Rural School Leaflet 997 



cultural methods for the different vegetables 



Beets. — The garden beet may be grown in any good soil, but rich sandy 

 loam will give the best results. Sow the seeds three quarters of an 

 inch deep — no deeper — in drills twelve to fifteen inches apart. When 

 the plants are three to five inches tall, thin them until there are five or 

 six plants to every foot of row and about two inches between the plants. 

 Beet thinnings make good greens. As a rule, each so-called seed con- 

 tains more than one real seed. This may account for the fact that beets 

 come up so thickly sometimes. Beets for winter storage should not be 

 sown until the latter half of July. 



Cultivation should be given rather frequently. As the beet is a surface 

 feeder, only shallow cultivation should be practiced. 



For exhibition pull the beets carefully and wash them clean. Show 

 samples of uniform size, color, and shape. 



Cabbage (late) . — The seed of late cabbage should be planted in May or 

 June in a seed bed, such as a spent hotbed, a cold-frame, or a specially 

 prepared bed. Plant in rows four inches apart, with the seeds about half 

 an inch apart in the row. The depth of planting should be one fourth 

 to one half inch. When the seedlings are five to six inches 

 tall they can be transplanted to the rows in the garden, spacing 

 them two feet between the rows and two feet between the plants. 

 If the cabbage is to be grown from seed in the garden, it may 

 sometimes be advisable to sow three to six seeds for each plant 

 desired. When the plants are five inches tall, all but the best one 

 may be taken out. Better care is generally given to the plants under 

 the first method. 



The soil for late cabbage should be a heavy soil, not so rich as is re- 

 quired for early cabbage and with more moisture than the latter needs. 



Shallow, clean culture should be given at all times. Slight freezing 

 does not injure cabbage; however, the plants should not be subjected to 

 repeated freezings. 



If green cabbage worms appear, hand-picking is a good method of 

 destroying them. 



For exhibition purposes the heads of cabbage should be very solid, 

 perfect in shape, and as large as possible; all cabbages shown should be 

 of uniform size. 



Carrots. — Carrots grow best on a sandy loam. The seed is sown 

 rather thickly in drills, or rows, twelve inches apart, in May or June. The 

 seed is covered about half an inch deep. Sometimes radish seeds are 

 planted with carrots, in order to mark the row for the carrots and to 

 help break the soil for the carrot plants that have difficulty in starting. 

 When the plants are four or five inches tall they are thinned so that 

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