Chapter IX 



ROOT CROPS 



Beet, Carrot, Parsnip, Radish, Salsify, 

 Turnip, etc. 



THE long-rooted varieties require a deep, 

 loose soil for their best development (the 

 round or stump-rooted kinds will, of 

 course, do well in shallower soil). Sub- 

 soiling or tile draining are great aids in 

 growing long-rooted crops. Plenty of 

 fertilizer and humus is necessary. These 

 crops are all hardy and therefore permit 

 of early sowing. Give thorough cultiva- 

 tion and hand weeding. Transplanting is 

 seldom practised with these vegetables. 

 Beet. — There are two kinds — the early- 

 season, quick-growing, round, short-rooted varieties, 

 and the long-rooted, long-season ones. The former 

 are most often grown of late years, for market, and 

 may be sown in early spring as an early crop to be 

 followed by something else, or in July or early 

 August as a succession crop after some earlier crop 

 has matured. (The long-rooted kinds are generally 

 sown in May or June in the North, and grow during 

 the entire season.) 



Sow in drills about a foot apart for wheel-hoe 

 cultivation; two and a half feet for horse work. 

 Thin the plants gradually to about hve inches apart. 

 Cover seed about an inch deep. The seed germi- 

 nates slowly and a preliminary soaking hastens 



