PLANTING LIST 



327 



blanching. For winter storage the greener kinds are better. There 

 is a pinkish variety. Get good seed. The soil should be deep, 

 rich, and moist. 



Sow under glass in March, or outdoors in a carefully prepared 

 seed bed in April, and thin to an inch apart. Then transplant 

 twice if possible, be- 

 fore the plants are set 

 in the garden. This is 

 to make them stockier, 

 and to get better roots. 

 The plants may be 

 bought, but they are 

 seldom so good. Set 

 the plants in the garden 

 during May and June, 

 the early rows 18 

 inches, the late kinds 

 four feet apart, the 

 plants nine inches or 

 more in the rows. 

 Feed at each trans- 

 planting with nitrate 

 of soda. Cultivate 

 regularly, and keep the 

 plants growing fast. 



Blanching the plants 

 needs care. The early 

 kinds are blanched 

 by setting boards beside 



them to keep out the light ; if blanched with earth they are likely 

 to rot. Get hemlock boards at least a foot broad ; they will last 

 for years. Set them on edge on either side of the row, leaning 

 inward, and held at the top by cleats or wires. At the bottom, 

 stop all holes with earth. Such plants will usually be blanched be- 

 fore heavy frosts. 



The greener kinds, which grow more slowly, are usually blanched 



FIG. 181. When you can grow celery like this, 

 you really are a vegetable gardener. 



