The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-05-31
IWITH I HE FARMERS
By Prof. w. #. MASSEY

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shohld have said. must have notches
cut six inches apart This Will make
eleven notchcs. beginning six. inches
from the ends Having the line
stretched. begin at one end by setting
the planting board accurately square
with the line. Set plant at each
notch on both sides. Then move tho
board to correspond with the last set
row and get another row of eleven
plants and SO on till the whole bed
Is set. The plants then will be in
rows across the bed foot apart and
six inches IN the rows.
The Cultivation.
II grown on a large scale, the beds
should he eight feet apart to allow
space between them. that is kept
plowed fine, for earthing the celery.
After the bed is set the clean cuItiva-
ton must be done by hand and the
weeds kept down. Nitrate of soda is
sprinkled between the rows 10 en-
courage rapid growth. Never work
or handle celery plants when wet with
rain or dew, and If irrigation is pos
siole, all the better. for celery likes
plenty of water. Later on, as the
plants grow large and the outer leaves
are inclined to fall over, comes hand
ling up.
This is done to put the plants into
an upright shape so that the later
earthing can be more easily done.
FOR the handling up 1 use two stout
cords with a peg tied to each end.
sticking peg at the end of the first
row. take turn sof The cord around
each plant in the row and stick the
other peg at the farther end Treat
the second row in the same way
Now shovel in the earth between these
rows and pack it closely to the plants
to hold the leaves erect. Treat row
after row in the same way. till the
whole , bed has been packed erect in
this way.
Earthing Up.
Do not begin the earth!ne for
nlanching till the nights get cool.
generally in October. Then when the
plants are dry begin to shovel the soil
In between the rows, carrying It up
six inches outside the ends Of the rows
thus making the bed fully six feet
VIDE. Put In soil enough to Just
ieaVe the growing central bud above
the SOIL. and take care to get no earth
into the heart of the plants. Con-
tinue this earthing as they grow
above the last one until the weather
promises to get into the freezing
November. Then, just before hard
freezing Is threatened, cover the entire
ped thickly with earth. and then
cover 1t all over with straw or nine
leaves or forest leaves of any sort
and put on top old bean, poles or corn
stalks to prevent the leaves blowing
Off 3
The celery can now be dug at any
.lHe as wanted, and will keep we'll
blanched. 1t will be far more cr,sn
ana good than that shipped in here
that has been lifted and stored
Varieties of Celery.
The Kalamazoo growers, who produce
'heir celery on black swamp muck
soil on which the best celery cannot
ne grown, plant In rows the self
oianchinE sorts. and as 7 have said
that sort of soil will not make tho hest
celery. though it is large and snowy.
they plant as 1 have described and
&c. .neir SNOWY celery early in the
summer and fall, but as every one who
mas tried 1t knows. 1t Is stringy stuff.
And have always found that the self
planchinE sorts are never as brittle
and crisp rs those in a clay soil and
blanched with earth. While we can
NOT grow the early celery in the South,
we can certainly, by using the green
sorts and blanching them with earth.
grow far better quality than any
shipped in here
The great market growers of celery
In the far North and the far South
grow the self-blanching sorts in rows.
But for the Baltimore bed method the
dwarfer celeries are far better. The
best celery for bed culture / have tried
Is the Boston market. This is a dwarf
growing plant that makes great many
tender offshoots after earthing, and is
better for home use than the sorts
grown for market The Scandinavian
Is also good sort, and Meishe's Green
is also good Giant Pascal is good. but
rather tall growing for the bed method
OF the self-blanching sorts the Golden
self blanching, from French seed. is
best. In Tact I would always use
French celery seed as 1t gives more
solid and crisp stalks than American
grown, which is apt TO be hollow.
Growing Asparagus.
1t is little odd that people put off
their queries so late in the season.
Now, have before me a letter asking
for n bulletin on the culture of aspar.
agus, as the writer seems to think that
am still associated with an expert
ment station 1t is rather late TO give
directions about asparagus culture for
this season. But 1 suppose they will
keep.
The Common Method.
The general method Of growing as
paragus is to plant the roots that have
been grown in nursery rows "A year or
two. Many people think they can gain
time by planting two-year.old roots
but II you plant roots at all never plant
them more than one year old
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