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Page 60
If the bed is made in spring, perform the work as early as
possible, making the bed very rich, mellow, and fine. Coarse
manures, cold, poor, lumpy soil, leave scarcely a ghost of a
chance for success. The plants should be thinned to two inches
from one another, and when five inches high, shear them back to
three inches. When they have made another good growth, shear them
back again. The plants are thus made stocky. In our latitude I try
to set out celery, whether raised or bought, between the twenty-
fifth of June and the fifteenth of July. This latitude enables us
to avoid a spell of hot, dry weather.
There are two distinct classes of celery--the tall-growing sorts,
and the dwarf varieties. A few years ago the former class was
grown generally; trenches were dug, and their bottoms well
enriched to receive the plants. Now the dwarf kinds are proving
their superiority, by yielding a larger amount of crisp, tender
heart than is found between long coarse stalks of the tall sorts.
Dwarf celery requires less labor also, for it can be set on the
surface and much closer together, the rows three feet apart, and
the plants six inches in the row. Dig all the ground thoroughly,
then, beginning on one side of the plot, stretch a line along it,
and fork under a foot-wide strip of three or four inches of
compost, not raw manure. By this course the soil where the row is
to be is made very rich and mellow. Set out the plants at once
while the ground is fresh and moist. If the row is ten feet long,
you will want twenty plants; if fifteen, thirty plants; or two
plants to every foot of row. Having set out one row, move the line
forward three feet, and prepare and set out another row in
precisely the same manner. Continue this process until the plot
selected is occupied. If the plants have been grown in your own
garden, much is gained by SOAKING the ground round them in the
evening, and removing them to the rows in the cool of the morning.
This abundant moisture will cause the soil to cling to the roots
if handled gently, and the plants will scarcely know that they
have been moved. When setting I usually trim off the greater part
of the foliage. When all the leaves are left, the roots, not
established, cannot keep pace with the evaporation. Always keep
the roots moist and unshrivelled, and the heart intact, and the
plants are safe. If no rain follows setting immediately, water the
plants thoroughly--don't be satisfied with a mere sprinkling of
the surface--and shade from the hot sun until the plants start to
grow. One of the chief requisites in putting out a celery plant,
and indeed almost any plant, is to press the soil FIRMLY ROUND,
AGAINST, AND OVER THE ROOTS. This excludes the air, and the new
rootlets form rapidly. Neither bury the heart nor leave any part
of the root exposed.
Do not be discouraged at the rather slow growth during the hot
days of July and early August. You have only to keep the ground
clean and mellow by frequent hoeings until the nights grow cooler
and longer, and rains thoroughly moisten the soil. About the
middle of August the plants should be thrifty and spreading, and
now require the first operation, which will make them crisp and
white or golden for the table. Gather up the stalks and foliage of
each plant closely in the left hand, and with the right draw up
the earth round it. Let no soil tumble in on the heart to soil or
cause decay. Press the soil firmly, so as to keep all the leaves
in an upright position. Then with a hoe draw up more soil, until
the banking process is begun. During September and October the
plants will grow rapidly, and in order to blanch them they must be
earthed up from time to time, always keeping the stalks close and
compact, with no soil falling in on the developing part. By the
end of October the growth is practically made, and only the deep
green leaves rest on the high embankments. The celery now should
be fit for use, and time for winter storing is near. In our region
it is not safe to leave celery unprotected after the tenth of
November, for although it is a very hardy plant, it will not
endure a frost which produces a strong crust of frozen soil. I
once lost a fine crop early in November. The frost in one night
penetrated the soil deeply, and when it thawed out, the celery
never revived. NEVER HANDLE CELERY WHEN IT IS FROZEN. My method of
preserving this vegetable for winter use is simply this. During
some mild, clear day in early November I have a trench ten inches
wide dug nearly as deep as the celery is tall. This trench is dug
on a warm dry slope, so that by no possibility can water gather in
it. Then the plants are taken up carefully and stored in the
trench, the roots on the bottom, the plants upright as they grew,
and pressed closely together so as to occupy all the space in the
excavation. The foliage rises a little above the surface, which is
earthed up about four inches, so that water will be shed on either
side. Still enough of the leaves are left in the light to permit
all the breathing necessary; for plants breathe as truly as we do.
As long as the weather keeps mild, this is all that is needed; but
there is no certainty now. A hard black frost may come any night.
I advise that an abundance of leaves or straw be gathered near.
When a bleak November day promises a black frost at night, scatter
the leaves, etc., thickly over the trenched celery, and do not
take them off until the mercury rises above freezing-point. If a
warm spell sets in, expose the foliage to the air again. But watch
your treasure vigilantly. Winter is near, and soon you must have
enough covering over your trench to keep out the frost--a foot or
more of leaves, straw, or some clean litter. There is nothing
better than leaves, which cost only the gathering. From now till
April, when you want a head or more of celery, open the trench at
the lower end, and take out the crisp white or golden heads, and
thank the kindly Providence that planted a garden as the best
place in which to put man, and woman also.
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