Oh, yes!! You are missing out if you don't. Beet greens are wonderful in fresh salads, and I know some people cook them. I always take a few when I raid my lettuce and chard bed (mine are together also). They add a great flavor and texture to the salad, and my kids never have noticed the difference.

Happy Gardening!!

g

I am growing beets specifically for the greens. They are great sauteed for omelettes, thrown into tomato sauces, etc.

Get 'em before the leafminers do!

I agree with Holly. I ate a few beet leaves then decided to wait for the beets to size up, only to lose the leaves to the leaf miners. Beets ended up being small, approx 1 inch across. I haven't decided if I want to plant more beets.

I've got a half barrel on the deck crammed full of stuff. One celery plant, parsley, 2 kinds of basil, oregano, a few red onions and some lettuce.

I managed to squeeze in a few chard plants, in front of the celery, but hidden behind the oregano. They're the most beautiful chard plants growing this year. The leafminers haven't found those ones yet.

In hindsight, I should have planted a few beets in there too as those miners found the ones out in the garden. They look absolutely terrible. Not one lousy beet leaf to steal for salad.

To find out if your beets are ready - gently probe around the leaf stems at ground level and you can see how large the beet is. I do this with the half-long carrots, too.

I grow beets in a planter with lettuce just to pick leaves for salad. I just love small beet greens in salad, baby spinach and swiss chard are good too. I also grow beets out in the garden and pick a leaf from the plants once in a while but allow most to grow larger because I like the beets and the larger greens cooked also.

Good gardening, Mary