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I was thinking about growing sugar beets on my London roof terrace, so I was wondering what temperature it needs. I also have access to a greenhouse should it be necessary.

Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL
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tropical
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    One good thing to note is that sugar beets do best in deep soils, often using soil over seven feet down. To grow these properly to maturity, you will need a fairly deep bed. – J. Musser Aug 01 '14 at 01:04
  • @J.Musser Thank you; Sorry to disturb your holiday. – tropical Aug 01 '14 at 04:36
  • Heh heh. Totally my own fault. Who but me checks this site from his mobile on vacation? Anyway, do you have a deep bed suitable for sugar beets? – J. Musser Aug 01 '14 at 06:01
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    For what purpose would you want to grow sugarbeet? they're rather inedible, and need industrial processing to make use of the sugar (unless you're a good amateur chemist). I don't know if they might be put to use for brewing? The only use we ever put them to on the farm was for as a treat for pet rabbits. – Siv Aug 01 '14 at 19:35
  • @Siv I've grown them just for cool, or for exhibition, or sometimes use them as livestock feed. Tropical doesn't necessarily want to eat them. – J. Musser Aug 01 '14 at 20:13
  • Sugar beets are a very popular crop here in southwestern Idaho (as are onions). They seem to grow quite well here, although I'm not sure how deep the soil is. The frost-free growing season is supposed to be between about May 10th and October 10th. I don't know if they survive frosts or not. Here, it's very hot and dry (and semi-arid) in the late spring, summer, and early fall, but usually cool and wet in the early spring and later in the fall. They irrigate, usually with pipes (not sprinklers) from canals from river water. I'm not sure if the irrigation method makes a difference with them. – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx Oct 25 '16 at 04:46

1 Answers1

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In regard to the temperature requirements of sugar beets, they prefer an even 65°-80° Fahrenheit (warmer daytime temp) for the first 90 days of growth, at which point the roots begin to swell, and the plant will prefer to stay within 5° on either side of 75° Fahrenheit daytime temps, and the same for a 45° nighttime temp.

As for other optimal conditions:

  • Soil pH - Test your soil. The pH should read between 6.5 & 6.8. Sugar beets will produce poorly under that level, so if your soil reads lower than 6.5, apply lime.

  • Water - Sugar beets need at least 16" of rain to mature, but more is better. I have used about 35" over the entire season (counting rain) with success.

  • Fertilizer - These are heavy feeders. Give them plenty of nitrogen, in a balanced fertilizer, all season for the largest roots and highest sucrose levels.

  • Soil Type - They are adaptive, but do best in a sandy loam with a high organic matter content. It must be water retentive but free draining. I have grown them successfully in a range of soils, but still recommend sandy loam, even over bagged mix (no soil).

Other points of interest:

  • Sugar beets can take 100-180 days from seed to maturity, depending on conditions and variety. Some may take only 90.

  • In limited root space, go with a smaller beet. They take less space and mature faster, too!

  • Watch for weeds, which are the first reason for failure at first attempts on growing this plant.

  • I've noted that there is almost zero pest/disease problems when grown under close to ideal conditions, but watch for slugs, flea beetles, earwigs, and the like.

References/Further reading:

J. Musser
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