Last Updated on October 9, 2026

How to Store Beets for Winter: Fridge, Damp Sand or a Pit

Cut the greens off, leaving 1 inch of stem and the taproot on, and store the beets unwashed, cold and humid: 32-40°F and 90-98% humidity. Topped beets kept that way last 4 to 6 months, the number on my vegetable storage chart. Use a plastic bag in the fridge for the next few weeks of eating, damp sand or sawdust in a cold room for the long haul, or a pit in the ground. Store the greens on their own and eat them first.

Four ways to store beets, compared

Get them ready to store

1. Dig them gently. Loosen the soil with a digging fork before you pull, and go easy on the skin, breaks let the color and nutrition bleed out (Utah State University Extension; Illinois Extension).
2. Take the greens off right away. University of Illinois Extension says the greens quickly draw moisture out of the root in storage, so the beets shrivel and lose flavor. Leave 1 inch of stem and keep the taproot (the thin tail) on to hold in moisture and nutrients. The difference is big: SDSU Extension gives topped beets 4 to 10 months in cold, humid storage, but only 10 to 14 days with the green tops left on.
3. Skip the wash. SDSU Extension’s root vegetable guide says not to wash roots that just have a bit of dirt on them. If they are muddy, wash them gently and let them air-dry until they are no more than slightly damp, or storage rots get a start.
4. Sort them. Set aside any diseased or damaged roots for the kitchen. USDA Agriculture Handbook 66, written for commercial storage, adds that large roots keep much better than small ones because they lose water and shrivel more slowly. Eat the small ones first.
5. Cool them down. Harvest in the morning after the dew dries, before the afternoon warms the roots, then move them somewhere cold to pull out the field heat (University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension).

How cold and how humid

You do not need to chase an exact 32°F. University of Minnesota Extension warns that 32°F is hard to hold at home, and shelf life can drop up to 25 percent for every 10°F above it. That is why USDA Agriculture Handbook 66‘s 4 to 6 months for home-style ventilated storage runs so much shorter than its 8 to 10 months for refrigerated commercial rooms: a home space that swings with the weather lands at the short end.

Method 1: the fridge

Colorado State University Extension says to store unwashed beet roots in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, with about 1 inch of stem left on. That is the right place for the beets you will eat soon.

Watch the bag. A home fridge runs about 40°F and only 50-60% humidity, according to University of Minnesota Extension. Perforated plastic bags give cold, moist air for a moderate stretch, while bags with no holes trap too much humidity, which leads to condensation and mold or bacteria.

Method 2: damp sand or sawdust

In my fall crop planting guide I suggest a root cellar or a cool, dark corner of the basement for carrots and beets.

1. Find the cold spot. University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension says a root cellar should be cold, dark and damp, with 32-40°F the best range for most vegetables and 80-95% humidity to keep them from drying out. A walled-off part of a basement or garage can work.
2. Pack them. Alaska Fairbanks lists beets among the thin-skinned roots that need to be stored to hold their moisture, layered in packing such as moist sawdust, sand or peat moss, or kept in perforated plastic bags. Aim for damp, not wet.
3. Add humidity if the floor is dry. On concrete or wood, Alaska Fairbanks suggests pans of water on the floor, and says a small, full cellar holds humidity better than a big one.
4. Give it air. Ventilation lets out the excess moisture that encourages mold, and the vents should be screened to keep rodents out (Alaska Fairbanks).
5. Check the box. Look through stored produce now and then and pull out anything rotting before it spreads (SDSU Extension). Handbook 66 names gray mold and black rot, which blackens the root tip, as the common storage decays.

University of Minnesota Extension says basements tend to be cool and dry, which is why the damp packing matters. Done right, Virginia Tech Extension gives beets 3 to 5 months at 33°F and 95% humidity with the greens removed.

Method 3: a pit or a buried can

No cold room? Use the ground. Illinois Extension says beets can be stored in outdoor pits as long as they are dug before the ground freezes in fall, with the tops cut 1 inch above the root. SDSU Extension describes a simple version: a garbage can dug into the ground, the roots layered with slightly damp sand, and straw or other insulation over the top to keep it from freezing.

Handbook 66 says the temperature in a pit should not drop below 31°F or go above 41°F, to limit freezing, sprouting and rot, and that pits need insulation against temperature swings. Put a thermometer in yours.

Can you leave beets in the ground with mulch?

Only for a while, because beets take less cold than carrots. The Plan My Garden planner rates carrots as hardy but beets as semi-hardy, and my vegetable frost tolerance chart puts semi-hardy crops at a light freeze down to 28°F. Carrots can overwinter under a heavy mulch, but beets can’t, dig them before the ground freezes (University of Missouri Extension; WVU Extension).

So the bed is a short hold, not a winter cellar. A few light frosts first make them sweeter, root crops build more sugar once the soil drops below 40°F (SDSU Extension; Penn State Extension). Then dig, top and pack them before the first moderate freeze. To see when your first fall frost usually comes, look up your frost dates by zip code.

Store the greens separately

The greens do not keep. Colorado State University Extension says to store unwashed beet greens in their own plastic bag in the refrigerator and use them within 4 days. Illinois Extension says they cook like spinach. On my beets per square foot page, the thinnings are the first salad greens of the season.

Freeze or pickle the extras

Extra beets can be frozen (Illinois Extension) or pickled, my fridge pickle recipe is at the end of how to plant red beets.

When to dig beets for storage

• Size. University of Minnesota Extension says to harvest beets at 1 1/4 to 3 inches across. Illinois Extension warns that beets larger than 3 inches are often fibrous and woody.
• Days. The Plan My Garden planner gives beets about 55 days to maturity. For a fall storage crop, count back at least that many days from your first fall frost.
• Variety. Alaska Fairbanks recommends varieties that mature late or store well. Wood Prairie lists Lutz Greenleaf (60 to 80 days, also known as Winter Keeper) as a classic storage type, and calls Sweet Dakota Bliss an outstanding keeper.

Common beet storage problems

Quick questions

Should you wash beets before storing them?

Not if they only have a little dirt on them. SDSU Extension says to wash muddy roots gently and let them air-dry until no more than slightly damp before storage, or storage rots get a start.

Can you leave beets in the ground over winter?

Not for the whole winter. University of Missouri Extension says to harvest fall beets before the first moderate freeze, and WVU Extension says to dig fall and winter beets before the ground freezes. A few light frosts first make them sweeter.

How long do beets last in the fridge?

Up to 3 weeks, unwashed, in a plastic bag with about 1 inch of stem left on, according to Colorado State University Extension. University of Minnesota Extension says perforated bags avoid the condensation and mold that sealed bags cause.

How do you store beet greens?

Cut them off the roots and store them unwashed in a separate plastic bag in the refrigerator. Colorado State University Extension says to use them within 4 days.

Should you cut the tail off beets before storing?

No. Illinois Extension says to leave the taproot and 1 inch of stem on to hold in moisture and nutrients. Trim them just before cooking.

Plan next year’s storage beets

A winter’s worth of beets starts with sowing enough, early enough. Plan My Garden is free to start: enter your zip code and it finds your frost dates, draw your beds, pick beets and everything else you want to grow, and it places each plant at square-foot spacing and builds a planting schedule, with direct sow dates, from your frost dates. My chart puts beets at 9 per square. For seed, Lutz Greenleaf, Sweet Dakota Bliss and Touchstone Gold (which Wood Prairie calls a good keeper) are on Wood Prairie’s organic beet seed page, and code PMG5 takes 5 percent off.

Related: Vegetable Storage Chart · How to Plant Red Beets · How Many Beets per Square Foot · How to Cure and Store Winter Squash · Charts and Tools hub