How to Transplant Beet Seedlings

Thin beet seedlings to grow strong healthy beets.

Beets are a versatile home garden vegetable. They are nutritious, delicious tubers that store and grow well. And they are relatively easy to grow from seed. Each bumpy beet seed is actually a compound seed. As the seeds germinate, the beet's grow in restricting clumps. To increase beet size and productivity, transplant the beet seedlings once they get growing.

Things You'll Need

• Trowel
• Fertilizer

Instructions

1. Dig up beet seedlings that are at least 2 inches long with four leaves. Insert a trowel into the soil roughly 2 inches away from the beet's stem. Bend the trowel's handle down, away from the stem to push the beet's root up.

2. Carefully pull apart each individual seedling. Handle each beet seedling by its leaves, not its stem. If you damage a leaf it will regrow. A broken stem will not recover. Set the strongest seedlings aside for planting. Don't bother planting the weaker, thinner seedlings. They make delicious salad greens and can be eaten root and all.

3. Dig a hole for each beat root that is roughly 3 inches deep and slightly wider than the diameter of the beet. Keep each hole 4 inches away from neighboring plants.

4. Plant each beet in the hole at the same depth as it grew previously. Use the soil line on the beet's stem as a guide. Handle the beets carefully. Make sure that each beet's long vertical root is vertical and unbent. If the root is too long, prune it so that it is not bent on the bottom of the planting hole.

5. Water the plantings with a water-soluble commercial vegetable fertilizer diluted to half-strength. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations for application amounts.

6. Water the beet seedlings with a thin spray of water to moisten the soil to the depth of the plantings. Continue to keep the soil moist with as-needed watering until the beet transplants put on new growth.

Tips & Warnings

• Wait to transplant on an overcast day or early in the morning/late at night when the sun is at its weakest. Direct, hot sunlight may wilt or burn the new transplants' leaves. If the weather is quite hot, erect a shade over the transplants during the hottest part of the day.

References

• Garden Wise; Transplanting Beets; Vonnie Kovacic; 2004
• Weekend Gardener: Beet - Beta Vulgaris
• West Coast Seeds: How to Grow Beets
• "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades"; Steve Solomon; 2002
• Iowa State University; Growing Beets in the Home Garden; Richard Jauron; March 2004