Seed of these should be sown when the first planting is done in the
spring. They may be had still earlier by planting the seed in a hotbed
while the ground is still frozen, and transplanting them to the garden
a week or so after the cabbage and lettuce have been planted out. Care
must be taken in transplanting the young beets, that the tap-root does
not get broken, or it will make a number of fibrous roots instead of
the large, smooth globe desired for the table. When the seed is well
up, the plants should be thinned out until they stand six or ten inches
apart, as the size of the variety demands. A second sowing should be
made about June 1st, and the main sowing about the 15th of July or 1st
of August, to raise roots for winter use. These frequent sowings are
necessary to have the beets of fine quality; as the roots get older
and larger they become “woody,” or hard and fibrous, and exceedingly
tasteless. Where the season is short, or there are prospects of a dry
fall, the second sowing should be large enough to produce the winter
crop, as the later one may fail to mature in time. The beets may be
stored and the flavor retained by the method described for pitting
turnips, and will keep in good order until spring.
The Bassano and other light beets are of quick growth and are tender
and palatable while young, but are of coarse texture and not nearly
so fine in appearance when cooked as the blood beets. The blood
beets retain their deep, rich color, while all the light-leaved or
light-stemmed varieties are colorless, or nearly so, when cooked. It
certainly adds to the attractiveness of a dish for the vegetable to
have a handsome appearance when cooked.
The seed should be sown in drills, from twelve to eighteen inches
apart, if to be worked with the wheel hoe; if for horse culture, two
and a half to three feet will have to be allowed between the rows. The
ground should be raked clear of clods and made as fine as possible. A
drill is made by drawing the rake or hoe handle along the line. The
drill should be about an inch in depth and the seed should be dropped
about two inches apart, thinning out to six or eight inches apart when
well started, and if it is desired, the thinnings can be transplanted
to another row. If no small roller is at hand, the drill can be covered
and packed by the same operation, by removing the line and shuffling
along the row with the feet placed in a V, the forepart of the foot
drawing in the fine soil while the heels at the point cover and press
the dirt down upon the row; the foot, of course, is only moved a few
inches at a time, but with a little practice the rows can be covered in
this manner quite rapidly.