CARROTS— BEETS-STRING BEANS 



CHAPTER XXXIX 



CARROTS— BEETS— STRING BEANS 



YOUNG Carrots are often in demand and may be had with little troiihie. 

 I Iiave also seen good Carrots grown in frames with artificial heat. The 

 best sorts for forcing are the Early Short Horn types. For a siippl\ of 

 young Carrots during the Winter, a sowing may be made once a month, from 

 about November. The dwarf forcing varieties, which will not produce much 

 top, may be sown in drills six inches apart, and when the seedlings are large 

 enough, thin to about one inch apart in the rows. 



These early forcing Carrots may be grown either on raised benches or in 

 solid beds. They want a fairly loose, rich, warm, friable soil for quick growth, 

 with a steady, even temperature. They may also be grown under lettuce or 

 tomatohouse conditions, but whatever temperature they have become accustomed 

 to should be followed up. There is nothing better for enriching the soil than good 

 farmyard manure thoroughly decayed, with a fair coat of wood ashes worked 

 into the soil. Carrot land is improved somewhat with nitrogen and also where 

 potash is available. 



A considerable quantity of roots may be got out of a comparatively small 

 space, and, fortunately, there are no insect pests or diseases to bother them 

 Toward Spring excellent Carrots can be grown in regular hotbeds, although it 

 is not advisable to attempt too early a start, at least not until the grower is reason- 

 ably sure of maintaining a suitable temperature. From about the first of March 

 Carrots will make a good, healthy growth where the temperature of the soil can 

 be maintained at about 60 . 



BEETS 



Beets require exactly the same treatment as to heat, soil, etc., the only 

 ditTerence being that as they produce more top, more space is required for devel- 

 opment. They may be sown in drills one foot apart and thinned in the rows to 

 two or three inches. Another method, by which space may be saved, is to sow 

 the Beet seed in flats and then transplant into the beds. The earliest maturing 

 varieties should be selected for growing under glass. 



Beets and Carrots are not forced to any extent; but the young, fresh grown 

 roots are far superior to the stored crops, by which the Winter demands are gen- 

 erally supplied. Vegetables that adapt themselves to forcing are certain to give 



