How long does it take for beets to go to seed. I'm in zone three, and am hoping that I can let the heritage varieties go to seed for saving. They've never lasted long enough in my garden to know if they have the time to do this in my zone.
Bad news... beets are biennial, so they won't bolt the first year. The beet roots must be saved like seed potatoes and replanted in the spring. They shold make seed stalks then. The stalks also have to be bagged as beets are wind pollinated and if you are growing more than 1 variety they will crossbreed. An excellent book on this subject is "Seed To Seed" by Suzanne Ashworth. It's available from most of the heirloom seed companies.
So I wonder if they would bolt here where we have a 300 day growing season??Makes you wonder What other plant would.
