SUBSTITUTE FOR CELERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20374, 1 October 1929, Page 14

SUBSTITUTE FOR CELERY.

USE FOR CELERIAC.

There arc quito a number of gardeners who consider celery toojnuch bother to [rj-ow but yet ure very fond of it, either as a salad or as a vegetable. To those 11io writer has no hesitation in recommending celeriac as a substitute. Celeriac, or the turnip-iooted celery, has a flavour very similar to that of tho coinmou celery when cooked, and it may also bo used for flavouring soups and stews. Tho culture of celeriac right from the start is much easier than tho fairly elaborate treatment that one has to mete out to tho celery for it to bo successful. Tho turnip-rooted celery requires a fairly rich soil, but when the ground is in a suitable condition it requires very little preparation. Provided tho soil is sufficiently enriched with plant food its preparation need not consist of more than a good digging and subsequent tillago as may bo necessary to bring tho soil into a fino friablo condition. If it is thought that tho ground is inclined to bo poor it will be necessary to incifrporatc some material such as stablo manure or compost in order to provide tho requisite quantity of plant food. In tho event of there being no such material for working in ono may use blood and _ bone or a mixture of sulphate of ammonia and bonedust in equal parts, at the rato of 21oz. per square yard. Tho seed may be sown at any time during tho coming month, and preparations should be put in hand in good time so that tho sowing will not bo late. If ono likes tho seed may be sown in a tray before tho preparations are commeiiiced so that tho seedlings are practically ready for transplanting by the time "the plot has been made ready to receive them. The seed-trav should be covered with glass and placed in a warm position. Where gardeners "requently raise seedlings it is a good plan to have a bench on which to placo tho seed boxes. When the seedlings aro largo enough to be handled with ease they may bo pricked off into boxes of good soil, spacing them about 2in apart. Somo people allow their seedlings—not only celeriac but others that aro being raised in boxes —to grow on in tho original seed-tray, but this is a mistake. Plain soil is used in tho seed-tray and this does not contain enough nutriment to push tho seedlings ahead quickly enough. By giving them better soil and more space in tho trays in which they are pricked out the plants will develop into better specimens in a shorter time. Tho celeriac seedlings will bo ready for planting out when they are about 6in. high. Whero the seed is to bo sown directly in tho open ground tho surface should bo raked level and shallow drills formec! about 15in. apart. The seed should bo sown fairly thinly and when tho seedlings aro about 2in. high they should bo thinned out to about half their final distances, i.e., about 4in. apart. . Abundant moisture must be maintained right through the period oi growth of this crop and artificial applications will probably bo required during the summer. Liquid manuring will also have to be carried out, fo:. - no matter how well tho ground was prepared beforehand celeriac will ho benefited by_ these applications. Any animal manure is suitable for making into a solution, and tho manuring may be carried out about once a fortnight with weak solutions. If ordinary strengths are used an application onco a month will bo sufficient. Tho edible portion of the celeriac is not tho foliage or stalks, as in the case of celery, but is the swollen root like the turnip. Instead of the roots being under the ground, however, they should be grown above the surface and the soil should be kept, oi? them while they are developing. It is best to keep tho roots more or less completely uncovered, and toward the end of their development it is particularly advantageous to ke.?p the soil well away from tho plants. _ Tho exposure to air and sunlight in this way will assist the growth and the maturing of the roots. To produce roots of nice shape it is necessary to remove all side growths as socn as they commence to develop. On reaching maturity the plants should have all but the latest leaves removed, but this should not be done until growth has ceased. It is the usual practice to lift the matured and store them in dry sand, but they will not deteriorate much through being left in the ground provided it is in good physical condition. If they are left in the soil they should be earthed up completely aftor being partially defoliated, as mentioned above. If the season is wet and it is noticed that tho celeriac is beginning to deteriorate tho remaining roots should bo lifted without delay. ROUTINE GARDEN WORK. FAVOURABLE WEATHER. The weather for tho past two or three weeks has benn practically all that could be desired and gardeners have been ablo to iriako good progress with tho spring programme. It is as well to got tho crops in tho ground early except in cases whero they aro subject to frostbite or requiro greater worrath than there is in the sun's rays at present. Seasonable plantings include cabbages, cauliflowers, onions, lettuce, silver beet, New Zealand spinach, and beetroot. Sowings which may be made ab the present include carrots, parsnips, turnips, beetroot, onions, cabbage, leeks, lettuce, poas, mustard, cress, radish, asparagus, broad beans, salsify, scorzoricra, tomatoes and rhubarb.

Tho thinninp of crops already sown should be earned out as it becomes necessary. In tho groat majority of cases tho thinnings aro ol: no use, but there aro somo which may bo utilised to good purpose. Among these is tho beetroot, the thinnings of which may he planted out. Thi3 is the only root crop which may bo transplanted successfully, with tho exception of perhaps ono or two of the less common root crops.

Tomato plants which have been pricked off as previously advised should bo growing well now and will soon be ready for planting out. Ono should endeavour to produce the sturdiest specimens possiblo as-tho hardier plants aro the more easily will they transplant without being given a check. Tho plants may bo. grown under glass until they aro about 4in. high, when they should bo put in tho open to harden, being covered over on any night which might develop into a frost. When tho plants aro Bin. high thoy will bo as sturdy as young trees and big enough to plant out.

Berl3 of winter rhubarb should now be yielding abundantly. In pulling rhubarb it should ha remembered that n knife is not used, and the required produce should bo obtained from several plants 50 that no .siriglo plant is practically stripped. Tf tho i)°d is backward a dressing of Hoz. of nitrate of soda per square yard may be given and watered in. Cow or fowl manure spread between the plants will also be useful.

In connection with tho Irish blight o f potatoes—and tomatoes later iu tho season—it' is very useful to pick' off any affected leaves, an this checks tho spread of the disease The thread-liko mycelium spreads in the interior of the leaf at a rapid rato and its effect makes tho spread of the disease visible. To be on the safe side, one should pick off tho blighted leaves at least an inch away from the edge of the blighted patch. Besides checking the spread of tho disease in this tho removal of blighted leaves is helpful in another way. On examining a leaf affected by the blight one will notice around the edge of tho patch on tho under side of the leaf, a light-coloured down. I his downy appearance is due to tho spore-producing hyphae, which mature and liberate spores, as the mycelium extends in the leaf. To curtail the spread of the blight will, then., curtail also the liberation of thousands of dangerous spores.