CHAPTER VIII 



BEETS AND CHARD 



Soil 



Importance of Right Kind of Soil. — No vegetable 

 depends more for its quality on the nature of the 

 soil about it than the beet. Beets will grow in 

 different soils and will produce something in the 

 way of a crop even when the soil is poor ; but such 

 beets are hardly fit for hash. To grow beets which 

 are tender throughout, free from fiber and tough 

 spots, and which have the sweet flavor so much 

 desired in these vegetables, be sure that the soil 

 where they grow is rich, free from acid, and worked 

 into a high state of cultivation. 



Fall Preparation. — The best way to make sure 

 of perfect soil is to work it over in the fall and 

 mix a liberal application of dairy dressing well into 

 the land. Use at least a barrow-load to a twenty- 

 foot square. Then, in the spring, harrow in five or 

 six pounds of agricultural lime to each twenty-foot 

 square. Just before planting, rake into the row a 

 pound of complete commercial fertiHzer for each 

 fifty feet. 



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