CROPS 71 



Blanching. As has been indicated, celery may be 

 blanched by banking with soil, or by staking boards, or heavy 

 paper along the rows. Early celery cannot often be success- 

 fully blanched by banking with soil, but must be blanched 

 with boards or paper. Blanching must begin in warm 

 weather, and banking with soil at this time will cause the 

 celery to rust. The lumber used for blanching should be 

 good, straight boards one foot wide, ten to twelve feet 

 long. The boards are placed against the plants and drawn 

 together at the top and held in position by staking, or by 

 forcing stiff, heavy pieces of wire, bent into the shape of a 

 hairpin, down the outside of the boards. Recently, a 

 heavy grade of paper, similar to prepared roofing, has been 

 on the market, cut one foot wide and in varying lengths. The 

 cost is about $15.00 per thousand feet. The paper also is 

 held in place by using heavy wire hairpins, and is con- 

 sidered equal to boards for blanching. It is easy to 

 place in position, and can be rolled up and stored in a small 

 space in the fall. 



Late celery is blanched, or partly blanched, in the field, 

 by banking with soil. The soil may be ploughed up to the 

 plants with a plough or a wing cultivator. A celery banker 

 is an effective implement to use in ploughing the soil up to 

 and against the plants. It has a wire guard that forces the 

 tops back and holds them in place until the soil has been 

 pushed against the plants. 



Storing. Celery to be blanched in storage is only 

 partly blanched in the field. The plants are lifted with most 

 of their roots, and after the broken and crooked stalks are 

 stripped off, the plants are placed in cellars, pits, or any 

 building where the roots can be set in moist soil and the 

 temperature kept low. Just above the freezing point is the 

 most desirable temperature. The plants should be set as 



