The beet is about that big. Some of them are larger, and they could be that long. They taper. And you hook them, it’s got a little hook on a long, like a good sized butcher knife. And so you hook that and pull it up. But the farm equipment goes first and loosens the soil and it uplifts the beet a little. So, you hook that, pull it, cut the top off and throw it into the back of the tractor where it has a big hauler, and you throw it in there.
I*: So how long did you do that?
Sugar beets? Well after the seeds are sown and the beets get up to that, then the weeds come up too. So we had to go out and hoe the weeds, and we just waited until the beets got large enough and harvesting starts, usually September, October. It only lasted about a couple months, harvesting. And at the same time, they had potatoes, too. Idaho potatoes.
*“I” indicates an interviewer (John Esaki)
Date: February 6, 2015
Location: California, US
Interviewer: John Esaki
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
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