68 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



March, 191 2 



Fertilizing and Starting the Celery Crop 



A. Mclnnes, London, Ont. 



FOR the production of celery there is 

 no fertilizer that is so satisfactory 

 as well rotted barnyard manure. It 

 not only furnishes plant food for grow- 

 ing the crop but improves the mechani- 

 cal condition of the soil by the addition 

 of humus. The action of barnyard man- 

 ure is rather slow and it is often desir- 

 able to supplement the manure by an ap- 

 plication of commercial fertilizers. 



If fresh stable manure is used it 

 should be plowed under in the autumn. 

 If the manure is well rotted, it may be 

 plowed under early in the spring or used 

 as a top-dressing a short time before 

 planting. If the manure is plowed under 

 the land should be re-plowed a short 

 time before planting in order to bring 

 the manure to the surface. From ten to 

 twenty bushels to the acre should be ap- 

 plied each year the land is planted to 

 celery. An application of five hundred 

 to eight hundred pounds of common 

 salt to the acre is desirable. Celery will 

 take up a limited quantity of salt and its 

 flavor is improved thereby. 



One or two tons of high-grade fer- 

 tilizer to the acre may be profitably ap- 

 plied on most soils in addition to the 

 stable manure. As a rule, the quick- 

 acting fertilizers are used. A suitable 

 mixture for growing celery should con- 

 tain about six per cent, of nitrogen, five 

 per cent, of phosphoric acid, and ten per 

 cent .of potash. Scatter it in the rows, 

 and work it into the soil by means of a 

 harrow or cultivator. 



In the preparation of the rows it will 

 be sufficient to apply between two and 

 three quarts of high grade fertilizer to 

 every rod of row to be planted, working 

 the fertilizer into a strip of soil twelve to 

 eighteen inches in width. After the cel- 

 ery plants have become well establshed 

 their growth may be hastened by making 

 frequent light applications of nitrate of 

 soda to the surface of the soil before cul- 

 tivation. As a rule the land should be 

 plowed several weeks before planting, 

 and the plowing should be very deep and 

 thorough. 



A few days before the land is required 

 for planting, the surface should be cut 

 with a disk or cutting harrow followed 

 by such tools as are necessary to pul- 

 verize the soil to a depth of five or six 

 inches, and just before planting the 

 land should be rolled to secure an even 

 surface. Commercial fertilizers should 

 be applied while fitting the land for plant- 

 ing and should be well mixed with the 

 surface soil. 



The rows in which the plants are to 

 be set should not be marked until a 

 short time before planting in order that 

 the soil may remain fresh. 



The first and most important consider- 



ation when preparing to grow a crop of 

 celery is the securing of good seed from 

 selected stock and true to name. Pay 

 the highest price, if necessary, and de 



can be placed in the window of a moder- 

 ately warm room and watered by sprink- 

 ling very lightly as often as necessary to 

 keep the surface from showing dryness, 

 but the soil should not become water- 

 logged. The seedling will appear in from 

 two to three weeks, after which the tray 



mand the best. Sow the seed for an early should be turned around once each day 



to prevent the plants drawing toward 

 the light. 



Sow for a late crop from April tenth 

 to May tenth in drills ten or twelve inches 

 apart and cover very lightly by sifting 

 soil or by passing a roller along the drill 

 after the seed has been dropped. When 

 the seedlings are well started they may 

 be thinned out and allowed to remain 

 until planted in the field. Plants grown 

 in this manner require very little atten- 

 tion as they can be worked by means of 

 a wheel hoe or other hand cultivator. 



crop from February first to March tenth. 

 The best plan is to secure a wooden 

 flat or tray about twelve by sixteen inches 

 in size and two or three inches deep, 

 with several small holes in the bottom 

 for drainage. After filling with sifted 

 soil for the seed bed, level it off even 

 with the top, and either shake down the 

 soil or press it down by means of a board 

 before the seeds are sown. Either sow 

 in drills two inches apart or scatter 

 broadcast, and cover the seed by sprink- 

 ling through a fine sieve a very small 

 quantity of leaf mold or sand. The tray 



Hotbeds: Their Construction and Use 



Prof. E. M. Straight, Macdonald College, Que. 



We are now approaching that magic 

 time of year when hotbeds are much in 

 evidence. There is a certain satisfaction 

 in working with hotbeds. The grower 

 has been "frozen up" — more or less dor- 

 mant during the winter. The hotbed 

 offers to him the first opportunity of 

 working off some of this surplus energy. 

 Greater than all else is the advantage 

 which the gardener secures in time ; for 

 by the hotbed he is enabled to secure a 

 crop in advance of its normal season. 

 To this problem the grower is obliged to 

 bend his every effort, for the price which 

 he obtains for most produce depends up- 

 on the season in which it is put on the 

 market. On many markets string beans 

 bring two dollars and fifty cents a bushel 

 at the first of the season and thirty cents 

 at the end, if they bring anything at all. 

 This condition prevails with most market 

 garden crops to a greater or lesser ex- 

 tent. The hothouse offers great advan- 

 tages, but the initial expense in putting 

 these up is so great that we hesitate 

 to recommend them ; but to the man who 

 can afford neither hothouse or glass- 

 house the hotbed solves the problem, 

 and offers advantages which he cannot 

 afford to neglect. 



The hotbed consists of an enclosure 

 covered with sash and supplied with 

 some form of heat. This heat may be 

 supplied by means of hot air furnaces, 

 lanterns, exhaust steam, or fermenting 

 manure. Hot manure is the common 

 method of heating the bed and is one of 

 the best. The idea is not new, for it is 

 said that the Egyptians used heating 

 manure for the forcing of vegetables, in 

 peculiarly constructed pits covered with 

 talc tiles. 



The hotbed used in commercial work 



measures six by twelve feet and is spoken 

 of as a "frame." Such a frame is cover- 

 ed with four "sash," each measuring 

 three by six feet. These frames are usu- 

 ally placed end to end in continuous rows 

 with walks between. The walks vary 

 much in width. We believe that a seven 



Cross Section of Temporary Hotbed 



foot passage is quite sufficient, although 

 some growers allow ten feet. 'With a 

 seven foot walk, about two hundred and 

 eighty frames may be used to the acre. 

 The cost will depend upon the price of 

 lumber and the price of labor. If the 

 grower is "handy" with tools he may cut 

 down the expense of starting very much. 



THE PIT EEQUIEED 



The frames may be placed on a man- 

 ure pile, but it is preferable to have a 

 pit beneath the frame in which the man- 

 ure is placed. The pit should be some- 

 what wider upon either side than the 

 width of the frame, and should be about 

 two feet deep. It may be walled with 

 stone or brick. 



Drainage must be provided for. On 

 the ground is placed a layer of coarse 

 material such as gravel to keep the man- 

 ure from the ground. The manure is 

 placed directly on this. The amount will 

 vary, depending upon the kind of man- 

 ure, the time of year, and the degree of 

 heat you are obliged to maintain. If a 

 large amount of manure is needed it will 

 be necessary to obtain it from the livery 

 stables, for manure which has burned 

 out is of no value for the hotbed. Alter- 



