CELEBY 



VEGETABLE GARDEN 



CBLEEY 1131 



leaves on the same principle aa recom- 

 mended for planting yoiing fruit trees 

 (see p. 1032). A good soaking of water 

 immediately after planting will be of 

 great benefit to the plants. In the event 

 of very hot weather following immediately 

 they may be shaded during the hotter 

 portions of the da}' with fern fronds or 

 sheets of newspaper until the new roots 

 have been developed and taken a good hold 

 of the soil. 



Earthing up Celery. — This is a much 

 more important operation in the cultiva- 

 tion of Celery than with any other garden 

 crop. It consists in drawing the soil up 

 to the plants first on one side, then on the 

 other, with the object of keeping the 

 growing stems in perfect darkness, thus 

 checking the development of the green 

 colouring matter called Chlorophyll (see 

 p. 33), and stimulating the formation of 

 starchy matters. 



Earthing up should always be done in 

 fine weather, when the soil is in good con- 

 dition, and not when it is very wet and 

 sticky. The ridge is to be vsddest at the 

 base, gradually tapering upwards, so that 

 the rain readily drains away. On each 

 occasion before drawing the soil up to 

 the plants it is a good plan to give a 

 dressing of lime and soot so as to check 

 the attacks of vermin. 



Some gardeners do not earth Celery 

 up until the plants are almost fully 

 developed, and there is nothing to be said 

 against the practice as good well-blanched 

 stalks are produced. The intervening 

 soil between the rows is also available for 

 a longer period for producing other crops 

 in the meantime. 



As a rule, however, most gardeners 

 earth Celery up at intervals of three or 

 four weeks during the season until the 

 approach of foost. The first earthing up 

 should not take place until the plants 

 have grown at least a foot or more high, 

 and many failures with Celery arise from 

 being in too much of a hurry to begin this 

 operation. 



The soil from the sides of the raised 

 beds is chopped down with a spade and 

 carefully placed against the plants. Great 

 care is taken not to cover the young and 

 tender centres or crowns of the plants 

 with the soil, as this causes blindness and 

 more or less effectually stops further 

 growth. 



After the plants have had the soil 

 placed around them on each side by the 



spade, it is well worth while to go over 

 each row afterwards, holding the leaves 

 of each plant in one hand and working 

 the fine soil all round them with the 

 other. This will keep the leaves close to 

 the crown, which is the only portion really 

 requiring abimdance of light so that it 

 may grow freely and quickly. When the 

 last earthing up has taken place, only the 

 tips of the leaves should be seen jutting 

 out from the surface of the ridge. 



Watering. — In hot weather and 

 especially in light dryish soils. Celery 

 plants should be frequently and liberally 

 watered until the final earthing up. If 

 neglected the plants become stunted in 

 growth, and in consequence perform the 

 very natiu'al process of 'bolting,' that is, 

 they develop flowers and seeds the first 

 season of growth instead of the required 

 stems and leaves. The addition of soot 

 to the water will prove highly beneficial 

 to the growth of the plants, and also be 

 effectual in keeping down the attacks of a 

 tiny white maggot which very often feeds 

 upon the blanched stems, making them 

 very unsightly and quite luipresentable at 

 table. 



Pests. — Besides the small white maggot 

 just mentioned, one of the worst pests- 

 attacking Celery is the maggot of the 

 Celery Fly {Tephritii onopordinis) already 

 referred to rmder Parsnips (p. 1129). This 

 maggot springs from eggs which have 

 been deposited beneath the surface of the 

 leaf, and spraying with insecticides is 

 therefore practically useless. Should an 

 insecticide be powerful enough to kill the 

 maggot thus protected by the cuticle of 

 the leaf, it will likewise destroy the 

 foliage. 



The best and apparently only remedy 

 at present is the tedious one of picking 

 off the affected leaves and burning them 

 at once. They should not be thrown on 

 the rubbish heap. If, however, the soil 

 and plants are well dusted with lime and 

 soot at intervals after planting out, and if 

 soot is added when watering during the 

 season. Celery will suffer but little from 

 this pest. The maggot that attacks the 

 stems in the dark is on the whole a worse 

 pest, as itsravages are not apparent until 

 the plants are lifted for use. 



Vabieties of Celery. — There are 

 white-stemmed and red-stemmed varieties 

 of Celery, all more or less worthy of general 

 cultivation. Among the "White may be 

 mentioned Cole's Crystal Wliite, very 



