Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-08-01
GROWING CELERY
FOR HOME USE
Paper on Subject Read by s. f.
Brickner Before Meeting Win.
neshiek County HOrticul.
tural Society.
SOME FINE CELERY
RAISED HERE
Seed Should be Planted i'm Small Box
During Last of February or
First of March. Dirt Sifted
Fine.

Fine.
In my estimation celery grown in
abundance in the garden furnishes
one of the most generally desired all
year around delicious relishes of all
vegetables. All vegetables are a
valuable class of food on account OF
their refreshing and palatable quan.
titles more than for their total nutri.
tive value. Many vegeta bles, in spite
Of their sold appearance, contain a
larger proportion of water than does
milk. Their value in the diet, there
fore, and they have decided value,
lies not in any large quantity of nu-
trents but in small quantities of spe-
cial materials which they provide, and
the bulk which they give the diet,
and also in their appetizing qualities,
their flavor AID appearance, and the
variety which they make possible.
From S5 to 95 per cent of their weight
is made up Of water. Thee ma
terials are protein, fat. carbohy-
drates, and minerals.
l do not recalt another single pro-
duet of the garden that can be used
in so many different ways on the table
as celery. 1t may be eaten raw or
stewed in the vegetable soup. 1t may
be cut up fine and he the most valua-
BILE part of fruit salad, or ground
to a powder and reduced with salt,
called celery salt, and the leaves
make nice garnish' for the meat
ldish or valuable addition to the
bouquet. My choice of variety for
10 small patch for home use is the ear
~ self branching kind.
The seed should be planted in a
small box the last days of February
or first Of March. The dirt should
be sifted fine and we'll moistened. The
seeds are very small and should be
covered not more than one-eighth of
an inch. prefer to cover the dirt
with a thin cloth for about 3 days af-
ter planting so as not to wash the
seed out of the soil when watering,
for fine sifted soil wilr wash easily
until it becomes thoroughly soaked
and settled together again.
| When the plants get about one inch
tall I pick them out and set in flats
about one inch apart each way. like
a fiat or box about Is inches wide,
2 feet long and 3 inches deep. Good
rich soil or compost should be used
in the fats and sifted through a
screen sitter as fine as the screen used
on our screen doors. At first thought
one would think that transplanting
from seed box to the fats would be a
long tiresome task. But If the foi-
lowing method is followed, 1t would
be found to be a pleasant and inter-
esting diversion.
Put 2 inches of compost in one Of
the three i1ch flats and thoroughly
soak with water, not to make mud
of it but sufficient water to cause it
to be somewhat compact. Then set
the fiat up on one edge as near per-
pendicular as you can and not allow
the dirt to run to the lower side. You
will be able to get it up to about As
degrees. Now put in bank OF sifted
dirt on this lower edge Of the fiat
about l inch high and 1 inch wide.
This can be done by using small
block with square edges and corners.
Then take the Seeding box, pick out
the little thread-like plants and lay
them on this bank of dirt just made,
about one inch apart, Cover these
plants by forming another bank next
to them Just as you made the first
bank to lay the plants on. Continue
thds process till the fiat is full, you
win then have is rows with "a plants
in a row or $50 plants In your nat.
And $50 plants will furnish all the
celery one family can use. This fiat
of plants can be kept in a cold frame
IL you have one or kept in the house
aad handled the same as we all han
die our early tomato plants until all
danger of frost is past, then they
should be transplanted to the garden.
They will be somewhere in the
Ineighborhood Of 4 inches high at the
time Of planting in the garden. Each
plant by this time will have Won
derful root system. They will have
a great number Of long, fine, fberous
roots interviewer with each other so
las to form a perfect mat In the dirt,
and this large root system 80 much
needed whom the plants are set in
1.-The garden. is brought about BY the