GARDEN BEET 21 



ugly roots, some coarse with overgrowth, others forked, and therefore 

 of little value, and others, perhaps, cankered and worthless. The 

 soil should be well prepared by deep digging some time before making 

 up the seed-bed. It is well to grow Beet on plots that have been 

 heavily manured the previous year for Cauliflowers, Celery, or any 

 other crop requiring good cultivation. If the soil from an old Melon 

 or Cucumber bed can be spared, it may be spread over the land and 

 dug in, and the piece should be broken up in good time to become 

 mellow before the seed is sown. Seaweed is a capital manure for 

 Beet, especially if laid at the bottom of the trench in making the 

 ground. A moderate dressing of salt may be added with advantage, 

 as the Beet is a sea-side plant. 



The most important crop is that required for salading, for which 

 a deep-coloured Beet of rich flavour, such as Button's Red, is to be 

 preferred, and the aim of the cultivator should be to obtain roots of 

 moderate size and of perfect shape and finish. The ground having 

 been trenched two spades deep early in the year, may be made up 

 into four and a half feet beds some time in March, preparatory to 

 sowing the seed. Early sowing is needful for an early crop, but this 

 will be liable to destruction by a late spring frost ; the main sowing 

 should never be made until quite the end of April or beginning of 

 May. In the event of a hot dry summer, much of the early sown 

 Beet will run up to flower and be useless. For a neat crop, sow in 

 drills one and a half or two inches deep, and thin out to nine inches 

 apart. Hand weeding will have to follow soon after sowing, and 

 perhaps the hoe may be required to supplement the hand. The 

 thinning should be commenced as early as possible, but it is waste of 

 time to plant the thinnings, and it is equally waste of time to water 

 the crop. In fact, if the ground is well prepared, weeding and thin- 

 ning comprise the whole remainder of the cultivation. 



Some of the smaller and more delicate Beets, of a very dark 

 colour, may be sown in drills a foot or fifteen inches apart and at six 

 inches distance in the drills. We have, indeed, lifted pretty crops of 

 the smaller Beets at four inches, but it is not prudent to crowd the 

 plants, as the result will be thin roots with long necks. 



Large Beets are sometimes required, and are usually of a lighter 

 colour and less rich in flavour than the smaller kinds. In growing 

 these a layer of fat manure may be put at the bottom of the trench, 

 as for Salsify and Parsnips on poor land. The ground need not be 

 made up in beds for these, and the seed may be sown broadcast. 

 But we prefer the neater method of beds with alleys and drills, putting 



