How and What to Grow in a Kitchen Garden of One Acre (10th Ed)/Celery
CELERY.
While one of the most troublesome vegetables to bring to perfection in the ordinary garden, this is one of the most desirable, as well as one of the most profitable, when well grown. The Michigan celery that is being shipped to our eastern cities in such large quantities does not seem to have lowered the price materially, but has crowded all the inferior and less finely-grown plants out of the markets, and the high express charges still guarantee a good profit to the near-by grower. When the ground has become fairly warm in the spring, a bed should be made in some shady corner for the seed; if such situation is not to be had, the seed can be sown in a spent hotbed, cold frame or other convenient place, and can be artificially shaded with fresh brush or lath shades through the hottest part of the day. Celery is naturally a swamp plant, and to make a rapid growth should have the ground as rich as possible, and also as much water as possible, without making the ground heavy and sour. The soil should not be allowed to become dry or baked, and the weeds should be pulled out as soon as they appear. This bed, and, indeed, all other seed beds, should be made very rich with well-rotted manure; not with horse-stable manure or phosphate, as both of them are dry and heating, and in dry weather would stunt or entirely burn up the young plants. The seed should be sown in drills about six inches apart, to admit of working the soil with a narrow hoe, as the continued watering will harden the surface of the bed and check the growth of the young plants. When the plants are well up they should be thinned out so as to stand an inch apart in the drills, and if the plants are ready some little time before they are wanted for setting out, they can be made more stocky and stronger by shearing off about half of the tops.
When ready to set out, I run a double furrow where the row is to be—that is, the plow is run both ways in the same furrow, casting up a ridge of dirt on either side of a shallow trench; then in the bottom of this trench fine compost or well-rotted manure is placed to the depth of one to two inches, and some of the fine soil from the sides is drawn down over the manure with a fine rake until the manure is covered about three inches. This will still leave a depth of about two inches below the surface, which will serve to draw and retain the rain water, or, in a dry time, can be flooded with a hydrant hose or irrigating ditch. Where the ground has been heavily enriched or the celery is planted as the first crop—that is, when no early vegetable precedes it on the same ground—no manure is used in the trench or furrow, which is plowed out in the same way, the additional depth assisting in the labor of earthing up for blanching. To obtain fine quality and appearance the plant should be pushed to as rapid a growth as possible from the time the seed is sown until the stalks are ready for use; if allowed to become stunted, the stalks will be knotty in appearance and bitter in taste.
For my own use and marketing I usually sow seed of two or three varieties, so that if one kind fails for any reason, I may still have a crop sufficient for the table from the other varieties, while if it is all good I have no difficulty in disposing of the surplus; this is the more easily done, as it occupies ground that has been cleared of early peas, corn, etc. Another point in not confining your planting to the one variety is that the handsome “Self-blanching” varieties are not good keepers, and as the older kinds take a long time to whiten, and a good deal of cold weather to develop the fine flavor, they are about ready for use when the early kinds are gone.
While celery is raised as a second crop and has always been considered to require frost to develop the fine nutty flavor, at least one row in the garden should be planted with a “Self-blanching” variety as early in the spring as the plants can be procured. For this it is a good plan to sow two or three drills of celery in the hotbed at the same time with tomatoes, peppers, etc., that they may be ready for planting out early in the spring. These will grow quickly before the very hot weather sets in, and in a favorable season will be ready for use by the latter part of August; if kept earthed up they will be of as handsome appearance and as crisp and fine flavored as are the older varieties in December.
For the main crop the young plants should be ready to set out by the 1st of July, though in a favorable locality they can be planted as late as the middle of August, as they spend the summer largely in making roots and do not grow much until the cool weather. As soon as the plants attain eight to ten inches in height, or, rather, length of leaf stalk as they lie spread out, the earthing up should begin on all kinds of celery, although the seed catalogues will tell you that it is unnecessary in self-bleaching kinds. These latter may be bleached easily by tying the stalks together with straw or soft twine, but the earthing-up process is much more satisfactory both to produce a compact bunch of stalks and an even whiteness in color; otherwise, the outside stalks will remain green.
My plan in earthing for the first time, or “handling,” as it is called, is to have the dirt loose and fine on each side of the row, then to stand astride the row, gather all the leaves up and hold them closely in the left hand, and with a short-handled hoe draw the loose dirt in and pack it firmly around the stalks, leaving about two inches of the tips stick out at the top. It is important to hold the stalks closely, that the dirt may not sift down among the stalks, which would either rot the heart or cause the inner stalks to become twisted and crooked. The second and succeeding bankings are done by a boy standing over the row, clasping the stems in his hand closely, while a man on each side banks up the loose dirt with a shovel; as they raise the bank the boy slides his hand further up the stalks, until, as before, all but two inches of the tips are covered. The boy moves along the row backward, facing the two men who are using the shovels; as they finish one plant he grasps and bunches another, always having a plant in each hand. This method is a great time saver, and also enables the work to be done more neatly than where the plant has to be held while the dirt is drawn from a distance with the hoe. This earthing up should be repeated every two or three weeks until it is time to store the celery for the winter. Immediately before banking, I run the light plow or the cultivator on each side of the row, which furnishes plenty of fine, loose dirt ready for use. The soil will pack better and remain in the banked form better if it is moist when handled, but must not be so wet as to be sticky, for it would then “rust” or spot the stalk. The plants should be set in rows five or six feet apart, so that there may be plenty of soil for the earthing up and room to pass between the rows when banked; the taller growing varieties will require full six feet between the rows.
About the third week in November the celery should be dug and stored; for if it is left out longer, there is danger of its being spoiled by hard freezing. If it is to go in the cellar it should be stood upright in barrels or in boxes, the sides of which are as high as the stalks are tall, so as to keep them straight and white; the roots are left on and packed in moist soil, in order to keep the plants fresh and crisp; but the soil must not be allowed to come up among the stalks,
Illustration showing the manner of storing celery in the field for early use. C. Plants of celery. D. Banks of soil. S. Straw covering. E. Board laid on top of the straw to keep it in place.
or it might cause them to rot. The root cellar must be kept cool and have plenty of air whenever it can be admitted without freezing the contents of the cellar.
Another plan is to set the plants on a well-drained plot, side by side in a long row, three or four plants wide and as closely together as possible; earth banks are then raised on each side of the row about four to six inches thick at the top, and the ends closed in the same manner. The roots are packed solidly in the soil, and the banks are carried up level with the longest tops; when the very cold weather sets in the whole top, banks and leaves, is covered with straw, leaves or corn fodder, to keep the frost out. I would not recommend this method of storing unless it is expected to have the supply all used or marketed by the 1st of January. The best way to store celery is in a hotbed or cold frame, which is built two or three feet deep in the ground, as already described. The celery plants are set side by side in this, as in the boxes or barrels, and the roots tightly packed in moist soil; then the sash can be put on at nights and in the daytime can be entirely removed or slightly raised to admit air, according to the temperature. On very cold nights the sash can have an extra covering of straw or old carpet, and if there is a heavy fall of snow it can be left on a few days, until the weather again becomes warmer. Stored in this manner, it is no trouble to get the celery when wanted; it can be given plenty of air, without which it will not keep, and the late kinds, if packed closely together, will complete their bleaching. If the kinds which require blanching are not kept earthed up as the growth advances, it will be almost impossible to blanch them.
VARIETIES OF CELERY.
The dwarf and half-dwarf kinds are the best, as they are superior both in quality and appearance and are much easier grown. Of these the Dwarf Golden Heart is one of the best varieties; the stalks are very thick and solid, fine flavored, and blanch to a fine white, excepting the centre, which is of a fine golden yellow.
NEW GOLDEN SELF-BLANCHING CELERY.
Golden Self-Blanching.—The handsomest and most generally satisfactory kind that I have ever planted. I know of none that can equal it in appearance or quality; the stalks are large, straight, crisp and very solid; it is very vigorous in growth, attaining a height of one to one and a half feet, and I have had single plants of three inches in diameter. The leaves of this variety are of a beautiful golden yellow after the plant has been bleached, which adds greatly to its handsome appearance when prepared for the table. The young plants should be earthed up as soon as they are large enough to handle, and in two weeks the celery will be in the finest order for the table, thus gaining from one to two months over the ordinary kinds. The quality is the finest and the stalks are crisp, brittle and delicious.
White Plume.—This is also a self-blanching variety, but not to the same extent as the preceding kind. In this sort the inside stalks are naturally white, and the leaves of these white stalks are variegated in the most striking and beautiful manner, which gives it the name and renders it the most ornamental variety grown. To bleach the outer stalks the plant should be kept earthed up, and it will then be ready for use at any time. It is not, however, so fine in the small state as the Golden Self-Blanching, which is of fine eating quality even when growing in the seed bed; the stalks are not so thick and meaty in the White Plume, but have a strong “nutty” flavor.
Crimson Or Red Celery.—The red celery is very handsome and fine flavored when bleached, and after the self-blanching varieties is the most desirable one to grow. It grows tall and straight, is crisp and brittle, and when well blanched is a beautiful golden yellow, the ribs and ridges being tinged with crimson.