BEETS AND CHARD 75 



eighteen inches apart. They may, however, be 

 placed as near as ten inches, if care is taken in 

 working among them. 



Culture 



Cultivating. — As soon as the sprouts show plainly 

 in the rows, begin cultivating. The wheel harrow 

 will serve well, if the rows give room enough. Other- 

 wise, the potato-digger or a small rake is needed. 

 Keep the surface soil soft and fine, and work it over 

 after every rain as soon as the surface moisture has 

 drained away. 



Thinning Out. — As the beets get large enough to 

 pull for greens, thin them out, leaving them so that 

 they do not touch one another in the row. By the 

 next week they will have grown enough to be close 

 together again, and another supply of greens may be 

 pulled. Remember that the little beets now form- 

 ing are the best part of the greens and should never 

 be cut off. 



It is not good practice to thin beets for the home 

 garden so that they stand two or three inches apart 

 in the row. That is necessary on farms, where the 

 whole thing must be done at one operation. In 

 the small garden, the beets should be thinned every 

 few days so that those left do not quite touch one 

 another. Thus one is provided with both greens and 

 fresh beets as they develop in size, while at the same 

 time rows are left intact, producing the maximum crop. 



