260 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



In the Middle States, the seeds are usually sowed in a 

 well-prepared bed about April. The plants are moved to 

 other beds as soon as they need room. Generally in July 

 they are transplanted to rows prepared for them. These 

 should be four feet apart, and the plants should be set six 

 inches apart in the row. The celery bed should be care- 

 fully cultivated during the summer. In the fall, hill the 

 stalks up enough to keep them erect. After the growing 

 season is over, dig them and set them in trenches. The 

 trenches should be as deep as the celery is tall, and after 

 the celery is put in them, they should be covered with 

 boards and straw. 



In the more southern states, celery is usually grown 

 in beds. The beds are generally made six feet wide, and 

 rows a foot apart are run crosswise. The plants are set 

 six inches apart, in September, and the whole bed is 

 earthed up as the season advances. Finally, when winter 

 comes, the beds are covered with leaves or straw to pre- 

 vent the plants from freezing. The celery is dug and 

 bunched for market at any time during the winter. 



By means of cold frames, a profitable crop of spring 

 celery may be raised. Have the plants ready to go into 

 the cold frames late in October or early in November. 

 The soil in the frame should be made very deep. The 

 plants should make only a moderately rapid growth during 

 the winter. In the early spring, they will grow rapidly 

 and so crowd one another as to blanch well. As celery 

 grown in this way comes on the market at a time when no 

 other celery can be had, it commands a good price. 



In climates as warm as that of Florida, beds of celery 

 can be raised in this way without the protection of cold 



