Stored for winter. The boards are covered by earth 



Paper wrapped around the plant is effective 



Blanching with tile has the advantage of cleanliness 



The Blanching Of Celery - By Stephen N. Green, 



Ohio 



THREE METHODS BY WHICH YOUR GARDEN CROP MAY EQUAL, IF NOT EXCEL, THE USUAL MARKET PRODUCT 



THE celery now growing in the 

 garden needs blanching before 

 it is really fit to eat. Green 

 celery will do well enough for the 

 kitchen but for the table blanched stalks 

 are necessary. Now, it is not a difficult 

 task to accomplish, but it needs care. 



The process consists in destroying or 

 preventing the formation of green coloring 

 matter in the heart and stems. This is 

 accomplished by taking away all light. 

 Celery makes considerable growth in cool 

 weather and after the plants have been dark- 

 ened they will gain much in length and 

 weight. Indeed, such growth is desirable 

 to produce crisp celery and the most 

 common mistake that is made is to wait 

 too long before commencing to blanch. 

 Usually the plants are ready when they 

 have reached a height of from twelve to 

 fifteen inches, generally in October or 

 about ninety days after transplanting. 



The most satisfactory and usually the best 

 way to blanch is to bank up the soil against 

 the row. Be very careful 

 not to allow the earth 

 to get into the heart of 

 the plant as it will usually 

 destroy its market value. 

 This may be avoided by 

 tying up the stem just 

 before banking, using a 

 common soft twine. Be- 

 gin at one end of the 

 row, using the first plant 

 as an anchor, gather the 

 stems of the next plant 

 together, and wrap the 

 twine once around, then 

 proceed to the next plant 

 without cutting the string, 

 and at the last one again 

 tie firmly. However, by 

 a little care the earth 

 may be banked against 

 the plants if they are first 

 compacted together with 



one hand as the other places the soil; but 

 it is generally necessary to build up the 

 bank by degrees, taking more time than if 

 string was used. The bank should be built 

 up high enough to reach to the leaves of 

 the plant, and built up as required to 

 completely shade the plant until it is 

 entirely blanched. Never work with wet soil 

 as it seems to cause a rust of the stems. 



When ordinary 4-inch unglazed drain tile 

 are available they may be used as a very 

 satisfactory substitute for the earth bank. 

 Simply slip a tile over each plant and allow 

 it to remain until the celery is ready to cut. 

 Celery blanched in tile is always clean 

 and of the best flavor. 



Boards are often used for blanching early 

 celery, and they can be used for late crops 

 when the varieties are of the self -blanching 

 types that require less complete darkness, 

 or for partial blanching of the large grow- 

 ing late sorts. Use boards twelve to fifteen 

 inches wide, fifteen feet long, and one inch 

 thick and of a cheap grade of lumber. 



For winter pack the roots closely together, in frame, cellar, or bench and cover to exclude frost 



53 



Place them against the rows of celery and 

 hold them in place by clamps or stakes. 

 Paper wrapped around each plant will 

 often answer the purpose when no better 

 method is possible, and in many small 

 gardens it is the easiest way. 



It takes from four to six weeks to com- 

 pletely blanch the average celery plant, 

 and the colder the weather the longer 

 it takes. When freezing weather threatens, 

 some protection is needed if the plants are 

 to be left in the ground. The tops and 

 stems are not injured by a frost but freezing 

 will soon spoil them. Temporary coverings 

 of straw, corn stalks, etc., will often tide 

 over short cold spells. 



If you have a cool, clean dry cellar the 

 celery may be stored in that when com- 

 pletely or partly blanched. Leave a little 

 earth on the roots when digging and pack 

 the plants loosely together on the floor. 

 However, it is rarely advisable to store 

 celery in the average cellar as it is too 

 warm and if it is not perfectly clean, the 

 flavor of the celery is soon 

 ruined 



The most satisfactory 

 method of storing on a 

 small scale is to dig a 

 shallow trench in a shel- 

 tered, well drained spot, 

 setting the celery close 

 together, banking as for 

 blanching but using straw 

 to line and cover such a 

 pit. Ample ventilation 

 should be given the first 

 few days that the celery 

 is placed in these pits, 

 but cover with straw 

 deeply enough to keep 

 it from freezing and so 

 shed rain. Cover the 

 entire pit with earth. 

 Celery treated that way 

 should keep until very 

 late winter. 



