Beets may be my favorite veggie. I like the little ones with roots about the size of the smaller radishes and then, the whole plant shows up on the plate in a nice little tangled mess
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Of course, I use plants smaller than these - the thinnings. And, beets need to be thinned because they grow from seed cases with multiple seeds inside. Too tiny, and it gets kind of silly bringing them into the kitchen but the sooner you separate them the better for those remaining.
The horticulturalists tell us that the roots are more than those bulbs at the top - they go down many inches into the soil. That soil should drain easily and be fertile. I've got the easily drained soil - for those who don't, I guess you should just work in a lot of organic matter and cultivate deeply. They appreciate soil on the alkaline side of the scale so I bet that acidic soil can be a problem for beets.
My bed of beets gets a good amount of organic fertilizer - right up there with the "heavy feeders." I don't expect them to stay long, very few are saved for full-sized, but the fertilizer will still be in that bed after the beets have been pulled.
Fall greens often follow beets in my garden and, if I can get them out soon enuf, green beans. Some gardeners sow beet seed for a fall crop but I can't seem to get away with that. They don't like hot weather and the summer climate must be just a little too hot and dry here for them to get started well with a late sowing. Water what you start early regularly so that soil moisture is adequate.
Early spring sowing, deeply prepared bed, fertile soil, thinning conscientiously, maintain soil moisture and for me - an early harvest for most of them! Victory! You can't beat 'em, beets
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Steve
edit: oh, and hilling those that remain thru the season helps.
