The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-01-23
THE FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
The Culture of Celery in Small Gardens.

The Culture of Celery in Small Gardens.
The use of celery increases yearly, and. as
it is ready for the table when there are but
few fresh, crisp vegetables in season, it is
very desirable to devote some portion of the
garden to its culture; especially as it is now
considered an antidote for nervous diseases.
1t is by no means difficult to obtain good
crops of this highly-appreciated vegetable, for
II you do not .are to raise the plants from
seed. aud prick them out carefully in beds, to
allow their roots to become more fully devel-
oped before trenching them, you can readily
procure hundred plants from the florists,
who often make the growing of celery plants
for the trade specially. 1t is immaterial
in ridges, which can be earthed up quite as
easily as the trenches are filled up, and, in
deed, many gardeners now assert that the
largest stalks can be produced by the ridging
of them. In preparing the single trenches it
Is needful to dig them about two feet in
depth and fifteen inches in width. Put six
inches of well decayed manure into the
trench. and cover it with four inches of good
garden loan, and plant the celery from six
to seven inches apart. Ii two or more
trenches are dug parallel to each other, they
should be from two to three feet apart. In
planting in ridges, put the same quantity of
luduuIC duu sui do Ill Iuc bICuCuCS, duu IudhC
the rows about fifteen to eighteen inches
apart, planting in the same way as in trenches,
and the plants can then be billed up like
potatoes, or earthed up by placing boards on
each side of them and filling up with dry soil.
Select cloudy, rainy day for setting out the
plants, and puddle their roots in pan OF
mud, so that they will he well coated with it.,
and transplanting will iDjure them as little as
possible. Water them literally when they
are set out, and shade them with old news
papers or bits of Competing for the first two
or three days of sunshine.
They should also be well watered twice a
week, until well established. July is the
best time to prepare beds or trenches, and ii
can be done some days before the plants are
set out. It is not good plan to commence
the blanching process too soon, but let the
plants make a strong, vigorous growth of al
least twelve or fifteen inches, and then put
only a few inches of perfectly dry earth about
the roots to begin with, and repeat this two
or three times at intervals of ten days each.
But the earthing up should be done at two
or three distinct operations, and when the
day is warm and dry, for if moist earth is ap-
piled to the stalks it causes them to rust, i. e
to be covered with small reddish spots which
detract from their market value. Before you
earth up decidedly, it is well to tie up the
stalks of each plant loosely; as the work will
be facilitated by so doing, and it also prevents
the soil from reaching the crown of the
plants. The last earthing up should be done
about three weeks before the crop is ready fol
use, which will be late in October or early il
November. When the ground freezes slight
", dig up your roots carefully and place then
in large box filling them in with dry sand
and place in the cellar, and they will con
tinue to produce fresh shoots for weeks tt
come.