BEETS 



605 



ground should be cultivated just as soon 

 as the surface is dry enough to work. 

 The mulch produced by the cultivator 

 should be maintained by frequent cultiva- 

 tion in order to hold the water as long as 

 possible. 



The quantity of water that should be 

 applied in order to produce a crop of beets 

 can not be stated in specific terms, since 

 the water absorbing and retaining ability 

 of different soils varies and the rate of 

 evaporation varies both in different locali- 

 ties and in the same locality under the 

 constantly changing atmospheric condi- 

 tions. The plants themselves should be 

 the index as to the quantity of water 

 required. So long as the beets have a fresh 

 appearance and a bright-green color they 

 are not suffering for lack of water, and 

 if furrow irrigation is practiced there is 

 little danger of giving them too much 

 water. A dark-green color of the beet 

 leaves usually indicates that the water 

 supply in the soil is running low. This 

 is often followed by a wilting of the beets 

 and a consequent retardation in growth. 

 If the wilted beets fail to revive during 

 the night, practically no growth can take 

 place and water should be applied im- 

 mediately. 



Holding the Moisture 



By nature soils vary within wide limits 

 as to their water-holding capacity. For 

 example, a fine, compact soil is capable 

 of holding more moisture than a coarse 

 or loose soil. 



Humus affords a good medium in which 

 the soil organisms can live and thrive 

 and liberate plant food, but they can 

 perform their functions to a much high- 

 er degree because of the additional moist- 

 ure which the soil is able to retain on 

 account of the presence of the humus. If, 

 then, the soil has been supplied with 

 the requisite amount of humus and has 

 been plowed uniformly deep at the right 

 time, much has been done toward fur- 

 nishing the plants with the moisture 

 needed for plant growth. Special atten- 

 tion should then be paid to keeping the 

 surface of the soil constantly in the form 

 of a mulch. This mulch acts as a blan- 

 ket in retarding evaporation from the soil 



below. Everyone is familiar with the 

 moist appearance of the ground under 

 a layer of straw, manure, or other loose 

 covering as compared with the exposed 

 surface of the adjacent ground. 



Plantine: the Seed 



If the seed bed has been thoroughly 

 prepared, the principal factors to be con- 

 sidered in connection with planting the 

 seed are the time and depth of planting, 

 the quantity of seed used, and the dis- 

 tance between rows. The seed should 

 not be put into the ground until the soil 

 is warm enough to produce a quick germ- 

 ination and a rapid subsequent growth. 

 If the seed lies in the ground when the 

 conditions are not right for germination 

 it is liable to rot, and even if it does not 

 rot, the resulting plants, when they do 

 finally develop, will usually be weak and 

 unsatisfactory. 



The desire to give the plants every ad- 

 vantage of a long season often leads to the 

 mistake of planting too early. Experience 

 has shown that almost invariably the 

 plantings that are made later, when the 

 temperature conditions for germination 

 and growth are right, give the best re- 

 sults in tonnage and quality, and the beets 

 usually mature in advance of the earlier 

 plantings. On the other hand, the plant- 

 ing should not be delayed until the moist- 

 ure has escaped from the seed bed. 



The seed should be planted just as shal- 

 low as is consistent with quick and uni- 

 form germination. The depth of plant- 

 ing will varj-. therefore, with the nature 

 of the soil and the condition of climate. 

 The seed should always be put into moist 

 soil and the soil should be capable of 

 holding its moisture long enough to pro- 

 duce germination. It is questionable 

 whether it is ever wise to plant more than 

 1% inches deep, for the reason that the 

 beet seed proper is comparatively small 

 and the young plant must be able to get 

 through to the light by using the reserve 

 plant food in the seed. 



As an aid in holding the moisture in the 

 soil, the drill should be provided with 

 press wheels, which exert a firm, even 

 pressure upon the soil directly over the 

 drill row. Furthermore, a firm soil acts 



