Late celery is a succession crop. Grow il on land from which you have already taken a crop of peas or early potatoes 



Crisp Celery from the Home Garden— By e. d. Darlington, 



Penn- 

 sylvania 



AUGUST PLANTING AS A SUCCESSION CROP TO GIVE A SUPPLY ALL WINTER— GROWING STALKS THAT 

 ARE NOT HOLLOW— THE ART OF PERFECT BLANCHING AND THE VARIETIES THAT STAND FOR FLAVOR 



LATE celery for winter use is an excel- 

 lent succession crop as it may be 

 planted any time from the first of July up 

 to the middle of August and so may be 

 grown on land which has already produced 

 a crop of peas, or early potatoes. 



In my estimation the early celery brought 

 from Florida and California is decidedly 

 lacking in crispness and flavor, and is not 

 at all comparable with the stalks which have 

 felt the crispening effect of our cool fall and 

 winter weather. Such home-grown celery 

 may not be as perfectly blanched as the 

 commercial article, nor indeed as well grown, 

 but it is unapproached in flavor. 



Celery likes a cool, moist soil; it will not 

 do well in heavy soils which become sodden. 

 On heavy soils drainage must be provided 

 to carry away surplus moisture from heavy 

 rains; or, if the moisture is supplied by 

 irrigation, the soil must be allowed to dry 

 out partially and be well cultivated between 

 the periods of copious waterings. During 

 the hot summer months, the young plants 

 do not make very much growth, but if 

 properly set in rich soil (or humus') they will 

 develop an excellent root system and will be 

 ready to make a rapid growth as soon as the 

 cool fall weather sets in. In setting out the 

 rows of celery six feet or more must be left 

 between the rows so that there will be ample 

 earth available for banking up to the stalks 

 in the fall. My own plan is to have the 

 celery rows about eight to nine feet apart 

 and to plant two rows of bush beans, or some 

 other quick-growing crop, between the 

 celery rows, as these will be out of the way 

 before the celery needs high banking. 



To prepare the row for planting, I run a 



small one-horse plow both ways in the 

 furrow, to get a broad trench or gutter as 

 deep in the soil (not in the subsoil, however) 

 as possible. Then I put in a 2-inch layer of 

 well-rotted stable manure, poultry droppings 

 or compost — in fact, anything that I have 

 at hand. After putting in the fine manure, 

 I take a hand plow and plow down a little 

 fine earth over the manure, sometimes 

 using the wheel hoe to mix it more thoroughly, 

 especially in the case of the commercial 

 fertilizers. This leaves a broad, shallow 

 trench with a bed of fine earth and manure 

 in which to set the plants. In small gardens 

 where the horse plow cannot be used the 

 necessary trench should be dug out with a 

 spade, making it a foot wide and a foot deep. 



If you have not grown the plants yourself 

 and do not have them already on hand, they 

 may be purchased from the seedsmen or 

 from the local florist. 



Pot-grown plants are the best because it 

 is not necessary to wait for a rain when the 

 trenches are ready for the plants, as they can 

 be heavily watered and set in the row at any 

 time, but unfortunately these can seldom 

 be bought. The young celery plants are 

 usually grown in flats or seedbeds. When 

 buying get a whole flat, if possible, and do 

 not remove the plants from it until you are 

 ready to set them in the ground, because 

 then the plants get little or no check. 



When they have been raised in a seedbed 

 or in flats and have to be transplanted in the 

 ordinary way, wait until late in the afternoon 

 or for a dull day to set them in the rows. 

 Before lifting water the bed thoroughly and 

 dig well under the plants so as to get as many 

 roots as possible. If they have a large single 

 8 



root, cut off the bottom end and shear off 

 a portion of the tops or leaves, then with 

 a pointed stick or trowel set carefully in a 

 straight row eight inches apart, pressing the 

 soil firmly about the roots and when finished 

 give the plants a good watering. 



As soon as the plants have recovered from 

 the transplanting and started to make root 

 again, begin cultivation, and for this I use a 

 small garden rake, lightly stirring the surface 

 soil about the plants every few days. This 

 prevents weeds from starting and keeps the 

 soil from becoming crusted or hard after 

 waterings, and induces a rapid growth, 

 which prevents the plants from starting 

 prematurely to seed as sometimes occurs 

 when the growth in any way becomes stunted 

 or checked. 



BLANCHING THE STALKS 



I have tried many of the so-called easy 

 ways to blanch the crop, but have settled 

 down to the old way of banking up the stalks 

 with soil, as it gives the most satisfactory 

 results, and, to my thinking, the best flavor. 



When the plants have made stalks eight 

 inches or more in height (or length), it is 

 time to begin the banking. The growth at 

 this early stage is apt to be somewhat spread- 

 ing in character. Run a hand plow two or 

 three times on both sides of the rows, then 

 get down on your knees, astride the row and 

 gather together in one hand the stalks of the 

 first plant, pull off the smaller ones on the 

 outside, also any broken or diseased stalks 

 and hold the plant closely together in an 

 upright position. ' With the other hand draw 

 up the loose earth from the sides and pack 

 it gently around the stalks to hold them 



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