Root Crops Planting Calendar
Planting & Setup
Root crops grow underground and require a different soil environment than most other vegetables. This group includes carrots, beets, radishes, potatoes, turnips, and parsnips. They develop best in loose, mineral sandy topsoil with low nitrogen levels. Since root veggies don’t like high nutrient soil, too much compost can lead to poor root development, even when plants look healthy above ground. In the Deep Roots system, root crops are grown in dedicated mineral soil beds with PhoSul fertilizer to support proper root formation with phosphorus. Alliums (onions, garlic, leeks, and more) are not root veggies and like higher nutrient soil. Read detials in our Garlic, Onion & Alliums blog post.
HOW TO PLANT guide for the column below:
Direct = Directly sow your seeds in your outdoor soil at the correct depth
Transplant = Plant seedlings ("transplants") that were grown indoors
Either = Direct sow seeds or plant seedlings
Seed Pieces = Plant cut sections of seed potatoes directly in the ground
Slips = Plant rooted sweet potato shoots grown from a mother tuber
| Crop Name | How To Plant | Spring Planting | Fall Planting | Germinate Indoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beets | Direct | 3/25–5/15 | 8/1–9/15 | No |
| Carrots | Direct | 3/20–5/15 | 8/1–9/15 | No |
| Parsnips | Direct | 3/20–5/1 | None | No |
| Radishes | Direct | 3/15–5/30 | 8/15–10/1 | No |
| Turnips | Direct | 3/25–5/30 | 8/1–9/15 | No |
| Rutabagas | Direct | 4/1–5/30 | 7/15–8/15 | No |
| Potatoes | Seed Pieces | 4/1–5/15 | None | No |
| Sweet Potatoes | Slips | 5/20–6/20 | None | Optional |
Growing Conditions
| Crop Name | Sunlight | Temperature Tolerances | Ideal Soil Temperature | Seed Depth | Days to Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beets | Full–part | 25°F–85°F | 60–75°F | 0.5 in. | 50–70 |
| Carrots | Full–part | 25°F–80°F | 60–70°F | 0.25 in. | 60–80 |
| Parsnips | Full sun | 20°F–75°F | 55–70°F | 0.5 in. | 90–120 |
| Radishes | Full–part | 25°F–85°F | 60–75°F | 0.25 in. | 25–40 |
| Turnips | Full–part | 20°F–85°F | 60–75°F | 0.5 in. | 40–60 |
| Rutabagas | Full sun | 20°F–75°F | 60–70°F | 0.5 in. | 80–100 |
| Potatoes | Full sun | 40°F–85°F | 60–70°F | 4 in. | 80–110 |
| Sweet Potatoes | Full sun | 55°F–95°F | 70–85°F | 4 in. | 90–120 |
Root crops play by different rules. Instead of trying to grow fast above ground, they want to store energy underground. They only do that when the soil sends the right signal: nutrients are present, but not excessive. In nutrient-rich compost-based soil, especially manure compost, nitrogen levels are often too high. The plant responds by putting energy into leaves instead of roots, which is why gardeners sometimes get beautiful tops but small, disappointing roots.
Beets: Thin early for baby beets and harvest the rest when full size. Although many gardeners say beets love sheep manure fertilizer, we have not yet tried it. Plant beet seeds a half inch deep and about 1 to 2 inches apart. Space rows 12 to 18 inches apart. Because each beet "seed" actually contains multiple seeds, you must thin the seedlings to a final spacing of 3 to 4 inches apart once they reach 2 to 3 inches tall.
Carrots: You can over-winter carrots in the bed to optimize sweetness. Very tiny seeds are tricky to plant. Keep seeds and new sprouts moist constantly. Great tips in video How to sow carrot seeds that includes keeping seeds moist with a board until they germinate. Check under the board everyday and remove it when the first sprout appears. To harvest carrots find one whose top is sticking out of the soil. If it pulls out easily it is ready to harvest. They will not be ready all at the same time.
Parsnips: Over-winter in the bed to optimize sweetness.
Radish: Fastest crop to grow to maturity.
Potatoes need richer, more nutrient-dense soil than many other root vegetables. They are not grown from seed, but from seed potatoes planted directly in the soil. Potatoes also have two different planting windows, depending on the variety. Determinate potatoes mature faster, produce fewer potatoes, and are usually planted for an earlier harvest. Indeterminate potatoes take longer to mature and can keep producing more potatoes as the plant grows. View our blog post about planting potatoes.
Sweet potatoes are also heavy feeders, but they are planted from slips, not seeds. Slips are seedlings grown from a sweet potato, often started in water rather than soil. Although many gardeners grow their own slips, we ordered ours online. In Zone 6a, plant sweet potato slips outdoors in late May to early June, about 3–4 weeks after the last spring frost, once the soil is at least 65ºF and nights are consistently above 55ºF. Slips are extremely tender, so wait until all danger of frost has passed.
Alliums are root bulb veggies like garlic, onions and leeks and are NOT true root veggies, They have different growing requirements like higher nutrient soil. Check our blog post on Garlic, Onions & Alliums.
