EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 323 



CELERY CULTURE IN MICHIGAN. 



Special Bulletin No. 60. 



BY C. P. HALLIGAN. 



The celery industry of Michigan has advanced so rapidly during the 

 last few years that this state stands preeminently as a celery growing 

 region. The industry is still advancing and the next few years promise 

 an enlarged acreag-e with many new districts devoted to the production 

 of this crop. The abundance of rich muck lands and the comparatively 

 cool, moist summers of southern Michigan combine to produce ideal 

 conditions for the growing of this plant. Favored with these natural 

 advantages, the growers of this state compete very successfully in the 

 markets of less favored sections of the country, making almost an un- 

 limited demand for Michigan celery. The leading sections of the state, 

 where the industry has developed the most, are around Kalamazoo, 

 Muskegon, Grand Haven, Decatur, Vriesland and Hudsonville. Other 

 sections, however, are beginning to grow celery on the newly drained 

 muck lands and many of these promise to become important celery 

 growing districts. In limited quantities, celery is also grown in the 

 truck gardens about Grand Rapids, Detroit, Bay City and many of the 

 other cities of southern Michigan but very little of this is shipped out 

 of the state. 



DRAINAGE. 



The land upon which celery is grown must be thoroughly drained. 

 It should not be ])resumed that because celery grows best upon muck 

 lands that it will thrive on wet soils. The crop must have thoroughly 

 drained soil to produce plants of high market value. Celery becomes 

 stunted or diseased on wet lands. Open ditches are generally relied 

 upon to drain the fields and should be constructed in such a manner 

 that they will drain the soil to a depth of from two to three feet. It is 

 often advisable to further drain the land by running lines of tile be- 

 tween the ditches. These should be run at least two feet below the surface 

 while a depth of three feet is more desirable. The common mistake of 

 growers thus far has been in setting the tile too shallow and not allow- 

 ing for the settling of the soil on these lands after they have been cul- 

 tivated a few years. The soil settles very considerably on the muck 

 lands and it is a very common practice of the growers who have tiled 

 their lands to find them so shallow, after a few years, due to the settling 

 of the soil, as to cause considerable trouble in plowing. 



In the newer celery districts of the state, poor drainage is a common 

 fault. One open ditch is not sufficient on the muck lands to drain an 

 extensive area. Laterals should be run from the main open ditch in such a 

 manner that they will quickly and thoroughly drain all the intervening 

 space between the ditches even during the wettest weather. These 

 ditches, too, should be kept clean and open and not permitted to fill 



