IS 
Vegetable Cultures for Victory Gardeners (2) 
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 
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, 
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 
good conditions the early varieties like Early Golden 
Sunshine 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. 
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. 
Cucumbers 
Even a few hills of cucumbers will amply repay the 
grower for the space and effort they require. By all 
means grow some cucumbers for slicing and pickling. 
Any ordinary garden soil will yield a fair crop. If 
you have a choice, plant cucumbers in a light, warm, 
sandy loam. It doesn’t have to be rich, but mix one or 
two spadesful of well rotted manure in the soil for 
each hill. 
Where manure is unavailable, use a generous amount 
of balanced fertilizer (a cupful to each hill), worked 
into the soil several days before planting the seed. A 
mulch of straw or grass clippings will help hold the 
moisture and keep the roots cool. A constant supply of 
moisture is necessary for best results. Plenty of water 
during the growing season insures a good crop. 
As cucumbers are a warm weather crop, do not plant 
the seed until the soil is warm and danger of frost is 
past. In our section the first crop may be planted out- 
doors in the latter part of May. You can gather pickles 
in 45 to 55 days after then and good slicers in about 
two months. 
For extra early use cucumber seed may be started in 
the hot-bed before it is possible to plant outdoors. In 
that case plant the seed on sections of overturned sod 
or in paper pots—so the roots will not be disturbed. 
Assuming that you will start the crop outdoors, make 
the hills about 4 x 6 feet apart and plant 10 or 12 seeds 
in each hill covering about three-fourths to an inch deep. 
When the plants are well up and past danger of being 
destroyed by beetles, pull out all but three plants in 
each hill. Cultivate and dust the plants frequently with 
some poison insecticide, lime dust or-use garden spray. 
To have each plant bear its best, gather the cucum- 
bers just as soon as they are ready to use. Allowing 
them to grow oversize and ripen on the vine greatly 
weakens the plants and cuts down future yield. And 
instead of pulling the fruit off, cut the stems with a 
knife, scissors or the finger nail. The catalog suggests 
varieties which are best for pickling—while others are 
best for slicing. 
As we stated above, the pickles will reach edible 
stage in less than two months, so it is possible to start 
cucumbers as late as July 15th or 20th and still be 
quite sure of getting a crop before fall frosts. 
One ounce of seed will plant about 50 hills. 
Endive 
Endive is an excellent salad plant to take the place of 
lettuce in hot weather. It is grown very much like 
lettuce. You can have Endive coming in your garden at 
just the time the lettuce starts to go to seed. The plants 
are ready for use in 65 to 70 days. 
The seed can be sown as soonas ground is in workable 
condition in the spring, in any good garden soil. Make 
the rows 12 to 15 inches apart and thin the plants to 
8 to 10 inches apart in the rows. Thinnings can be 
transplanted. For a fall crop plant seed in July and 
transplant in August. Deep Heart Fringed is an ex- 
ceptional fine variety of Endive. 
When nearly full grown, tie the outer leaves together 
over the center in order to bleach the heart of the plant, 
By tieing fresh plants every few days a succession is 
kept up. Do not tie when the heads are wet. When the 
weather is hot and dry a head will blanch nicely in five 
days to a week. 
It can be held until Christmas by lifting the plants 
in October and transplanting to cold frames where they 
can be protected from severe freezing weather. 
One ounce will sow a 150-foot row, 
Eg¢s Plant 
A dozen plants of this too little appreciated vegetable 
will give you a nice quantity of good big meaty “‘eggs’’ 
for your table. Fried egg plant is a delicacy fit for a king. 
This vegetable likes it real warm and in the northern 
states must be started early as it needs the whole 
season to develop. In the vicinity of Cleveland the 
seeds are started indoors or in the hot-bed in March so 
they will be good sized plants in May. 
Do not set the plants outdoors until there is no more 
danger of frost or cold nights. A fairly rich soil and a 
southern exposure is desirable. Set the plants two or 
three feet apart, cultivate and rake a little well rotted 
manure or fertilizer around each plant. Fruit does not 
set unless the plants are kept growing steadily. Some- 
times pinching off the ends of the branches to leave only 
two or three blossoms on a branch helps the fruit to set. 
Ordinarily it requires four to four and one-half months 
for Egg Plants to reach the edible stage. 
One ounce of seed will grow about 1,000 plants, 
Kale 
Kale is not only a useful plant but it is quite orna- 
mental as well, and some gardeners plant a row of it as 
a border for their vegetable garden. It is a greens plant 
and is so hardy that the edible leaves may be cut from 
under the snow in the winter. They may be used in the 
fall also, but frost improves the flavor. 
The seed may be sown in May or June and the plants 
allowed to grow all summer. Or planting may be de- 
layed until July or even the first of August. In the latter 
case the space occupied for early crops may be used. If 
planted early the plants will be immense in the fall with 
great curly leaves. Make the rows two and one-half 
feet apart and thin out or transplant to stand 114 
feet apart. 
In the south the seed is planted in the early fall for 
early spring greens—and the same method may be 
followed in the northern states by giving the plants 
some protection over the winter. It is better not to 
handle the plants when they are frozen, but if you do 
cut them, thaw out in cold water. 
One ounce will produce about 2500 plants. 
Kohl Rabi 
Kohl Rabi is another vegetable that is out of the 
ordinary, yet it is very easy to grow. The flavor is like 
the turnip but is sweeter and milder. The edible part, 
unlike the turnip, is not underground but is a swelling 
of the stalk. 
_ Sow the seed just as soon as the soil is in good condi- 
tion in the spring in rows one and one-half feet apart. 
-The seed is small like cabbage so cover only about a 
quarter inch. Thin the plants to stand three and one- 
half to four inches apart. The bulbs will grow to a 
diameter of four or five inches, but they are better to 
use when only two or three inches in diameter. Instead 
of letting them grow large make a second planting of 
seed to come on later. The bulbs will reach edible size in 
about two months, 
One ounce of seed will plant a 200-foot row. 
Lettuce 
You all know how to grow lettuce—the most popular 
of all salad crops—so we will just give a few suggestions 
here that may help. 
In the first place—lettuce will stand cool, even cold 
weather—so start at least a little seed very early. If 
ou have a hot-bed or cold-frame you can get edible 
eads before it is possible to plant in the open garden. 
If you have no frame, plant some lettuce seed in a box 
of soil in a sunny window. 
A little later pick out a sunny protected spot outdoors 
—up against the house or fence—and plant more lettuce 
seed there. There is no reason why you cannot have nice 
crisp lettuce for your table perhaps even before your 
neighbors have started their gardens. 
Although lettuce will grow in any soil, if you want 
the most tender leaves and fine heads choose a rather 
cool location where the soil is quite moist and does 
not bake. 
You may sow the seed in a raised bed which has been 
worked fine and broadcast it or sow in rows. In either 
case thin the plants so that they will have at least six 
inches of space to themselves. For best results with the 
heading varieties we recommend transplanting and setting 
the plants ten to twelve inches apart. When sowing, cover 
the seed not more than a quarter of an inch. Do not 
waste the little plants that are thinned out as they are 
very tender and you will enjoy them at the table. 
For later planting some varieties are better adapted 
than others. The New York or Wonderful and Cali- 
fornia Cream Butter are two of the best summer 
varieties. 
One ounce of seed will sow a 150-foot row. 
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