Q: Can beets and radishes be planted together? - Maxwell
I'm super glad you're thinking about root crops! They're some of the easiest and most rewarding crops to grow. To your question about whether beets and radishes can be grown together: These two crops are somewhat unique in that they, given the right circumstances, can be grown all throughout the year. If you're thinking of seeding them together (interspersed) however, I would caution against it. Radishes are one of the fastest-growing vegetable crops and often germinate in only a few days, while beets (if seeded) can take up to a week to germinate. The issue I'm worried about if you interseed them is that the radishes will quickly outpace and out-muscle the beets for valuable space, water and nutrients in your garden leading to a great radish harvest, but probably not many beets. However, if you want to seed them in individual rows next to each other, I see absolutely no issues with that! You'll want to make sure there are about 3-4 inches between your rows to give them enough room to grow. Additionally, we recommend thinning crops like this to give each root the room to size up.
Happy growing!
- Aaron French | Urban Farm Manager
Have a gardening or urban farming-related question for Aaron? Comment on this post or email the question to info@omahasprouts.org!