I love beets and their greens....younger the better. The leaves should be firm and bright and on the small side. Rinse the greens under cold running water, remove fibrous stems, and chop into smaller pieces. Cook the greens in seasoned boiling water for two to three minutes, drain, and toss with a little butter, dash of vinegar, pepper flakes. Olive oil and garlic is also delicious with the cooked greens.

No, you can't propagate beets by submerging the tops in water, or even by planting them.

Beets greens are VERY easy to grow from seed by sowing directly into the garden. Those young plants will eventually develop beet roots, if you have the soil for it. My garden soil is too clayey for root crops, but I do grow beets just for their extremely healthful and delicious tops.

Thanks, Rhizo. I thought that, perhaps, I could grow them similar to growing a potato. But - I guess I'll just eat them! I'll prepare as you said and enjoy them immensely, I'm sure. I have horrid memories of growing up with beet greens (and beets themselves) cooked and served in vinegar. Ugh. I couldn't stand them.

But I fell in love when I learned about roasting the beets, and now I'll experience a new high with the greens. Thank you!

I buy kale when buying tops-on beets and I cook them together. My favorite way is to saute a chopped onion (with the kale stems) just to the softened point and add some chopped garlic for the last 30 seconds of the onion's cooking. Then, I put in the chopped kale leaves in with a few batches, stirring continuously, then the beet greens at the end. The greens need 3-4 minutes of medium hot sauteing in total, then I add a splash of water (no more than a few ounces), cover and reduce the heat, and steam to finish for about 5-7 minutes. I remove with a slotted spoon, and then add salt and pepper, olive oil, or whatever you like to dress it.

PS - I roast the beets in the oven with the normal olive oil/salt and pepper approach

Oh, yum, Snidely - thanks for posting. By coincidence, I actually have some kale in the fridge!

Here is some research on that subject.

Beet Greens

By the way, I grow Early Wonder and Bull's Blood beets for their greens. The latter grow red leaves, so pretty in a salad. I'll sow seeds several times during the season to keep the harvest time going for a long time.

just put them in a steamer and serve with butter ,or vinegar

They make an awesome salad with pear and honey poppyseed dressing!

I leave the stems on (with the leaves), especially when the beet greens are young. They are red, very tender, and delicious.