Hi, thin them out. Beets and radishes don't like to be crowded at all. I know, it's tough, hate to pull those healthy looking sprouts but it's gotta be done if you want them to bulb out. The more room you give them, the bigger they get and quicker. I've found that you can squeeze in a few extra by staggering the row, you know, like in a zigzag pattern. Makes the row wider but more dense without crowding the beets. Some folks just throw the seed out willy nilly and rake the soil even. Then thin out to a three or four inch spacing in a bed when they sprout. Best of luck.

i agree with jbann23....make more rows 4 inches away from the original row and triple your production. pull them out few at a time. if you pull the whole row out at once they well wilt and if you don't water them a lot they are set back to the point where you won't get any thing out of them. i do this every year. i love beets!! good luck JOHN

As soon as I read this post yesterday, I went out and thinned my beets; ended up with half a small bucket of nice healthy seedlings to dump. But, I did notice that I had to be careful not to disturb the seedling next to the weaker one,tho- roots seemed to be very shallow. Is this normal or did I not plant the seed deep enough? And can I sow more later, like in July?

Mine have been thinned, but there's no need for me to worry about rows or zigzagging. I'm doing this in containers, as I do most of my stuff. Hopefully I'll have some nice photos to post later this year! Thanks for the help.

P.S. I snipped the seedlings to thing them rather than pulling them up. I didn't want to disturb the root zone of the remaining ones.

We always thinned and eat the small plants, great eating.

After reading the messages I feel you are making a big mistake by throwing away the ones you pulled up. Please,Please. Transplant them. I have done this for years and it is very easy. If they are big enough to thin them transplant I always thin and fill in the blank spots on the row. They will all make. Just water them in and do it every day for about a week and they will be just fine.

I thin beets a couple of times. The really small ones are good in a salad and attractive too. The later thinning gives me beet greens for cooking, which are one of the best of all cooked greens.

Jim