Gardener123
Green Thumb
Posts: 379
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 2:07 pm
Location: 25 miles west of CC Philadelphia

Fresh Beets vs. canned / jarred beets?

My wife wants me to try to grow beets..... I hate beets..... she said, "that is because you have never had FRESH beets. They taste totally different. I have limited space, and likely would have to create a tiny area to grow beets.... I have never considered planting beets..

Whether they will taste good to me is something I doubt...... but what I want to know is do they taste MUCH different than jarred beets? If so, I may give them a shot.

User avatar
jal_ut
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7447
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

Personally, yes fresh are better, but not really that much different. I do like the beet greens though. If you like spinach, you may like beet greens too. Hmmm, I guess it won't cost much to try it. Plant a few.

gumbo2176
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 3065
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:01 am
Location: New Orleans

To me, there is no comparison between fresh and canned. Fresh is SO much better. I grow beets each fall and what I don't use right away, I'll pickle with onions and a nice brine to store them for later use. I find fresh beets simply steamed to whatever point of tender you like are sweeter than anything you will find in a can or jar. Others like to leave them in their skins and bake them like a potato, peel the skins off and eat them like that.

If you've never planted beets, here's a little tip. When you buy a pack of seeds there are clusters that look like tiny asteroids that are actually several seeds clumped together. Plant them like that and when they get to be about 3 inches tall, gently dig under the clump with a hand garden shovel and again, gently separate them for proper transplanting with adequate space for the beets to form bulbs. I generally give 4-5 inches between plants in all directions. Another tip is to flatten the top of your row so you can get several plants across the rows as well as down the length of the rows. This helps maximize space in the garden for other things.

Oh, and the greens are excellent in salads.

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I find fresh beets to be sweeter, but that may partly be variety. It also depends on how you prepare them. I like Harvard beets, and I like them with butter. The greens are a lot like spinach or swiss chard. It does have an earthy taste so it is best to use the young leaves not the old ones.

User avatar
jal_ut
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7447
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

Yes, as gumbo2176 says, that little crinkly beet "seed" is actually a capsule containing several seeds.

It is well to space the seed about 4 inches when planting, then thin a bit too. You can leave two to grow close, and they will just push each other and still get to a good size. I have a seed planter that I use, but alas it puts them too close. I end up thinning a lot. I wait till there is pretty good green growth then eat the thinnings as greens.

If you have a large beet from last years' garden, you can plant it and it will bloom and make seed for you then you don't need to buy seed.

Enjoy those beets!

User avatar
ElizabethB
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 2105
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 12:53 am
Location: Lafayette, LA

Growing up I hated beets! I love fresh beets! Boiled and served with butter. Sliced thin on the mandolin and crisped in olive oil. Cold beet salad - cold beets with mixed greens, chopped boiled egg and a little white wine vinegar. Beat greens are TO DIE FOR!. Rinse and cook in the water clinging to the leaves. Add sea salt and butter. :lol: I can eat myself sick on fresh beet greens.

My DIL and grandson are VERY picky eaters. I make a point of cooking what they hate. It is not the food that they hate but the freshness of the food and the preparation. When I cook for them they love the foods that they hate.

If in doubt get some fresh beets and beet greens from your local produce market. Try them. You will want to plant them.


Go for it!!

gumbo2176
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 3065
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:01 am
Location: New Orleans

ElizabethB wrote:Growing up I hated beets! I love fresh beets! Boiled and served with butter. Sliced thin on the mandolin and crisped in olive oil. Cold beet salad - cold beets with mixed greens, chopped boiled egg and a little white wine vinegar. Beat greens are TO DIE FOR!. Rinse and cook in the water clinging to the leaves. Add sea salt and butter. :lol: I can eat myself sick on fresh beet greens.

My DIL and grandson are VERY picky eaters. I make a point of cooking what they hate. It is not the food that they hate but the freshness of the food and the preparation. When I cook for them they love the foods that they hate.

If in doubt get some fresh beets and beet greens from your local produce market. Try them. You will want to plant them.


Go for it!!

I can understand what you are saying about fixing things your family hates to eat and making them change their opinion. I have a brother-in-law that couldn't stand eggplant============until I fixed it for him and now he is a convert. It all depends on how it's presented and the love and expertise that goes into it.


I've been asked more than once "How do you make that?" when referring to a particular recipe. My answer is ALWAYS " With love"

lexusnexus
Green Thumb
Posts: 358
Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2014 4:06 pm
Location: MD Suburbs of DC, 7a

If you truly don't like beets you probably won't like fresh beets. But, give them a try. Who knows, you might actually like them. Hey, I don't dislike liver, I HATE liver. I've tried it from many people who say "you'll like the way I prepare it." You know what? I still hated it. :lol:

User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

I hate grocery store beets too but garden beets are GOOD. Warning, you eat several beets then tomorrow the toilet is blood red your not bleeding to death.......the beets did it. LOL.

Beets do not take up much garden space. Plant them now, the sooner the better. Plant the seeds about 4" maybe a tad bit closer since your trying to save space. Harvest them before hot weather. Hot weather will make them loose their good flavor.

When I lived in TN I use to plant 3 rows of seeds side by side 4" apart and the rows 4" apart. That gave me a lot of beets for a small space. Thin the beets when they get larger.

In TN I planted beets April 1st and Sept 1st. We had 90 degree weather by June and 100 by July, beets never had time to grow large before hot weather. Sept beets did much better for me I covered them up to protect them from frost and harvested beets until the first hard freeze that was usually December.

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Beets are not long keepers. Fresh beets at the farmer's market are better than at the stores, but beets are best eaten in a day or two or cooked right away.



Return to “Vegetable Gardening Forum”