Vegetable / Cool season
Detroit Dark Red Beet
Dual-purpose root and greens crop for shoulder seasons.
Earthy-sweet roots with edible greens.
Seed spacing and maturity
- Days to maturity
- 58
- Germination temperature
- 50-85F
- Seed depth
- 0.5 inches
- Spacing
- 4 inches
- Row spacing
- 12 inches
- Start method
- Direct sow
Frost-date timing
- Direct sow
- 21 days before last frost
- Fall planting
- 9 weeks before first frost
- Succession interval
- repeat every 21 days
Action plan
- Can I plant this now?
- Use your local last-frost, first-frost, and soil-temperature checks before treating this crop as plantable today.
- Start indoors or direct sow?
- Direct sow into the final bed when the soil temperature, seed depth, and moisture are ready.
- How much space?
- 4 inches in-row spacing, 12 inches between rows, and 0.5 inch seed depth.
- Best companions?
- Use crop-family rotation first, then pair with compatible timing, spacing, and canopy size rather than relying on a simple companion chart.
- Common failure modes?
- Neglected thinning creates crowded, undersized roots. Even water keeps roots smooth. Loose, fertile soil; thin seedlings early.
Is it still worth sowing this year?
Every region this site covers (Texas, North Florida, Central Maryland, New York City and York County, PA) publishes a beet planting window, so the answer for this variety is already dated. No other region is covered yet.
- Check Detroit Dark Red Beet against the Texas first frost date AgriLife lists beet for Texas (AgriLife Region III); the page measures that window against this variety's 58 days to maturity and the region's first frost date.
- Is it too late to sow Detroit Dark Red Beet in North Florida this year? UF/IFAS lists beet for North Florida; the page measures that window against this variety's 58 days to maturity and the region's first frost date.
- Check Detroit Dark Red Beet against the Central Maryland first frost date UMD Extension lists beet for Central Maryland; the page measures that window against this variety's 58 days to maturity and the region's first frost date.
- Is it too late to sow Detroit Dark Red Beet in New York City this year? Cornell CCE lists beet for the New York City area; the page measures that window against this variety's 58 days to maturity and the region's first frost date.
- Check Detroit Dark Red Beet against the York County, PA first frost date Penn State Extension lists beet for York County, Pennsylvania; the page measures that window against this variety's 58 days to maturity and the region's first frost date.
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Even water keeps roots smooth.
- Soil
- Loose, fertile soil; thin seedlings early.
- Watch
- Neglected thinning creates crowded, undersized roots.
- roots
- greens
- storage
- fall
Browse context
- Vegetable Catalog Category collection
- Amaranth Family Rotation and family context
- Cool Season Seeds Season collection
- Direct Sow Seeds Start-method collection
- Container-Friendly Seeds Practical trait collection
- Beginner-Friendly Seeds Practical trait collection
- Succession Sowing Seeds Practical trait collection
- Quick-Maturity Seeds Practical trait collection
- Fall-Planting Seeds Practical trait collection
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