planting my RR Sugar Beets

[Steve Oehlenschlager]

Beets win hands down. I have grown beets that would have pushed 16-18 TONS per acre. NOTHING will get you that kind of tonnage. When you figure the cost per ton, they are actually quite cheap. They are part of a food plot program...not the only plot to plant. Beets are there for feeding deer all winter. Although come Mid October deer the deer can not resist them.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Are RR beets formally available for deer food plots? I thought that was one of the issues a couple years ago, but maybe that has been cleared up. I don't want to have to join the beet grower's association to plant an acre of beets, but they do sound like they're worth putting into the rotation.

 

[*Hawaii5joe*]

Is planting conventional sugar beets in rows and cultivating a dumb idea? How often does one need to cultivate per year?

 

[Steve Oehlenschlager]

Small sugar beets weigh 2 pounds each. Good beets are over 5 pounds. Large beets can go 10. But if your getting that large of beets, then you planted them too thin. No turnip is going to come close. And yes those high yields don't count the weight of the leaves. They can have some huge leaves as well. Good commercial beets can go up to 25 tons an acre.

 

[sandbur]

Is planting conventional sugar beets in rows and cultivating a dumb idea? How often does one need to cultivate per year?

Conventional beets take lots of work and weeding for us foodplotters. I would not try it again.

 

[kabic]

You can use clethodim for grass I'm assuming, a quick Google search turned up Pyramin DF(4.6 punds per acre) kills some broad leaf plants in beats, guessing that is expensive?

Also I see it is not recommended for Coarse-textured Soils:Sands, loamy sands, and sandy loams


Edit: I also see "DuPont™ UpBeet® herbicide can be safely applied to sugar beets any time after planting, including those grown for seed."

 

[wooduck]

Go to veginfo.msu.edu lots of indepth info there

 

[foggy]

There are herbicides for non RR sugar beets, but they are expensive and some would require an applicator's license (I think). By the time you go to the expense of the seed (even non RR sugar beet is expensive), the expense of the chemicals, the time involved, the expense of the fertilizer....it just isn't worth it IMHO. Even RR sugar beets are "iffy" in my mind.

^ I gotta agree with this. I did not plant any Sugar Beets this year. Too iffy on my property.....and expensive.

 

[MoLandOwner]

For Conventional Beets you may need a combination of Upbeet, Betamix and or Cleth to have a chance at good weed control. It could cost you $80-100 per pass per acre.

So if you have to spray twice, you do the math!:eek:

 

[WTNUT]

Bumping this up because I am thinking of planting beets this year. What types of soil do you need for beets? Well drained, damp, Ph? Etc etc.

 

[Steve Oehlenschlager]

You need a lot of sun! Good PH...at least 6 min and high fertility. They have not done well in a damp soil (pretty wet). They grow deep roots so a well drained soil is ok, but they really like a heavy soil. They have not done well in sand unless we got a ton of rain.

 

[WTNUT]

Can you drill the seed?

 

[Steve Oehlenschlager]

I suppose. That's pretty much how the farmers plant it. I just broadcast and lightly disk. Has worked very well for me.