The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-02-22
PR0F|T|N CELERY GROWING
SHOULD BE STARTED IN SEED
BED AND TRANsPLANTED.
Horticulture, University
OF Missouri.

Celery is prohtably grown only on
very rich soil. 4 deep rich mellow
loan Is best Almost any good farm
land will produce good celery is hcav-
lily MANFRED. II land Is thin or sterile
TO begin with, season or two of prep.
aration will be required to get 1t into
shape for celery growing This pre-.
vious preparation consists of deep
blowing, and even subsoiling where
necessary. together with abundant
manurng II fresh manure is used,
II should be plowed in to allow 1t to
become thoroughly Incorporated with
the soil II old well rotted manure is
available, it may be applied annually.
Celery should be started in seed
bed and twice transported. The seed
should be sown in February for n
very early crop or in March for a
winter crop
The best early varieties are the
White Plume and Self Blanching.
Good winter varieties are Golden
Heart and Giant Pascal The seeds
are slow to terminate They should
be started in a prepared soil in a hot.
bed or forcing house. They are tiny
seeds, and should not be sown deep.
1t is perhaps best to SOW them on top
OF the prepared soil and cover them
with Il quarter of an inch OF sand.
When the young plants are well up
and putting out the third leaf they
should he tranRplanted in prepared
bed or cold frame, four inches apart
each way At this transplanting they
may be- set deep enough SO that the
seed leaves will come just above the
surface of the ground. Here they
should be wntered AS necessary and
all weeds kept down until they are
ready to go into the field
In order to keep them short and
stocky, il is best to clip the leaves
back every few weeks.
For All early crop. celery should be
transplanted to the field in late June
or July. For winter use IL may be
put into the field in August.
The most economical arrangement
In planting field Is to plant three
or FIVE rows in a strip, the rows being
seven inches apart, and the plants
seven inches apart in the rows. Then
vacant space OF at least eight feet
should be- reserved and another three
to five rows of the plants set. The
open eight feet of ground between
the belts OF celery rows is for the
purpose OF getting sufficient soil for
blanching it later on. Transplanting
will be more successful II done in
cloudy weather, and especially Just
before a rain. When the leaves OF the
plants are six inches long, they Will
be large enough for the earthing up
and blanching to begin. The leaves
OF the plant should be gathered up.
right into straight bundle, Soil
should be gathered around and in be-
tween the plants until the leaves are
covered within few inches OF their
tips Only the upper ends of tho
leaves should be left exposed to the
sun above the rdgcd soil Care
should be taken not to get the soil
into the heart of the celery, as it may
rot II. As the leaves increase In
length few inches, additional soil
should be again banked around them.
This repeated earthing up should be
performed until growth ceases upon
the approach OF cold weather. When
ever earth Is banked up around the
celery. care should be taken to leave
II In such form that il will shed
water. If the cmbankment Is left
low In the middle, rains may get down
into the hearts OF the plants and
cause them to rot,
In order that the celery may stand
rs late as possible for winter, the tops
Of the leaves should be covered with
straw I'm cool times to prevent injury
from frost There are several ways
to keep the celery from freezing for
winter use One Is to leave plants in
the soil embankmcnt where they
grew, mulchinE the tops with sum-
cicnt soil and straw to protect them
from frost. Another way is to pack
the celery plants into boxes and Keep
them In n cool cellar. Two or three
inches of soil should be placed in the
bottom Of the boxes The plants may
then be dug up with their root syS'
tens intact. and their roots set In tho
soil in the bottoms OF the boxes, so
the plants will stand upright aud
close together. filling the boxes.
II large quantities are to be stored
the plants may be set in three inches
Of soil directly on the cellar bottom.
Another successful way il to set tho
celery in small celery house pro-
yded for the purpose. a good celery
house may be made as follows; Make
roof-like structure five feet wide on
the ground with \ shaped double
rafters coming together four i'"t
above the ground at the center. TINS
may be boarded up on the outside
forming roof or protection Each
upper board should have its lower
edge overlap the upper edge OF the
board below It. This forms tight
roof over the celery which will pro-
tact u from the rains The soil may