CELERY 



CELERY 



703 



universally conceded, however, that the light-colored 

 varieties are somewhat inferior in quality to the green 

 sorts. For this reason it is a mistake to rely wholly 



tion of celery, the crop is grown with entire success on 

 a great variety of soil types. In fact, the plants thrive 

 in. any friable soil which is adequately provided with 



on self-blanching varieties in the home garden. Many moisture, plant-food and vegetable matter. Near all 



i ^^^o ~r* +u^ u^i,f_^i^^ Hr^ f. ,,_ ^e northern cities of the United States may be found 



plantations of limited area that return excellent profits. 

 This is particularly true in sections devoted to the most 

 intensive types of market-gardening, when stable 

 manure and commercial fertilizers are used almost 



home gardeners plant the light-colored kinds for sum- 

 mer use only, and green varieties for fall and winter 

 use. 



In some regions, a plant with a much-branched base 

 is desired as in Fig. 857; but in general a less spreading 



or a lighter plant is grown, as in Fig. 858. These differ- lavishly. With this system of soil-management, the 



xi A i r^i : u:~u 1 1 ^ ground soon changes its physical properties and in 



some cases approaches the muck soils in mechanical 

 composition. It is not uncommon to find small areas 

 on various types of soil, cultivated intensely, which 

 make a gross return of $1,000 or more to the acre. 

 These results indicate the great possibilities of the 

 home garden for the production of celery. There is 

 no reason why every gardener, whatever his type of 

 soil, should not be fully successful in growing a boun- 

 tiful supply of the choicest celery for the home table. 

 The reclaiming of new muck lands is often an expen- 

 sive undertaking. The land must be cleared of brush 

 and sometimes timber. Drainage must be provided 



ences are mostly matters of the way in which the plants 

 are grown, as to room in seed-bed and field. 



White Plume is one of the best known of the self-blanching 

 varieties. It is vigorous in growth and attains a greater height 

 than Golden Self-blanching and, for this reason, does not meet 

 with as great favor among commercial growers. The quality is 

 also inferior to Golden Self-blanching. 



Golden Self-blanching is by far the most popular of American 

 varieties. It is a favorite with amateurs and constitutes probably 

 90 per cent of all the cejery grown in the United States. The plants 

 attain a height of 14 to 20 inches, and are compact and stocky. 

 The stems are short, thick, easily blanched to a creamy white, and 

 the foliage is abundant. 



Rose-ribbed Golden Self-blanching has a tinge of rose-color on 

 the ribbing of the stems, which makes the variety attractive for 

 the home garden. It is not grown largely for commercial purposes. 



Giant Pascal is an old green-stem variety 

 that is not surpassed in quality. In rich 

 moist soils the plants attain a height of 30 

 inches or more. It is a favorite of home gar- 

 deners who take pride in producing tall, tender 

 stalks of the highest quality. 



Winter Queen is a more popular green 

 variety among commercial growers than Giant 

 Pascal. It does not attain such a great height 

 and grows more compactly, so that less space 

 is required between rows, and the crop is more 

 convenient to store. 



French Success is a very stocky compact 

 winter variety that possesses excellent keep- 

 ing qualities. 



Boston Market is famous for its excellent 

 quality. It is grown extensively about Bos- 

 ton in the home gardens and for commercial 

 purposes. It is low, compact, crisp, tender 

 and of the best flavor. 



Many other varieties are planted to some 

 extent, but the most important have been 

 mentioned. 



Soil*. 



As previously stated, great com- 

 mercial plantations are on muck soils, 

 although the business is not confined 

 to such lands. The mucks usually 

 provide ideal conditions for the cul- 

 ture of celery. The plant thrives in soils abounding in 

 vegetable matter, and as mucks contain 60 per cent or 

 more of organic matter this requirement is fully met. 

 A Kalamazoo (Michigan) muck soil, used extensively 

 for celery, analyzed as follows: 



Per cent 



Sand and silicates 19.16 



Alumina 1.40 



Oxide of iron 3.94 



Lime 6.09 



Magnesia 0.81 



Potash 0.34 



Soda 0.38 



Sulphuric acid 1.31 



Phosphoric acid 0.88 



Carbonic acid 1.95 



Organic matter (containing 2.53 per cent of 



nitrogen) 63.76 



Water 6.51 



Properly prepared mucks are loose and friable, and 

 this is a great advantage in transplanting and in per- 

 forming all tillage operations. The land is easily plowed, 

 harrowed, leveled, marked and cultivated, and the 

 work of ridging the plants is accomplished with the 

 greatest ease. The depth of the water-table in muck 

 lands varies greatly, but about 3 feet is considered 

 most favorable; at this depth the plants never suffer 

 from drought. 



While it is universally conceded that muck soils 

 provide the best conditions for the extensive cultiva- 



858. A good celery plant in the general market. 



by means of tile or open ditches. The land is often 

 acid, and lime should be employed to correct the 

 acidity. For a year or two other crops than celery 

 should be planted to get the land in the proper physical 

 condition. The first plowing should be done in the 

 fall so that the land will be exposed to frost during the 

 winter. Corn is an excellent crop to plant the follow- 

 ing spring. There should be repeated cultivation 

 throughout the summer to destroy any other vegeta- 

 tion that may start. 



Other types of soil should be prepared as in the 

 usual way for the small garden crops. Fall plowing, 

 after large quantities of manure have been added, is 

 often desirable when an early crop is to be started the 

 following spring. Smoothing harrows and plank drags 

 should be used to make the soil fine and smooth pre- 

 paratory to planting. All preparatory tillage opera- 

 tions should be conducted with a view to conserving 

 soil-moisture, which is exceedingly important to celery 

 throughout the period of growth. 



Fertilizing. 



As previously stated, it is important for land that 

 is to be planted in celery to abound in vegetable matter. 

 There must also be an abundance of available plant- 

 food in order to secure a rapid and vigorous growth. 

 When applying either manure or commercial fertilizer, 

 the grower should bear in mind that this is a shallow- 



