is starting to grow.
The beetroots are growing under the ground but as they continue to grow they can be seen slightly above the soil. They will become larger and when they are mature enough they can be harvested. It will take about 55 to 70 days to grow and harvest beets. Only one beetroot grows per plant and it’s rare to see multiple beets growing on a single plant.
Stage 5. Flowering
After a few weeks, if beets are not harvested, they will continue to grow and they will start growing a long stalk with many small stalk branches on it. The flowers will eventually grow on that long stalk.
In the early days, the flowers are green but change their color when they are growing seeds and drying. The main stalk will grow bigger and a lot of smaller branches grow on it too. It becomes bigger as days pass by and those flowers will show up in it.
Stage 6. Pollination
The flowers of beets are wind pollinated. The wind can help pollinate the flowers of beets but some pollinators like bees can also help those flowers.
There will be many flowers on the plant. And when a lot of flowers are pollinated there will be more seeds growing on the plant.
Stage 7. Seeding
It will take about a month or two for those seeds to grow on the plant. The flowers will slowly grow and once they are pollinated seeds will appear. Those seeds will mature after a few weeks.
Once the flowers are drying and turning brown, the beet seeds are ready to harvest. Also, the plant stops growing and it turns brown also. The plant can be able to produce a lot of seeds and it can reach up to 1000 seeds on a single plant.
You can collect a lot of seeds per plant which can be used again to grow beets. If you have 100 beet seeds you can be able to grow 100 beet plants especially if all of them are high-quality and capable of germinating.
It still depends on the growth of the plant, how the plant is cared for, weather, and other factors that can affect the beets’ growth which can influence the number of seeds it can produce.
The Life Cycle Of Beets: Beetroot Growing Stages
The beet’s life cycle starts from seed, becomes a seedling, it matures, the beetroots grow on the plant, it grows flowers, seeds grow on the plant, and the plant stops growing and dries.
It will take about 55 to 70 days to grow a beetroot but in some cases, it will take much shorter or longer for other varieties. Also, there are factors that can affect the beet’s growth like climate.
