Beetroot · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
When to plant beetroot in Philadelphia
Main outdoor window
24 Mar - 7 Apr
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
14 April
In Philadelphia, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
13 May - 2 Jun
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Philadelphia
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Sow for autumn
20 Jul - 10 Aug
Counting back 84 days from your first frost so the crop matures in time.
Sow direct
24 Mar - 7 Apr
Three weeks before your last frost.
Harvest
13 May - 2 Jun
Beetroot through the year
Against the frost risk in Philadelphia
Why these dates
Sow from three weeks before last frost, then every three weeks until ten weeks before first frost. Small roots taste better than large ones.
Seedlings take a light frost. Very early sowings into cold soil can trigger bolting later, so do not rush the first one.
Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Beetroot are timed for direct sowing 3 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Philadelphia.
The median frost-free season here is 202 days, against 50 to 70 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.
Also in Philadelphia
Other vegetables to time
Growing beetroot in Philadelphia
When should I plant beetroot in Philadelphia?
Aim for 24 Mar - 7 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 2-16 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will beetroot be ready to harvest in Philadelphia?
Expect to start picking around 13 May - 2 Jun, based on 50 to 70 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will beetroot tolerate?
Seedlings take a light frost. Very early sowings into cold soil can trigger bolting later, so do not rush the first one.