244 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



ing on freshly plowed land and to firming the soil around 

 the roots. If the soil is dry it must be watered before it 

 is safe to set out celery plants, and if the weather is very hot 

 and dry the plants must also be shaded from the sun. The 

 ground should be kept clean and mellow between the 

 plants with a horse cultivator throughout the season. 



If, while the crop is growing, it is thought the plants 

 require more food, it may be supplied by plowing a shallow 

 furrow away from them on one side and putting in fine well- 

 rotted stable manure, hen manure, or compost and covering 

 it with soil. This treatment supplies the food directly to 

 the roots and is very effective. Nitrate of soda or other 

 nitrogenous fertilizer may also be used to advantage in 

 this way. 



Celery and Onions Together. In some sections celery 

 is grown as a second crop with onions. In this case every 

 fourth or fifth row is left vacant when the onion seed is 

 sown, and this space is set out to late celery plants at the 

 proper time. If the onion seed is sown by the 20th of 

 April, almost any of the well-known commercial sorts like 

 Yellow Danvers or Red Wethersfield will be ripe by the 

 middle of August, when they can be harvested; and then 

 the celery can occupy all the land during the cool weather 

 of autumn, when it makes most rapid growth. 



Handling. As celery grows naturally it spreads on the 

 surface of the ground, like the carrot. The term handling 

 refers to the process by which the leaf stalks of each plant 

 are drawn together and some earth pressed firmly around 

 them by the hands, to hold them in an upright position. 

 After this is done more earth is drawn towards the plants 

 with a hoe, until there is enough to prevent their spreading 

 open. All celery plants should have this upright form 

 before being stored, and it is all the blanching treatment 



