BEETROOT

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 560, 12 January 1929, Page 24

BEETROOT

ARE YOUR CROPS THRIVING WELL? Unlike the Silver or Spinach Beet, the turnip-rooted vegetable is used as a salad./ It may be grown, for the greater portion of the year. The best ground to grow beet successfully is ground that has been heavily manured for a previous crop. The culture is somewhat similar to that of Silver Spinach beet in regard to most things, | but, like all of the root crops, fresh j manure should not be allowed to j make direct contact with the bottoms. , as it causes side growths and branchings that render the vegetable unfit for market and greatly reduces its : value as a food for home consump-1 tion. It does not matter so much about the spacing of these plants, as they will often develop if only the bare elbow-room is allowed. Good bottoms have often grown in the rows until they touch each other. Where good Quality beet is desired, more room should be given, especially where land is not a consideration. One and a-half feet to two feet between the rows, and nine to ten inches apart in the rows, is considered ample. Beet does not transplant successfully at all times, and seed is much better sown where the plants are to remain until matured. There are two varieties or types of beet that do well in our climate — the turnip-rooted, that is shaped like a white turnip, and another which is called long beet. TURNIP-ROOTED MOST POPULAR Opinions differ, but fo ( r home gardens the turnip-rooted variety seems to be most popular, as it Is also with market gardeners, probably for the reason that it matures quicker and Is of excellent flavour. When collecting beet for use, St should never be trimmed too near the bottom of the leaves, or, in other words, have the- leaves and roots cut too short. The use that can be made of this valuable salad requires no describing, as It is well known to every householder. Colour and crispness or shortness of grain when cooked are considered two of the principal things to be studied. Colour can only be retrained by refraining from close trimming of rootlets and tops. Crispness depends largely on the cultivation and varie-

ties grown. Quick growth produces the best article of food. A lingering existence causes toughness. To preserve the root intact without cutting" any of the small feeders is to retain the colour in the beet when it has been cooked. Short trimming of either , leaves or rootlets "will cause bleeding and spoil the colour. If the crop has matured before winter, it will keep in the ground until the following spring. With the exception of a little extra boiling, the quality is little altered when cooked from the first of the crop.