Celery seed

“ Nevertheless, the sorts that are held in high favour by growers of prize Celery are good in themselves when grown to a moderate size; it is the forcing system alone that deprives them of flavour. Yet another precaution may be needful to prevent a mishap. In a hot summer, Celery will sometimes ‘bolt’ or run up to flower, in which case it is worthless. This may be the fault of the cultivator more than of the seed or the weather, for a check in many cases hastens the flowering of plants, and it is not unusual for Celery to receive a check through mismanagement. ”

“ Endive and succory are blanched in the same manner, and mustard and cress only require sowing, as they are cut for salads while in their seed leaves. In France, lettuces are often cut for salads in their seed leaves like mustard and cress.
Celery requires a good deal of care in its culture. The seed must be sown in March or April, in a bed the soil of which is formed of equal parts of loam and rotten dung. When the young plants come up, they are transplanted into another bed of very rich soil, and when they are about a foot high they are removed into trenches for blanching. ”

“ During the first few days a moist cloth may be spread over the surface of the seed bed in order to conserve the moisture, but this covering should be removed before the seedlings begin to appear. After the plants are up, care should be taken not to water too heavily, as the seedlings are liable to "damp off"; but the ground should never become so dry as to check their growth. Celery requires the most water while making its greatest growth, which occurs late in the summer. ”

“ Such fine seeds are rarely watered directly, as even the most careful treatment would be likely to dislodge them. The soil is usually well watered before the seeds are sown, or moisture may be supplied by inserting the pot in water nearly to its rim for a few moments. If water is applied from a hose, a thin cloth should first be spread on the soil to hold it. Celery seeds, in out-door beds, are often sown upon a nicely prepared surface and are then pressed in by means of the feet or a board. ”

“ Judging from all I have heard thinning apples must be something new in this part of the country.
Aug. 5.—Now that the celery is banked up and blanching properly I feel like expressing surprise that more farmers do not raise this excellent vegetable. It is easy to raise—the proof being that I can raise it. Every year we have had better [Pg 221] luck with the celery than with anything else in the garden. We sow the seed in the spring when the ground is warm, transplant early in August, and then keep the ground clean. An hour's work each week sufficed to care for five hundred plants. ”

“ CULTURE OF CELERY. We know of no vegetable which requires more care and skill in its cultivation, from beginning to end, than celery. An inexperiened hand will be apt to fail in planting his seed, fail in preparing the trenches, and fail in earthing up the plants and bleaching them. And yet, celery is so generally a favorite that every family desires it, and every gardener is willing to cultivate it. ”

“ The other method is called the "new celery culture," and in it the plants are set in beds eight inches apart each way (ten or twelve inches for large varieties) , the idea being to make the tops of the plants supply the shade for the blanching. This method has two disadvantages: it requires extra heavy manuring and preparation of soil, and plenty of moisture; and even with this aid the stalks never attain the size of those grown in rows. The early crop should be ready in August. The quality is never so good as that of the later crops.
For the main or winter crop, sow the seed about April 1st. ”

“ When transplanting twice is practiced there is no necessity for thinning, and a more uniform lot of plants is obtained. Two handlings can not be recommended when celery is grown on a large scale, as the cost of labor is too great. It is better to have a surplus of plants and to renew those that fail.
Watering.—When the seed bed is prepared, the soil of which it is composed should contain as much moisture as possible and yet be in good condition to handle. After sowing and covering the seeds the bed should be sprinkled lightly. ”

“ For blight, kainit is recommended, both in the seed-bed and open field. For rust, the Bordeaux mixture is advised. Hollow-stemmed or pithy celery is the result of poor stock or improper soil, and can be avoided by the use of more manure and more water.
New Process.—The method of growing celery in highly enriched soil, with plants set 6 or 8 inches apart both ways, is quite feasible. The plants stand so close as to blanch each other to some extent, but the system has never attracted general favor. A great deal of water is required. Cultivation is possible only when the plants are small. ”

“ Land may be prevented from baking over the seeds by scattering a very thin layer of fine litter, as chaff, or of sifted moss or mold, over the row. A board is sometimes laid on the row to retain the moisture, but it must be lifted gradually just as soon as the plants begin to break the ground, or the plants will be greatly injured. Whenever practicable, seed-beds of celery and other slow-germinating seeds should be shaded. If the beds are watered, be careful that the soil is not packed by the force of the water or baked by the sun. ”

“ Celery plants should be set about six inches apart in the trench. First cut them back; that is, cut off about one quarter of the root and one-third of the top. This cutting back increases the spread of root-growth later and decreases the amount of respiration of water from the leaves. The top alone grows more stocky and bulky.
Firm the plants well. That is, press the soil firmly about the roots and stalk. When the plant has received its growth it must be blanched. This process not only whitens celery, but also takes the bitter taste out of it. ”

“ For the private grower, it is much easier to blanch the celery with boards or paper, or if the celery is not wanted until winter, the plants may be dug up, packed closely in boxes, covering the roots with soil, and placed in a dark, cool cellar, where the stalks will blanch themselves. In this way celery may be stored in boxes in the house cellar. Put earth in the bottom of a deep box, and plant the celery in it. ”

“ Celery is everywhere esteemed, not only as a salad, but as a wholesome and delicious vegetable. The crop requires the very best of cultivation, and care should be taken not to push the growth too far, for the gigantic Celery occasionally seen at Shows has, generally speaking, the quality of size only, being tough and tasteless. ”

“ As a salad plant, celery, especially if at all “stringy,” is difficult of digestion. Both blanched and green it is stewed and used in soups, the seeds also being used as a flavouring ingredient. In the south of Europe celery is seldom blanched, but is much used in its natural condition.
Celeriac, or turnip-rooted celery (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum) , is a variety cultivated more on account of its roots than for the stalks, although both are edible and are used for salads and in soups. It is chiefly grown in the north of Europe. ”

“ Wild celery greatly resembles the celery in our gardens, only that the leaves are of a deeper green; the flowers, as in ours, stand in small tufts at the top of the branches, and are white. It grows plentifully near the beach, generally on soil which is just above the spring tides, and is not easily mistaken, as the taste resembles celery or parsley, or rather is between both. ”

“ The stalks are set upright in the trench, with all decayed or worthless leaves removed, as closely as they will stand, without soil between them. To keep them in that condition is purely a matter of care. If they are buried deeply and the weather proves warm they will rot. But if the covering be decreased in warm weather and increased in cold weather, the celery can be kept in perfect condition. In private gardens celery is often planted in double rows, a foot apart, and wintered where it grows by covering deeply with soil. ”

“ There is some blanching of celery with boards, cloth wrappings, boot-legs, old tiles, sewer pipes, etc., in market gardens in different parts of the State, but the great commercial product of celery for export is blanched wholly by piling the light, dry earth against the growing plant. As we do not have rains during the growing season and as the soil on which celery is chiefly grown is particularly coarse in its texture, there is no rusting or staining from this method of blanching. It shakes out clean and bright. ”

“ If you understand how the single seedbox of the cherry blossom turns into the cherry fruit, then you understand how the same thing happens with the single seedboxes of the plum and the peach blossom.
You know that in the flowers of the pear and the apple there were several of these pins without dust boxes; and although these were joined below into a single seedbox, this had separate compartments for the many seeds.
But the single seedboxes of the cherry, the plum, and the peach, have but one hollow. Usually in this hollow we find only one seed. ”

“ To insure fine Celery the cultivator must be in advance of events rather than lag behind them. Plenty of manure must be used; it is scarcely possible, in fact, to employ too much, and liberality is not waste, because the ground will be in capital condition for the next crop. There are many modes of planting Celery, but the simplest is to make the trenches four feet apart and a foot and a half wide, and put the plants six to nine inches apart, according to the sorts. ”

“ For instance, if you take a chestnut, it grows in a burr with sharp thorny points; others are folded as though rolled up very tightly in leaves, as you will find in the hazel nut or filbert. Some seeds grow in rows, like beans and peas in a pod. Some grow in a very soft bed, like cotton seeds. Some grow imbedded in a downy substance [180] which blows all around, carrying the seed with it, like the thistle, and the light fuzz of the dandelion. Sometimes the seed is buried in the inside of fruit, as in the case of apples, pears, peaches, plums, and various other kinds of fruit. ”

“ The Oenanthe is perennial, and has a large root, which on being cut is observed to be full of juice, which exudes in form of globules. The celery, on the contrary, has roots in general much smaller, particularly when in a wild state.
The leaves of celery have somewhat the same flavour, but are smaller; the nerves on the lobes of the leaves are also very prominent, and somewhat more pointed.
When the two plants are in bloom, a more conspicuous difference is apparent in the involucrum and seeds, the character of which should be consulted. ”

“ The plant is hardy, and is largely cultivated in the United States, Canada and Europe. In cultivation, however, abundant nutrition has greatly mollified its properties, and two principal forms have arisen. The first sort is the common celery, where the familiar long blanched succulent stalks are produced by transplanting the seedlings into richly manured trenches, which are filled up as the plants grow, and finally raised into ridges over which little more than the tops of the leaves appear ”

“ The smooth seeds they do not eat, but cast them out of their nests after using the part they like; after being rejected the seed may stand a chance to germinate. The seeds cannot be carried so well unless this ridge, caruncle, be present. Other seeds of this nature are those of wild ginger, celandine, cyclamen, violet, periwinkle, some euphorbias, bellwort, trillium, prickly poppy, dutchman's breeches, squirrel-corn, several species of Corydalis, Seneca snakeroot, and other species of milkworts. ”

“ ORIGIN OF CELERY.—In the marshes and ditches of this country there is to be found a very common plant, known by the name of Smallage. This is the wild form of celery; but, by being subjected to cultivation, it loses its acrid nature, and becomes mild and sweet. In its natural state, it has a peculiar rank, coarse taste and smell, and its root was reckoned by the ancients as one of the "five greater aperient roots." ”

“ A large-sized, vigorous-growing variety; in good soils, often attaining a height of nearly three feet. The stalks are solid; flat at the base, where they overlap, and form a compact, crisp, and, with ordinary care, a well-blanched heart of excellent quality. It succeeds best, as most other sorts do, in rich, [Pg 329] moist soil; and when so grown, and properly blanched, will yield a large proportion of Celery, of a pure white color, and of the best quality. ”

“ Where, however, the vegetable is cultivated for the sake of its flower, or its fruit, it is sometimes better to select old seed. Thus balsamines (the touch-me-not) and the cucumber, squash and melon tribe do better on seeds three or four years old; for fresh seeds produce plants whose growth will be too luxuriant for producing fruit; whereas from old seed, the plants have less vigor of growth but a greater tendency to fruit well. ”

“ Storing.—The plan usually adopted where but a small quantity of celery is to be stored for winter use is to bank up with earth and cover the plants where grown. Place enough earth around the base of the plants to hold them in good form, and then allow them to remain without any further banking as long as there is not danger of a hard frost. Celery may be safely stored in cellars provided the temperature is kept low and plenty of ventilation maintained. The warmth and dampness of the ordinary cellar have a tendency to cause the celery to decay, but these conditions can frequently be overcome. ”