CELERY 



CELERY 



705 



rotten manure, the remainder of the space being filled 

 with good rich soil. The manure will furnish ideal 

 conditions for the roots of the young seedlings and 

 make it possible to transplant them to the open ground 

 with blocks of earth and manure so that there will be 

 practically no check in growth. If earliness is an 

 important consideration, this method of treatment is 

 highly important. Young celery plants require con- 

 siderable nursing, and it will not do to take them from 

 warm greenhouses or hotbeds to coldframes before 

 the season is well advanced. They will suffer even 

 more than tomato plants from low temperature. One 

 of the most successful of our American growers invari- 

 ably plants from the greenhouse to the open ground, 

 beginning about May 10 . 



Spraying the seedlings several times with bordeaux 

 mixture may be the means of avoiding loss from fungous 

 diseases. 



Seed for the late crop should be sown in the open 

 ground or in protected beds as soon in the spring as 

 the soil can be prepared. Delay in starting the plants 

 is often responsible for a failure of the late crop. It is 

 not so easy to control moisture in the outdoor seed- 

 beds. If overhead irrigation lines are available, there 

 will be no difficulty in this matter. The beds are often 

 shaded with brush or lath screen. Small beds may be 

 kept covered with moist burlap. When starting on a 

 large scale, the rows may be a foot or more 

 apart. Thinning is often necessary to secure 

 stocky plants. The plants may be set where 

 they are to mature any time after they have 

 attained a height of about 3 inches. Ordi- 

 narily seedlings started out-of-doors are trans- 

 planted directly to the permanent bed or 

 field without an intermediate shift, although 

 this is an advantage in developing stronger 

 plants with better roots. If the plants attain 

 a height of 5 inches or more before they are 

 set in the field, the tops should be cut back 

 before transplanting. 



Planting in the field. 



As previously indicated, plants for the early 

 crop should not be set in the open ground 

 until about May 10 in the latitude of Philadelphia and 

 New York. There is danger of injury from hard frosts 

 if transplanted before this time, and such injury may 

 result in a large percentage of the plants producing seed 

 shoots, thus rendering them unsalable. Seedlings for 

 the late crop may be transplanted in permanent quar- 

 ters any time after June 20. 



The time of planting in the field will depend largely 

 on the varieties to be used. For example, Golden Self- 

 blanching may be set out three or four weeks later 

 than Giant Pascal and have time to mature fully 

 before hard freezing weather is likely to occur. Many 

 commercial growers do not transplant the late crop 

 until nearly the first of August. In most parts of the 

 North, it is better to transplant early in July. The 

 date of transplanting, however, is not so important 

 as to have the plants, as well as the ground, in proper 

 condition before transplanting is started. Plants that 

 are 3 to 5 inches high are much more likely to live and 

 thrive than taller ones. The ground should be smooth, 

 fine and moist. It is exceedingly important to have the 

 rows perfectly straight and this can be accomplished 

 by the use of a marker. A line may be used for this 

 purpose, but transplanting may be accomplished much 

 more rapidly by using a rope-arid-peg marker. 



There is the greatest variation in the planting dis- 

 tances for celery. Some of the most intensive growers 

 plant 7 or 8 inches apart each way. Others prefer to 

 space the rows about a foot apart and have the plants 

 stand 4 inches apart in the row. When such close 

 planting is followed, it is known as "the new celery- 

 culture" (Fig. 859)- The plants stand so close together 



when this method is used that they blanch themselves 

 and it is unnecessary to use boards or other devices. 

 "The new celery-culture" is better adapted to green- 

 house and coldframe use, where the plants can be 

 watered by sub-irrigation. When plants stand so 

 close together, there is little circulation of air and heart- 

 rot or other diseases are likely to occur in hot moist 

 weather. The possibilities of a small area by use of 

 this method are very large and the system appeals 

 to growers who have only small tracts of land to 

 cultivate. 



A more common practice is to space the rows 18 

 inches to 2 feet apart and to set the plants 4 or 5 inches 

 apart in the row. This method is now almost univer- 

 sally employed for Golden Self-blanching when boards 

 are to be used for blanching the crop. When trans- 

 planted 4 by 24 inches apart, about 60,000 plants are 

 required to set an acre. If horse implements are to be 

 used in planting, it is better to allow at least 28 inches 

 between rows. 



Some growers prefer to plant Golden Self-blanching 

 in double rows 6 inches apart, placing the plants 4 or 5 

 inches apart in the row. This plan is not universally 

 popular because it is not favorable to the full develop- 

 ment of every plant. Boards are also used for blanch- 

 ing when this system of planting is followed. 



When soil is to be used for blanching, more space 



861. The last earthing-up or banking of celery. 



must be allowed between rows. Formerly the almost 

 universal practice was to allow 5 feet between rows. 

 With tall-growing varieties, such as Giant Pascal, this 

 is not too much space to provide sufficient soil for 

 blanching. When lower-growing varieties, such as 

 Winter Queen, are used, the rows need not be more 

 than 4 or 4J/ feet apart to give sufficient space for 

 blanching with earth. The larger varieties of the green 

 type should not be planted quite so close together in 

 the row as Golden Self -blanching; for the best develop- 

 ment of the plants, it is better to space them 5 or 6 

 inches apart in the row. 



Growers who plant both early and late varieties 

 often alternate the rows. The early variety is removed 

 first, of course, and then there is 4 feet or more of space 

 between the rows of late varieties which are blanched 

 with earth. Transplanting should proceed as rapidly 

 as possible without undue exposure of the roots to the 

 air. If the plant-beds are watered twenty-four hours 

 in advance of transplanting, the plants may be removed 

 with less injury. 



Subsequent tillage practice in the North. 



Celery is often inter-cropped with other vegetables. 

 One of the most common plans is to plant five rows of 

 onions about a foot apart as early in the spring as the 

 ground can be prepared. The fifth rows are pulled for 

 bunching, and celery is planted instead of the onions. 

 This is a most excellent combination for muck soils 

 where good markets can be found for both crops. 

 Radishes are also excellent to precede celery. If 

 desired, the small button-shaped varieties may be 



