Did you know we are crazy about beets? We know we talk about them a lot, whether it’s smoothies, roasting, salad, etc., but that’s because they have so many health benefits and they’re one of the easiest plants to grow. In fact, most gardeners start with them alongside tomatoes and radishes.

Growing Beets

So let’s talk about how you can grow them first. If you want an easy way, just regrow them! You can buy them at the local farmer’s market or maybe you have a neighbor who has a garden. There’s a few easy steps:

1. Cut the beet so that you just slice the top “disk” off it.
2. Cut off the leaves off the top and leave a few inches of stem on top of the beet fruit.
3. Plant in moist soil and keep moist until roots have established.

In less than 10 days, the leaves will sprout and you should have beets in about a month depending on climate. Beets are cold tolerant as well!

You can also grow beets from seed – just follow the seed packet instructions and you can plant in spring/summer for a fall harvest, or plant in fall for a winter harvest. They are extremely good for the winter months when cold/flu season comes so that you can take some preventative beet recipes.

Here is a video on how to prepare your beets for regrowing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq7ID2F67S4

Recipes for Beets:

1. Beet Salad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ukMhIclRQ
2. Powerful Beet Smoothie: https://minimalistbaker.com/detoxifying-beet-berry-smoothie/
3. Another Beet Salad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW9ZI2j0q3U
4. Beet Fruit Salad https://www.stephgaudreau.com/beet-carrot-apple-salad-recipe/
5. Roasted Beet and Feta Side Dish: This is something I personally make all the time during Fall but is easy to make all year. Don’t peel the beets, roast them until they are easy to poke a fork through. Peel them when they cool down. Cut them into little chunks, add minced garlic, minced parsley (a lot), salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Top with feta chunks or goat cheese and you will get a lot of eyes opening about beets from your guests! Here’s a similar recipe to mine that I found: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/149559/roasted-beets-with-feta/.

With the amazing health benefits, we encourage you to figure out a way to incorporate beets into your diet. Look at the above recipes or search for other flavors you would like with them. While beets have a very earthy taste, they can be paired with things such as apples, or feta/goat cheese, and they will be tasty!