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Cylindra beet seeds are a very sweet heirloom first introduced to the US from Europe in 1892. Its cylindrical shape makes it very nice for pickling or slicing. The leaves of this beet are a little sweeter than most other beets, and are very nice as salad greens. Roots grow to 20cm (8") long, with dark red flesh. Nearly two thirds of the length of the root will grow above ground, so some gardeners like to hill up soil around each plant as the root emerges. This will keep the skins of the root very tender and protect them from insects. Cylindra beet seeds also happen to produce particularly nice micro-greens.
Matures in 50-70 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)
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Latin
Latin
Beta vulgaris
Family: Amaranthaceae
Difficulty
Difficulty
Easy
We Recommend
We Recommend: Chioggia (BT169). It’s hard to pick a favourite beet because they all have winning qualities. But slice into a Chioggia beet, and discover a party going on inside! It’s certainly one of the most festive looking of all garden vegetables, and it tastes wonderful, too.
For Urban Growers: Try Bull’s Blood (BT174) as a micro-green, and harvest just as the first set of true leaves is emerging. Eye-catching and delicious – and very nutritious.
Season & Zone
Season & Zone
Season: Cool Season Biennial
Exposure: Full-sun or partial-shade
Zone: Hardy to Zone 5
Timing
Timing
Direct sow 4 weeks after last frost to mid-summer. Beets will not produce roots if planted when the soil is too cold. Seeds will germinate in 5-12 days, depending on soil temperature. Optimal soil temperature: 10-26°C (50-80°F).
Starting
Starting
Sow 1cm (½”) deep, 5-10cm (2-4″) apart in rows 30-45cm (12-18″) apart.
Days to Maturity
Days to Maturity
From direct sowing.
Growing
Growing
Ideal pH: 6.0-6.8. For uniformly sized beets, thin carefully to 7-15cm (3-6″) apart when seedlings are 5cm (2″) tall. Eat any thinned plants, roots and all. root size is controlled by spacing and variety.
Harvest
Harvest
Harvest at any size, but for the best flavour, pull the beets as soon as they have reached full-size. Eat the greens too. Store in the ground, or in moist peat or sand just above freezing.
Seed Info
Seed Info
In optimum conditions at least 75% of seeds will germinate. Usual seed life: 3 years. Per 100′ row: 600-1M seeds, per acre: 436M seeds.
Diseases & Pests
Diseases & Pests
If beets have black cankers in the roots, soil may need more boron. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of borax to 4L (8½ US pints) of water, and spread evenly over 9m² (100 sq ft) of soil. Do not over apply at a heavier rate. Circular lesions with a purple halo on the leaf is cercospera leaf spot. Prevent by strict crop rotation and sanitation. Leaf miner maggots cause blistered grey tunnels in leaves. Just squish them inside the leaf. Floating row cover carefully applied after planting will prevent the leaf miner fly from laying its eggs.
Companion Planting
Companion Planting
Beets add minerals to the soil. The greens are very good for the compost. Plant with bush beans, Brassicas, corn, garlic, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, and mint. Add cut mint leaves as a mulch for beets. Avoid planting beets near pole beans, as the nitrogen fixed by the beans may encourage leafy beet growth and diminished root development.
More on Companion Planting.
West Coast Seeds is a family-owned company that embraces an organic lifestyle. A group of imagination catalysts and passionate educators, dedicated to producing products and services that better the environment. As part of our mission to repair the earth, we aim to inspire and empower people to take responsibility for the state of the planet. For us, organic is about much more than saying no to chemicals, it is about saying yes to building a healthy soil for the future.
For over 35 years, we have upheld our strong reputation as a leading seed supplier, seeking out the highest quality untreated seeds for organic growing and putting them through rigorous independent testing. We built our company on the exchange of generational wisdom in a masterclass community of newbies and masters alike. Our world may have changed, but our commitment to our people, our customers, and our planet has not.
We’re a values-based business that has blossomed into a lifestyle ethos, with products that support seeders, feeders, keepers, and the tiniest of creepers. Our mission? To mobilize the next generation of gardeners with products that nourish soil and grow vigorous, sustainable gardens. We believe all plants should be grown without the use of chemicals, and that the seeds we supply are an important component of regenerative gardening.
We don’t just offer seeds, we offer experience, insight, and understanding. From timeless garden wisdom to new tech know-how, this is learning on the job: knowledge gleaned not from the pages of a book but from burying our fingers in the soil. We test, experiment, observe and adapt, never happier than when we get to share what we’ve learned with others.
Gardens don’t just grow seeds. They grow minds and imaginations, people and communities. Our vision encompasses both the micro and the macro. We eat locally, protect pollinators, teach people to grow from seed, and support regional biodiversity. We think big but act small and deliver unexpected impact — always with community and purpose.
At West Coast Seeds we believe in the power of small and that little can be large. Like the tiniest seed germinates to evoke incremental change with massive potential, so to can our community of gardeners and growers together. Gardeners are the earth’s stewards, planting seeds of creative declaration. The soil provides the canvas, we provide the seeds.
Direct sow 4 weeks after last frost to mid-summer. Beets will not produce roots if planted when the soil is too cold. Seeds will germinate in 5-12 days, depending on soil temperature. Optimal soil temperature: 10-26°C (50-80°F).
Sow 1cm (½”) deep, 5-10cm (2-4″) apart in rows 30-45cm (12-18″) apart.
Ideal pH: 6.0-6.8.
For uniformly sized beets, thin carefully to 7-15cm (3-6″) apart when seedlings are 5cm (2″) tall. Eat any thinned plants, roots and all. Root size is controlled by spacing and variety.
Days to maturity: From direct sowing.
In optimum conditions at least 75% of seeds will germinate. Usual seed life: 3 years. Per 100′ row: 600-1M seeds, per acre: 436M seeds.
Harvest at any size. For the best flavour, pull the beets as soon as they have reached full-size. Eat the greens too! Store in the ground, or in moist peat or sand just above freezing.
