Detroit Dark Red Beet

Beta vulgaris 'Detroit Dark Red'

vegetable

Detroit Dark Red is the standard garden beet, an heirloom producing smooth, round, deep-red roots with sweet, tender flesh and a bonus crop of nutritious red-veined greens. A dependable cool-season root maturing in about 55 to 65 days, it resists turning woody even at full size and is good for fresh use, canning, and pickling.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Onions and Garlic — Scent deters many pests
• Bush beans — Add nitrogen and share space
• Lettuce — Shallow roots that do not compete
• Sweet Alyssum — Draws beneficial hoverflies

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Leafminer →

  Row cover to block egg-laying; pick off mined leaves

• Flea beetles →

  Row cover seedlings; the holes are mostly cosmetic on the greens

• Woody or cracked roots →

  Keep moisture even and thin seedlings to avoid crowding

🌾 Harvest & storage

Pull roots once they reach 2 to 3 inches across for the best texture, since larger roots can turn woody, and harvest the young greens along the way like chard. A light frost sweetens the roots, which store for months in cold, humid conditions with the tops trimmed off.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Beets are a good source of folate, manganese, and potassium, and their deep color comes from betalain pigments studied as antioxidants, while their dietary nitrates are linked to improved blood flow; the greens are rich in vitamins A, C, and K.