Beetroot · Handan, Hebei, China
When to plant beetroot in Handan
Main outdoor window
2-16 Mar
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
23 March
In Handan, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
21 Apr - 11 May
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 Handan
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
31 Jul - 21 Aug
Counting back 84 days from your first frost so the crop matures in time.
Sow direct
2-16 Mar
Three weeks before your last frost.
Harvest
21 Apr - 11 May
Beetroot through the year
Against the frost risk in Handan
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 Handan.
The median frost-free season here is 236 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 Handan
Other vegetables to time
Growing beetroot in Handan
When should I plant beetroot in Handan?
Aim for 2-16 Mar in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 18 Mar - 1 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will beetroot be ready to harvest in Handan?
Expect to start picking around 21 Apr - 11 May, 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.