Preparation of the soil and sugar beet cultivation

In summer and autumn, the fields were deeply plowed to accommodate the long-reaching, thin fibers of the beetroots, which required soil that was humid from the fall and winter rains. Later, at winter’s end, more superficial plowing was conducted with a harrow or hoe in order to obtain loose, clean soil ready for planting.

In Italy, sowing was done from ate February to mid-April, depending on the location. It was necessary to spread high quantities of seed so as not to leave any gaps in the fields. Sowing was superficial, because if the seeds were planted too deep they would not sprout. Seeds were planted at precise and fixed intervals, and the soil was compressed both before and after seeding. Sowing was done by hand (with a rake or cord) or with a seeding machine.

Once they sprouted, the sugar beets required repeated hoeing. As soon as the plants became visible above the surface of the soil, weeds were removed with careful attention so as to not damage the young beets. This delicate work was done with a specific type of hoe.

Later came the process of winnowing out some of the plants to allow the remaining ones to prosper, a very important moment in the cycle, in which women and children were tasked with identifying the most flourishing plants and removing all other vegetation for a set distance around them. The second round of plowing or hoeing could be done by machine, but the preference was to use small hoes to assure a level of accuracy that could not be achieved with a machine or animal-driven plow.

The third plowing took place when the weeds grew back in to infest the fields. A fourth round was sometimes required in the case of particularly tenacious weeds or a very dry season. It was always necessary to cover the beetroots with loose soil and tuck it in around each plant.