CONCLUSIONS RELATIVE TO THE CULTURE 
OF SUGAR BEETS. 
A rich, loamy soil is best adapted to the growing of sugar beets, but any 
soil that will produce good crops cf grain will grow beets, and even soils too alkali 
to grow grains will grow beets. 
Plowing is best done in the fall, subsoiling to fifteen or eighteen inches. 
Plowing may be done in the spring; in this case it is best to plow immediately 
before planting. In either case harrow quite smooth and even. 
Results at this Station show a gain of 18 per cent, in weight of crop, in 
favor of 3ubsoiling. 
The time to plant will vary with locality and soil. Early planting gives 
largest crops. Good results have been obtained with plantings as late as June' 
13th at this Station, and June 15th at Rockyford, but four series of tests of ten 
experiments each, made in different sections of the State, show an average excess 
of 3.4 tons of beets for the plots planted from April 10th to 20th over similar plots 
planted from May 1st to 10th; 7.3 tons over those planted May 15th to 26th, and 
12.4 tons over those planted between May 31st and June 10th. 
If the soil is wet, very shallow planting will give good results, but the best 
results are generally obtained by planting from one inch to an inch and a half. 
Deeper planting is not advisable. 
The distance between rows should be from 18 to 20 inches if in single rows. 
Mr. Watrous, in bulletin No. 21, recommends double rows 12 inches apart and 24 
inches between rows. He claims that they are more easily irrigated. Prof. 
Cooke, in bulletin No. 57, recommends double rows 11 inches apart and 27 inches 
between rows. 
Good crops have been raised by planting small quantities, three to five 
pounds of seed to the acre, but it is advisable to sow eighteen or twenty pounds 
to the acre. One of the most difficult things in beet growing in Colorado is to 
get a good stand. 
In order to get a satisfactory germination of the seed, one or other of 
the following methods have given the best results: Either plant on freshly 
plowed soil with a good supply of moisture, or irrigate up. 
Cultivation should begin as soon as the plants show the drills distinctly 
enough to be easily followed, when the surface should be thoroughly stirred to 
kill the young weeds. The young beet plants must not be covered. 
Thinning may be begun as soon as the plants have gotten big enough, 
when they have four leaves, and may be extended over a period of two w T eeks. 
As the plants get larger, more care must be exercised on the part of the persons 
thinning, to avoid injury to the remaining plants. 
The distance between the beets in the row may vary from six to ten inches 
—eight inches on an average gives a satisfactory crop. There is but little 
