The red garden beet may be grown in any good soil, but rich, sandy loam
will give the best results. Sow the seeds in the spring as soon as
danger of frost has passed. Beets should be planted in drills 12 to 18
inches apart, and when the plants are well up they should be thinned to
4 or 5 inches in the row. If desirable to plant in rows 3 feet apart
for horse cultivation, the seeds may be sown in a double drill with 6
inches between, leaving 30 inches for cultivation. Two ounces of beet
seed are required to plant 100 feet of row, or 5 pounds to the acre. As
a rule each seed ball contains more than one seed, and this accounts
for beets coming up very thickly. The seed should be covered to a depth
of about 1 inch. For a succession of young beets during the summer,
plantings should be made every four or five weeks during the spring
months. Beets intended for winter storage should not be sown until late
in the summer, the crop being harvested and stored in the same manner
as turnips. Sugar beets are often substituted for the ordinary garden
beet, especially for winter use.
A soil that is well adapted to growing the usual vegetables will be
found good for this one. It may be slightly heavier than that for the
crops that are grown for their foliage, as lettuce. A good cabbage soil
will be found of about the right consistency. Wet or soggy land will
not raise a crop. Plow deep and prepare the ground well; the seedlings
are quite small and need considerable coaxing before they will make a
good start. Use plenty of fertilizer of some well prepared kind. Rough
or undecomposed material should not be used. A sprinkling of powdered
nitrate soda as a top dressing when the plants are one-third grown
will produce a rapid growth. In applying, be careful not to apply so
as to touch the foliage, unless during a rain. It is not profitable
to transplant beets; it may be done on a small scale, but it is too
expensive to practice on a large scale.
_Varieties._--According to shape of the root one may divide beets into
two classes, viz., Long Rooted and Globular. If color is made the basis
of classification you have red, white and yellow kinds. Extra Early
Blood Turnip, Eclipse and Extra Early Egyptian are good varieties to
grow for market. The first named is probably the best; the last named
has the disadvantage of becoming stringy if it matures during a long,
dry spell, or if allowed to stand too long. The deep red varieties are
preferred in the markets, and those that are turnip shaped sell better
than the long.
_Marketing._--The usual method is to use barrels or large boxes; this
is a clumsy way, and one not calculated to bring the best price. The
usual vegetable crate will be found handy and desirable.
In districts where there are pickling factories, and near large cities,
small beets, with greens, are raised with profit, but these can not
be shipped to a distant market. For a distant market gather tops and
all; carry to the packing-house; remove the tops with a sharp knife,
leaving about an inch of the leaf-stalk on the beet. Remove the dirt,
and pack in vegetable crates. The leaves put in a compost heap will pay
for the trouble of hauling, or they can be fed to domestic animals with
profit. The beet itself makes one of the best feeds for milch cows, and
is excellent for other domestic animals.--(F. B. 225; N. C. A. E. S.
132; Fla. E. S. 31; U. Idaho 10; N. H. Col. 99, 125; N. J. A. Col. Rpt.
1900.)