Beets
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.)