204 GARDEN FARMING 



Blanching with earth. The late green sorts of celery, which are 

 also those of highest quality when properly grown, are all blanched 

 with banks of earth. This method has the advantage of requiring 

 no great outlay for material, but the disadvantage is that much less 

 celery can be grown per acre than by the other methods. Celery 

 to be blanched with earth is usually planted in rows from 4 to 6 feet 

 apart, the distance being determined by the variety. The dwarf sorts 

 may be planted 4 feet apart, while the giant sorts must be planted 

 at least 6 feet apart in order that earth enough may be available. 



The cultivation of celery during its early growth is without refer- 

 ence to blanching ; in fact, celery is given level culture until the 

 crop is grown and ready for blanching. The first earthing of the 

 plants is often accomplished by using wing teeth on the cultivators, 

 to be followed by either the double-moldboard type of hiller or 

 one made after the fashion of an asparagus ridger, which scrapes 

 the earth on both sides of a row at one operation. 



In small gardens banking is done by hand. A man stands astride 

 a row, and as he gathers the leaves of each plant together into a 

 compact upright body, men on each side of the row shovel earth 

 against it. In this way the work can be done neatly and effectively. 

 Another method is to pass heavy twine about the leaves of each 

 plant to hold them in place after they have been lifted. The cord 

 is tied about the plant at the end of the row. The ball of twine is 

 placed in a cup or holder, which can be strapped to the right arm, 

 so that the cord may be carried between the thumb and forefinger 

 of that hand. As the leaves of the individual plants are lifted into 

 position the cord is passed about the plants in such a manner that 

 it holds them in a position in which they can be banked by earth 

 shoveled against them. Sometimes plants to be earthed up by 

 horse-power implements are tied in this manner, but as a rule 

 such implements are provided with lifting rods which raise the 

 leaves and push them together, the earth holding them in place. 



Blanching with tiles. In the home garden or the small market 

 garden, celery can be blanched by slipping a 4-inch or 6-inch agri- 

 cultural tile, which is 1 2 inches long, over each plant. These tiles 

 are made of clay and, for celery blanching, should be cylindrical in 

 shape. For the dwarf sorts a 4-inch tile will answer, and for the 

 more robust varieties 5 -inch or 6-inch tile will be found best. Tiles, 



