This greatly eliminates the problems we described earlier with water uptake and “seed to soil” contact due to the weird-shaped beet seed. If you look at the coated seed, you’ll see that the clay polymer coating helps smooth the seed and gives them an even, rounded shape. The coating on our seed is a clay polymer that protects the seed in the soil and helps with water uptake. Here at Deer Creek Seed, we offer coated straight sugar beet seed. Sugar beets don’t like competition in their growing environment – even with each other! So if you plant too heavily, you’ll simply be reducing your overall growth success. There is nothing to gain, however, by planting a heavier amount of seed (but there is a lot to lose!). You can use less if you’re planting it in a mix. If you’re planting beets alone, the full planting rate of 7 to 9 pounds per acre is normal. Here’s another important one! Don’t overseed the planting rate for sugar beets. And just when you think it’s firm enough for most seeds – use the culti-packer, crusher, or roller one more time for sugar beets. Use of a culti-packer, crusher, or weighted roller of some kind after planting is an absolute MUST for sugar beet seed. Once the seed has been planted and covered, firm the seedbed again! We can’t stress this enough – with sugar beet seed, you really have to make sure it has good “seed to soil” contact. After planting, make sure the seed is covered in soil. ![]() A drill will help you do this precisely, but if you broadcast, then you have to make sure to deeply rake the seed in. Sugar beet seed should be planted between 1/2 inch and 1 inch in depth. Our second tip is to plant the sugar beet seed at the right depth! Seed delivery can be achieved successfully with either a planter drill or hand broadcasting, but the essential key to success here is delivery to a firm seedbed and at the proper depth. If you have a bad weed problem, wait a week or two before planting so you can hit the second crop of weeds that will come up in the bed with another round of herbicide. The bed should then be tilled, followed by culti-packing or rolling for an even, firm planting surface. Apply a broad-spectrum herbicide to eliminate the currently growing weeds. Our first tip, often overlooked due to lack of time or effort, is to achieve a firm, weed-free seedbed prior to delivering any seed. So, now that you understand why sugar beets are a little higher maintenance, we’ll give you some good tips to use when you’re planting them that will ensure your success! Tip #1: Prepare a Firm, Weed-Free Seedbed BEFORE You Plant! The extremely odd and unusually shaped sugar beet seed makes these life sustaining tasks of germination, emergence, and establishment much more difficult and complicated than for a round or oblong shaped seed. Now take another look at a sugar beet seed and you’ll understand what we mean. But then again, most seeds out there have uniform size and smooth seed coats that don’t impede the entry of water and don’t impede good “seed to soil contact”. ![]() This balanced environment – where the soil moisture and soil air are present in sufficient quantities for the seed to grow – is usually not hard to achieve for most seeds out there. When a seed is planted, it must stay continually moist enough to activate germination enzymes within the seed, and at the same time stay dry enough to “breathe” and not rot in the soil. Seedling emergence, plant establishment through a self-sustaining root system, and eventual production of flowers and progeny (more seed)…all of these processes require that a seed is placed in the exact environment to thrive. For a seed (any seed) to grow well, it takes more than just successful germination. Take a look at a sugar beet seed and you’ll have your answer! Their strange appearance isn’t just a conversation piece, it affects how they germinate.īefore we get into that, we’ll take a step back. If you’ve successfully grown food plots and you want to improve your skills by moving on to a slightly tougher crop to grow, then you’ve come to the right place. If you’ve never planted a food plot before, we recommend that you read our guide on beginning a food plot. Growing sugar beets isn’t rocket science…but there are a few proven tips that, if followed, will lead you to success. But deer love them! So folks keep coming back to them, time after time, in the attempt to get a good yield for fall hunting. ![]() They require a very thoroughly prepared seed bed and they don’t handle lazy planting techniques (read: this isn’t a “throw and grow” kind of crop!). Unlike other vegetable plants, sugar beets can be a tough crop to produce well. Some of the most common calls we get here at Deer Creek Seed involve questions on how to successfully grow sugar beets (or whether it’s even worth it to try!). If you’ve ever tried growing sugar beets in a food plot and been disappointed in their performance, you’re not alone.
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