Vegetable 
Chinese or Celery Cabbage 
This exceptionally fine vegetable is of the cabbage 
family from the Orient and possesses some character- 
istics that place it in a class entirely by itself. In form 
of growth it resembles Cos lettuce—in elongated heads. 
When the outer leaves are stripped away we see an 
appetizing picture of lettuce and celery combined, 
cool, crisp and inviting. 
Shredded and served raw you will find it better than 
the finest cabbage slaw—so tender and mild flavored 
it is. Or make a combination salad with the celery-like 
center stalks. It is delicious. 
There are a few points to be followed out on growing 
Chinese Cabbage and it is not difficult to succeed if 
these things are done. 
The heads must have fairly cool weather to develop, 
which means that the seed must be started very early 
in the spring so that the heads develop before mid- 
summer—or else do not start the seed until July which 
will bring the heading stage into the cool weather of 
fall. The latter method is the most popular. 
The seed may be planted right in the rows where the 
plants are to stand but a transplanting is beneficial, so 
we advise planting the seed in a little bed of fine soil 
and then changing the plants when four to six inches 
high setting them 1 foot apart in rows 2 foot apart. 
Often the leaves will form heads without assistance, but 
to be sure tie around the leaves with raffia or soft 
twine, making the inner stalks white, tender and brittle. 
For successful growing of Chinese Cabbage the 
following rules should be strictly observed. First, the 
soil must contain available plant food so as to keep the 
plants constantly growing. Second, enough moisture 
must be supplied so that growth will not be checked. 
The same type of soil and method of preparation for 
cabbage, should produce a good crop. 
When heads are fully developed they are cut from 
the roots similar to cabbage. Remove the coarse, outer 
leaves, and use the young, tender centers either raw, 
as a salad or cooked. 
Carrots 
Carrots give big returns from small space and they 
are so high in food value that every garden should 
include them. Like beets, carrots do their best in a 
deep, loose, well limed soil. Plant the seed as soon as the 
ground is warm, the last of April or early in May, in 
rows one foot to one and one-half feet apart. Cover the 
seeds only one-quarter to one-half inch deep. Scatter 
the seed in the trench quite thickly, two or three for 
every inch. If the seed is soaked in warm water it will 
start quicker. 
Thin out the plants before they get so deeply rooted 
they do not pull easily, leaving one every three or three 
_ and one-half inches. The large stock carrots with the 
heavy shoulders will need a little more room than this 
to develop the root properly. 
You can plan on getting roots large enough to eat or 
bunch for the market in about ten weeks after the seed 
is planted. So that there will be a continuous supply of 
tender, young roots for your table, plant more carrot 
seed every few weeks. For the first planting in the 
spring we recommend the Chantenay. For later plant- 
ing and for winter storage plant Danvers Half-Long, 
Tendersweet or Orange Coreless. 
One ounce of seed will sow a 100-foot row. 
Celery 
Home grown celery is more deliciously flavored and 
is crisper than any you can buy. It is a crop that does 
well on muck soil, liking cool, moist conditions. For 
early crop the seed should be started indoors or in a 
hot-bed—but for the late crop for the fall and’ winter 
use, sow the seed outdoors when the soil is in workable 
condition. 
Make the soil smooth—sow the seed thickly and 
barely cover it—tamping down the soil well above it 
Cultures for Victory Gardeners (2) 
and keep the seed bed constantly moist. When the 
plants are about three inches high transplant them to 
their permanent place. Formerly it was customary to 
set the plants in trenches which were later filled up. 
Now most of the celery is grown under flat culture and 
blanched later by drawing earth around the plants. 
It is very important that celery plants grow steadily 
with no setbacks, to keep them from shooting to seed 
or the stalks from becoming pithy. At transplanting 
time soak the soil in the seed bed so that as much as 
possible of soil can be lifted with the roots. Some growers 
cut the leaves back about one-third at that time. 
The distance apart to make the permanent rows 
depends upon the method of blanching you plan to use. 
One of the best plans is to set two rows very close 
together 10 or 12 inches apart and then leave four or 
five feet between the pairs of double rows. 
Then when it is time to earth up the plants, plenty 
of soil will be accessible to cover the double rows. Set 
the plants six to eight inches apart in the rows. During 
the summer it is a good plan to cover the soil with a 
layer of coarse manure or straw to keep the soil cool 
and moist. 
The time to blanch the stalks is when the weather 
has turned cool to stay. Blanching in warm, dry 
weather causes the stalks to turn rusty. When blanch- 
ing cover the stalks up to the leaves. 
When space is very limited, other methods of blanch- 
ing aside from using earth alone may be adopted.. For 
instance, boards may be placed on edge along each side 
of the row to shut the light away from the plants. 
Some gardeners set short sections of drain tile like a 
collar right over the plants. It is also possible to pur- 
chase special devices that set right over the plants. 
These methods save space as they permit closer 
planting. Your judgment will tell you the best methods 
under your own conditions , 
An ounce of seed produces about 3500 plants. 
TO MAKE CELERY CRISP. When celery that has 
been kept a day or so loses its freshness stand it in 
water to which a little lemon juice has been added. 
You will find that the acid in the lemon restores the 
crispness without destroying the flavor of the celery. 
Celeriac 
This vegetable has a flavor like celery and yet it forms 
roots like turnips, the roots being the edible part-of the 
plant. It is used principally in soups and stews. As it 
takes quite a long time for the roots to develop good 
size, plant the seeds as early in the spring as the ground 
can be worked well. The seed is like celery seed, so 
make the soil fine and smooth : 
Sow in rows 12 inches apart and thin the plants to six 
inches apart. Transplanting benefits later growth, so if 
you have time sow in a seed bed first and then move 
the plants. 
The roots are in good condition to use when they are 
two inches in diameter. To keep for winter use store 
the roots in the cellar or in a pit outdoors like beets 
and carrots. 
Witloof Chicory or French 
Endive 
This is a comparatively new vegetable in this country 
but has been a favored plant in France, Belgium and 
other foreign countries for years. It is a very great 
delicacy. 
The seed is sown in the open ground in May or June 
making the rows 18 inches apart, covering the seed 
about one inch deep. Thin to stand six inches apart in 
the rows. For best development plant in cool, moist, rich 
soil and cultivate frequently. Lift the roots just before 
the ground is liable to freeze and trim the leaves down 
to within two inches of the crown. 
When ready to force them (this is usually done in the 
vegetable cellar and a temperature of 50 to 60 degrees 
gives the best results) bury the roots upright in any 
sand or soil in a box or in a bed. When doing this cut the 
roots off at the bottom to a uniform length of eight or 
nine inches. Set the roots close together but not touch- 
ing, and cover to the crowns. 
Various materials are used for blanching the heads 
as they grow but as simple a way as any is to lay another 
eight inches of clean sand right over the crowns. The 
heads will grow right up through this and should begin 
to show at the surface within three weeks. In the mean- 
time give one or two liberal applications of water. If left 
undisturbed the roots will produce more cuttings. 
Collards 
Really a loose headed cabbage—Collard is in par- 
ticular favor in the south for ‘‘greens.”’ In some sections 
it is called ‘‘Greens’’—‘‘Cole”’ or ‘‘Colewort.”’ The crop 
will grow wherever cabbage will and it is treated like 
late cabbage—though transplanting is not necessary if 
the plants are thinned to stand two feet apart. 
It is said that the quality and flavor of the leaves is 
improved by frost. In the south the seed may be started 
either during the time from January to May or in the 
fall from August to October. 
Sweet Corn 
Sweet corn gathered from your own garden and 
served on your table within a few hours after is so much 
sweeter than corn that is purchased there is no com- 
parison. To have the very finest corn you must grow 
your own and serve a very few hours after gathering. 
To enjoy corn all summer and into the fall, plant 
a succession of the early and late varieties. Under 
ood conditions the early varieties like Early Golden 
unshine and Golden Bantam will produce nice ears 
in about two and one-half months (75 days). In past 
years it was customary to plant sweet corn in hills 
three and one-half to four feet apart each way. This 
allowed of cultivation both ways—but where space is 
limited we recommend planting in rows, making the 
rows three feet apart and dropping the seed every 10 to 
12 inches in the row. The seed may be covered 1% to 
2 inches deep. 
Sweet corn likes frequent cultivation and it will do 
well on fairly light loam soil. In fact any workable 
garden soil will grow sweet corn. 
For best results, treat seed corn just before planting, 
with Semesan Jr., which is a Dry Disinfectant for Seed 
Corn. It helps to protect the seed against rotting in the 
soil, and to check certain forms of fungi (molds) on 
field, pop and sweet corn. Such treatments often im- 
proves germination, stands and frequently the yields. 
Easy to use and high in value in results. ~ 
One pound of seed will plant about 200 hills. 
Pop Corn 
If you like to eat nice tender pop corn, and most 
people do, it will be interesting for you to grow some 
yourself. Try out the different varieties and see which 
you like best. Sometimes it is hard to buy pop corn that 
will pop well, and it is certainly a misfortune to be 
without it during the winter months. 
Grow the crop as you would sweet corn, either in 
hills or in rows. If in hills allow two or three stalks for 
each hill and if in rows the stalks should stand 10 to 12 
inches apart. 
A pound of seed will plant at least 200 hills. 
_ Harvest the ears when the kernels are hard and dry 
in the fall and husk them. The ears will feel dry but, of 
course, they will contain a large percentage of moisture, 
so the corn is not fit for popping until it has gone 
through a drying and curing period. Just spread the 
ears out on the floor in a cool room where there is air 
circulation. The barn or attic is all right for this if the 
mice and rats are not too plentiful. To keep away from 
these pests, hang the ears up, from the rafters. 
