CELERY 195 



Nature of the soil. The soil best suited to celery is moist, low- 

 lying alluvial muck or loam. Muck lands which are too wet for 

 other crops can often be made to produce excellent crops of this 

 vegetable. In some cases in order to cultivate such areas it is 

 necessary to provide the horses with large leather or wooden 

 shoes to prevent them from miring. The soil best adapted to 

 this crop is not common ; it is usually found only in small isolated 

 areas, yet good celery can be grown on any rich, well-tilled garden 

 soil. The commercial cultivation of celery, however, is almost 

 entirely restricted to low, moist muck soils. Kalamazoo, Michigan, 

 has long been famous for its celery fields. Horseheads, New 

 York, Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, areas in northern New Jersey, the 

 San Joaquin and Santa Ana valleys of California, the vicinity of 

 Painesville, Ohio, and areas near Sanford and Tampa, Florida, 

 now produce the bulk of the celery grown for market. It is also 

 grown in a small way in many other localities. In fact, it is an 

 important crop with many of the market gardeners about Cleve- 

 land, Ohio, and Boston, Massachusetts, but the products of these 

 regions rarely find their way into other markets. 



Seed and seed sowing. Celery seed is small, light, highly aro- 

 matic, and retains its vitality for from two to four years. It is used 

 for flavoring soups and in other forms of cookery. The small seed 

 naturally produces a small plant. The young celery plant is not 

 only small, but delicate, and requires more than ordinary care dur- 

 ing the early days of its life. The seed should be sown on fine, rich, 

 well-prepared soil in a protected place. If the seed bed is not too 

 large, a layer of sand a quarter of an inch deep over the surface 

 will add greatly to the ease of caring for it. Large seed beds are 

 often protected by slat shade arranged high enough to permit culti- 

 vation beneath it. During the critical stage in the life of the plant 

 when the seeds are germinating and before the young plants 

 have established themselves the seed bed should have most care- 

 ful attention from a skilled grower. Neglect which results either 

 in lack of water or in excess of "water just at this period means 

 failure. As soon as the seeds germinate, the young seedlings 

 should be kept growing in a healthy, vigorous manner. Checked 

 or stunted celery plants mean an inferior crop. No amount of care 

 or skill in field management can overcome poor seed-bed treatment. 



