Harvest

When to harvest beetroot

The short answer

Start pulling beetroot at golf-ball size, taking every other root, and lift the rest before they are bigger than a cricket ball. Depending on when you sowed and the variety, that runs from early summer to mid-autumn. Roots from June sowings onwards can be lifted in autumn and stored for winter.

Beetroot is forgiving about timing, but not about size or water. Small roots are the sweetest; big ones store better; dry ones turn woody. Here is how to pick your moment.

When it's ready in the UK

RHS gives early summer to mid-autumn, depending on the sowing time and variety. Picking in two passes spreads the crop: thinning out alternate roots at golf-ball size gives the others room to fill out.

Beetroot: sowing, planting and harvest months in Vercro's catalogue
Window	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Beetroot: sow indoorsMarch to April	January: no	February: no	March: yes	April: yes	May: no	June: no	July: no	August: no	September: no	October: no	November: no	December: no
Beetroot: sow outsideApril to July	January: no	February: no	March: no	April: yes	May: yes	June: yes	July: yes	August: no	September: no	October: no	November: no	December: no
Beetroot: harvestJune to October	January: no	February: no	March: no	April: no	May: no	June: yes	July: yes	August: yes	September: yes	October: yes	November: no	December: no

Months from Vercro's crop catalogue, the data the Vercro app plans with. It allows about 9 to 13 weeks from sowing to the first harvest. Weather, variety and where you garden move every one of these.

131 UK gardeners had recorded beetroot in Vercro by 19 September 2026. What Vercro gardens are growing.

How to tell it's ready

Golf-ball size: lift alternate plants once the roots reach it.(RHS)
No larger than a cricket ball: take the remaining roots before they pass this size.(RHS)
The leaves are a crop too. Pick them through the season, leaving at least four or five on each plant.(RHS)

How to harvest

Loosen the soil with a hand fork, then lift the root.(RHS)
For storing, cut or twist off the leaves about 2.5cm from the base(RHS)

What moves the date

Sowing time and variety.(RHS)
Early sowings bolt. They are prone to flowering instead of swelling; choose bolt-resistant varieties for them.(RHS)

If you leave it too long

Woody roots. A lack of water turns roots woody; harvest young and water in dry spells.(RHS)
Split roots, from uneven watering.(RHS)
Bolting in hot, dry weather, or after sowing in very cool conditions.(RHS)

After picking

Larger roots store better than small ones.(RHS)
Store in a container of sand, potting compost or coir in a garage or shed, where they keep for at least a couple of months.(RHS)
In mild areas, leave late crops in the ground and lift them as needed.(RHS)

More on boxes and clamps: how to store root vegetables in sand.

Where the sources differ

Two good sources, two answers. We show both rather than picking the convenient one.

Where the sources differ
Question	RHS beetroot guide	RHS root storage guide
Dry or moist sand for storing	Dry sand, potting compost or coir.	Layers of moist sand or peat-substitute, to stop beetroot shrivelling.

Keep a record of what each bed gave

Log what you pick, and how much, bed by bed. Vercro keeps the record, so next year you know what worked where, and Today shows what your crops need next.

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Where this comes from

Crop windows, growing times and plant families come from Vercro's own curated crop catalogue, the same data the Vercro app uses. Where a published source says something different, we show both rather than choosing the convenient one. Reviewed 19 September 2026.

Beetroot: grow your own, Royal Horticultural Society. Read 19 September 2026.
Root Vegetables: Storing, Royal Horticultural Society. Read 19 September 2026.