Growing Celery in the Home Garden

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 89, Issue 5, 15 November 1954, Page 497

Growing Celery in the Home Garden

CELERY [Apium graveolens] is a native of the marshy places of Europe being known in its wild state as smallage. The only references to its early production seem to be in connection with its use as a medicine. In its wild form it has a spreading habit and a bitter, pungent flavour and odour. The first cultivated plants differed very little from the wild form and most of the early varieties tended to be hollow stemmed. By careful selection and breeding this fault has been almost eliminated. Celery, a biennial of the same family as the carrot, parsnip, and parsley, though a fairly exacting crop, is so popular that it should be grown in all home gardens where suitable conditions can be provided for satisfactory development of the crop. Culture of celery in the home garden is described by S. O. Gillard, Horticultural Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Auckland, in the first part of this article. The section on routine garden work for December is by W. G. Crawford, Horticultural Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Oamaru.

AT first cultivated celery was not blanched or eaten raw, but was used mainly in soups and stews and was thought by many to have slight medicinal properties. It has since become one of the most delicate and delightful of fresh vegetables and is valued for its distinctive flavour and crisp texture. Celeriac (Apium graveolens— variety Mrge turnimlike Tndsmall leaf stems’ This P tyS is sSitabl? •for cookiSe rna’inlv yPe S sultable tor cooking 7, . ’ ' , Celery may be grown on practically any soil type, except the heavier clays; by the addition of organic matter and fertilisers even a moderate clay loam can be made to produce a good crop for home use. Ideal conditions for celery production include an adequate supply of

moisture in a well-drained soil, a relatively cool growing season, especially cool nights, and days of bright sunshine. Owing to its moisture requirements, its production is restricted to regions where rainfall is abundant or where provision can be made for watering. Varieties In general there are two types, the green (white if blanched) and the golden or self-blanching type. The former, though not grown to the same extent as the golden type, is hardier and of superior flavour. ~ , , , . - . J , Golden Self-blanching is a stocky, very heavy, perfectly solid variety with a splendid flavour. This is the variety mainly grown by commercial growers. Golden Supreme is a new develop-

ment in the Golden Self-blanching class, with long stems of good flavour, White Plume is an early variety of good flavour and is easy to blanch, T* 1 ? leaves white, but are ne # W 1 green a e ips. Solid White is an excellent late variety which is very hardy. The luoXpl quality 7 blanch Sl ° Wly and are ° f g °° d qUallty * C u i> ur p U Ur In districts except South Otago, where the latest planting should be made in January, plants can be set out in the garden from December to the end of February. Most home gardeners will prefer to purchase plants from seedsmen rather than raise them from seed, but those with a cold frame or small glasshouse can raise plants satisfactorily. Raising Plants from Seed Where plants are In be raised seed should be sown about 10 weeks before the plants are required for setting out in . the garden. Seed should be sown fairly thicklyabout a level teaspoon to a tray (a shallow box approximately 24in. x 12in. x 3in., with several L

small holes in the bottom for drainage) filled to within jin. of the top with fine, moderately rich soil. The seed should be covered very thinly by a sprinkling of fine soil, which should be firmed with a flat piece of board. It is an advantage to cover the trays with paper for the first few days, but the paper must be removed at the first sign of the seed germinating. Seedlings should appear in 1 to 2 weeks and during this period the seed box should be kept moist by careful watering. Weeds should be removed as they appear.

When seedlings are large enough to handle, usually about 3 weeks after they emerge, they should be pricked out 2in. apart each way into seedling boxes. Soil compost for the seedling trays is prepared by mixing together 2 parte of good loam, 1 part of wellrotted animal manure or compost, and 1 part of sand to which has been added a sprinkling of carbonate of lime and superphosphate.

Four to six weeks after pricking out, plants should have made sufficient root growth to enable them, when cut out of the trays in squares, to hold the attached soil. They are then ready for planting out. If they are carefully planted, very little check to growth should occur. The most common mistake that the home gardener makes with celery is failure to allow enough time for growing the plants. It requires 10 to 12 weeks to grow good celery plants such as those shown in the illustration at right.

With very early planting, when soil temperatures are often not above 50 degrees F. for 2 weeks or more after planting (favourable soil temperatures are about 60 to 65 degrees), there is a tendency for the plants to run to seed. This does not always occur if a period of higher temperatures follows before seed-head development starts. However, seed sowing should be timed so that the plants will be ready for planting out after danger of prolonged cold, wet weather is past.

Lime Celery, like most vegetable crops, prefers soils that are only slightly acid, and soils that have had no lime for a number of years usually benefit from a dressing of about 4oz. to Boz. of carbonate of lime a square yard. Soil Preparation For the production of celery in the home garden, organic manures such as well-rotted farmyard manure, poultry manure, or compost give best results. This type of manure not only supplies plant food for growing the crop, but improves the physical condition of the soil by the addition of humus. Where farmyard manure or good compost is unprocurable it will be necessary to depend on commercial fertilisers, of which a suitable mixture is blood and bone, 2 parts by weight; superphosphate, 1 part; and sulphate of potash, 1/6 part. If fresh farmyard manure is used, it should be dug in several weeks before planting. The fertiliser or wellrotted organic manure ■ can be worked into the soil just before planting. It can be spread over the whole area or placed in a band under the plant rows. Unless the soil is very fertile plenty of plant food is required; for instance, a 25ft. row of celery requires about one wheelbarrow load of well-rotted farmyard manure and lib. of mixed fertiliser. If only commercial fertilisers are used, these should be broadcast at not less than lib. per square yard or applied in a band (strip of soil 12in. wide) at not less than 21b. to 25ft. of row.

Planting The seedlings should be watered thoroughly before they are set out in prepared beds or trenches. Trenches are preferable where conditions are dry, as beds are usually more difficult to water. For trenches (20in. wide) the plants are set in double rows Ift. apart, allowing Bin. between the plants in the rows. Trenches should be shallow, except where it is intended to earth up the plants later for blanching. For early or late crops, plants can be set out on level or slightly raised beds in which are planted 4 or 6 rows 12in. apart with Bin. between the plants in the rows. •Celery plants wilt readily when first set out if conditions are hot and sunny and establish better if planted on a cloudy day and watered to set the soil around the roots. If the plants are large, it is a good practice to cut off the outer leaves about 4in. from their bases before plants are set out. Celery requires a regular supply of moisture during growth. As it is very shallow rooting (many of the roots are within 2in. or 3in. of the surface), cultivation should be shallow. Mulching Mulching the celery row immediately after the plants have been set out will aid materially in conserving moisture and in protecting the roots from the heat of the sun. Fresh manure containing a quantity of short straw is perhaps the best material to use as a mulch, but well-rotted manure or compost is also suitable and stimulates the growth of the celery.

Blanching Though it is not essential to blanch celery, most people prefer blanched stalks. Blanching should be started when the plants have attained a usable size. It is done by excluding the sun from the stalks, thus preventing the formation of chlorophyll (the green colouring matter) in the plant cells.

As plants that have been fully blanched retain their good quality for a short period, only a few plants should be blanched at a time. In this way a continuous supply of blanched stalks is maintained,. If it is intended to harvest the crop over a long period, blanching can begin when the plants are about half to two-thirds grown.

The easiest method of blanching is to surround each bed with lOin. or 12in. wide boards. The boards are laid flat on either side, the inside edges pressed against the plants, and the boards then raised to vertical, thus bringing up all the outside leaves. The boards are kept in position by short stakes driven in on the outsides of them. Another method is to cut sections of brown wrapping paper and to wrap each plant separately, leaving only the tops of the plants exposed. The paper should be passed around the celery plant three or four times and fastened by rubber bands.

When trench planting is practised blanching is usually done by drawing the soil up to the plants, care being taken that none falls into the hearts

of the plants. If the soil is left around the plants too long, the crop is likely to lack the true celery flavour. Rots often develop in soil-blanched celery in hot weather and blanching by earthing up is therefore more satisfactory in cool districts or in late autumn. A good method of blanching celery for the home garden is to place ordinary drain tiles of about 4in. diameter over the plants after they are almost

fully grown. To facilitate, the placing of the tiles some of the outside leaves of the plants can be removed and the remainder loosely tied together with soft string. The tiles will cause the leaves of the plant to draw up above the top and form a screen which will exclude the light from the interior. When beds have been prepared for blanching by one of the methods already described they should be topdressed between the rows with nitrate

of soda at |oz. per square yard. The fertiliser should be watered in immediately. The nitrogen and the water cause the heart leaves and stems to grow rapidly. Harvesting Plants are harvested by being cut off just below the crowns, leaving the roots in the ground. The outer leaves are usually coarse, cracked, and of poor quality. For table use approximately half the stalks should be removed, only the best heart stalks being used raw, though the discarded stalks are quite suitable as a cooked vegetable or in soups and stews.

Diseases

There are several diseases which attack celery, but the following are the most common ones:—

Leaf spot (Septoria apii): This is one of the most important diseases of celery and occurs throughout New Zealand. All the above-ground parts of plants may be affected. Unless the disease is controlled, plants may be stunted or become unusable. The first symptoms of this disease are small yellowish spots about -Jin. in diameter on the leaflets. As the spots enlarge the affected tissues turn brown and then nearly black. The edges of the spots are not clearly defined. The spots are also characterised by the presence of numerous black, granular bodies of pin-point size, which are the fruiting bodies of the fungus.

Control: An important factor in the successful control of septoria leaf spot is to clean up and destroy all trimmings from affected crops. Spraying the plants at 10-day intervals with Bordeaux mixture 3: 4: 50 (4oz. of bluestone and soz. of hydrated lime in 4 gallons of water) or with one of the Government - certified copper fungicides will give good control.

Bacterial soft rot (Erwinia carotovora): Soft rot sometimes causes heavy losses. The first symptoms are a water-soaked appearance and softening of the affected tissues. These areas soon turn brown and become very mushy, but the surface remains unbroken. The decay may affect the crown, the leaf stalks, or the leaflets. The rot develops rapidly under warm, humid conditions.

Control: Control measures include attention to garden hygiene and spraying the plants with Bordeaux mixture as for leaf spot.

Black heart or heart rot: The first symptoms are usually brown lesions on the outer margins of the young leaves in the centre of the plant. They may dry out brown or the browning may spread and darken until the heart of the plant is black. Secondary rots may follow.

Control: Attention should be given to hygiene, rotation of crops, balanced feeding, and watering. One cause of the trouble is extreme dryness followed by wetness and usually it is associated with the presence of too much nitrogenous fertiliser.

Cracked stem: The first symptom of this nutritional disorder is brittleness of the leaf stalks and brown longitudinal streaks in the ribs. Transverse cracks then appear over these streaks and the torn outer skin curls and peels backward from the cracks, giving the leaf stalks a roughened appearance. Though the cracks are shallow and narrow, they are usually so numerous that the stalks are unsightly.

Control: Cracked stem can be controlled by applying commercial borax at |oz. per square yard. It can be mixed with the fertiliser dressing used at planting time.

Insect Pests

Aphides (green fly): These are tiny, soft, green insects, usually very numerous, which cause wilting of the foliage and stunting of the growth of the plant.

Control: The following sprays are effective: Nicotine sulphate, 1 fl. oz. (7 teaspoons) in 4 gallons of water, to which 2oz. of soft soap or soap powder has been added; H.E.T.P., 4 teaspoons to 4 gallons of water; T.E.P.P., 2 teaspoons to 4 gallons of water.

Precautions

The following precautions should be observed when nicotine sulphate, H.E.T.P., or T.E.P.P. is used: —

1. Avoid contact of concentrate with skin or mouth; use rubber gloves if hands have open cuts.

2. Immediately wash off concentrate spilt on the skin, using soap and running water. After spraying cleanse all exposed parts in a similar manner.

3. Keep the insecticides out of reach of children.

4. Do not eat, drink, or smoke while spraying.

5. Inhalation of spray vapour may cause headaches and tightness of the chest; if this happens, spraying should cease and the area should be vacated.

Work for December

With the main holiday ) p e r i o d approaching, home gardeners should make every endeavour to do as much of the important gardening work as necessary early this month. This applies particularly to those who may be leaving home for 2 or 3 weeks, as there is nothing more discouraging than to come home to find the garden overgrown with weeds. This situation can be obviated largely by hoeing regularly between the rows of plants to destroy the weeds and young germinating seeds. Frequent hoeing, during the dry months is of the greatest assistance to plant growth. Shallow working of the ground' destroys weeds and germinating seeds and keeps the surface soil porous, so that rain or water applied artificially finds its way to the roots of the plants. Conscientious efforts with the hoe are often more remunerative in dry weather than is watering.

Watering How much water should be applied and how often watering should be done are difficult questions to answer,

because different plants do not require the same amount of moisture, some soils have a better natural capacity for retaining moisture than . have others, and effectiveness of watering will depend on whether a garden is exposed to winds or sheltered. The aim of every gardener should be a uniformly moist and porous soil. Soil taken from 2in. below the surface when squeezed should take the shape of the hand, but when hit with the finger should fall apart. This condition is usually referred to as a potting-stage condition. Where plants are not making the required amount of growth watering and feeding will often build up the constitution of the plant and give it more vitality. Liquid manures should always be used with discretion and after the soil has been watered. In the main use of them should be discontinued about 2 to 3 weeks before the harvesting period. Mulching around plants, particularly members of the cabbage family (brassicas), during dry spells will do much to keep the soil uniformly moist and improve the crop yield.

Winter Cr0 P s From the latter part of December to early January is the best time to plant out most of the important winter

brassicas,, To have success with these crops it is necessary to plant only varieties known to do well in the particular locality. If the ground is not already prepared for planting, this work should be pushed ahead as quickly as possible. As the crops come to maturity during winter, it is particularly important that the ground should be well drained. If the ground has not been limed, this should be done as early as possible. A suitable annual dressing for most gardens is Jib. of carbonate of lime per square yard for light soils and Jib. per square yard for heavy soils. Half these amounts is sufficient if burnt lime is used. Deeply dug land, provided the subsoil is not brought to the surface, is desirable for these winter crops. Sowings Beans: Both dwarf and climber beans can still be sown in most districts. Good varieties of climbers are

Fardenlosa and Market Wonder and of dwarf beans Canadian Wonder and Prince. Swedes: Swedes, which are a good winter vegetable, can be sown now. Superlative and Laings Wonder are favoured varieties for home gardens. Parsnips: These normally require a long growing season for satisfactory yields. In districts with a mild climate Hollow Crown can still be sown, but elsewhere Ox Heart, a more rapid growing variety, is preferred for December sowing. Carrots: In the North Island main crops may be sown this month. Recommended varieties are Chantenay and Manchester Table. Plantings Tomatoes: The season is getting late for the planting of tomatoes, but where early frosts are not likely Potentate, Moneymaker, and Carters Sunrise may still be planted. ——— : ft

Celery: Celery may be planted in well-manured beds. A good variety for setting out this month is Golden Self-blanching. Leeks: Leeks may be transplanted during this month or January. A good variety is Musselburgh. Winter Crops In the main December is looked on as being too early for the main transplanting of winter greens, January being preferred, but for those wishing to set-out plants now the following varieties are recommended:— Cabbage: Northland and Auckland— Hendersons Succession and Golden Acre. Other districts — Drumhead and Omega. Kale: Tall Green and Dwarf Green. Brussels sprouts: Fillbasket, Scrymgers Giant, and Exhibition. Broccoli: American Nos. 1,2, 3, and 4, which provide a continuity throughout winter, or Lily White, Veitches Self-protecting, and Late White.