A deep, well-cultivated soil is the best for this crop. In heavy soils that have not been deeply worked, the short-rooted kinds, such as Ox-heart, should be planted.
Cauliflower.—The cultivation of cauliflower is substantially the same as that of cabbage. It is a cool-weather crop, and not much success is likely to be obtained if attempts are made to mature it during hot weather. For this reason it is either planted early, or as late as possible consistent with the prospects of maturing the crop. It requires a light, rich soil. When the heads begin to form, it is advisable to bend the outside leaves over and fasten them in such a way that the head is shaded from the sun. Cauliflower is emphatically not a crop for the novice.
Celery.—There are two distinct kinds of celery—the so-called “self-blanching” varieties, and the green-leaf kinds. The former are the earliest to mature, but are not to be compared for flavor and tenderness with the latter.
Seed of the early kinds, of which White Plume is an example, is sown in February in a greenhouse or hotbed. The young plants should be transplanted once or twice, either in shallow boxes filled with earth or in the open ground, before the plants are set out where they are to mature, in May or June. Celery naturally forms a long “tap root” with few fibers. The object of the successive transplantings is to check this “tap root” and promote the formation of a mass of fibrous feeding-roots. The plants are placed in single or double rows thirty inches or three feet apart, and from four to six inches apart in the rows. When they attain sufficient size they are blanched by placing boards, a foot wide and as long as can conveniently be handled, on either side of the row. Other methods of blanching are by slipping a drain-pipe over each plant or by wrapping around them a collar made of stout paper and tying it in place with twine.
Seed of late celery is sown about the same time as the early kinds, or a few weeks later, and the procedure is the same up until planting-time, which is early in July. Late celery is of stronger growth than the early varieties and needs more room for its development. The plants should be set in rows three and a half to four feet apart, and six inches apart in the rows. In some sections it is customary to dig a trench six inches or more deep and plant the celery in this. By this means watering is facilitated, and it is easier to blanch the celery later on. This method is not advisable when the good soil is shallow, as it results in the roots being placed in the infertile subsoil. Blanching of late celery is usually effected by mounding the stalks with earth dug from between the rows. Two persons can most advantageously perform this operation, one holding the stalks together so that the soil does not fall into the heart, the other mounding up the soil and patting it into position with the back of a spade.
It is not worth while to attempt to grow celery unless a rich, moist soil is available.
Good varieties of “self-blanching” celery are White Plume and Golden Self-blanching. Among the best of the “green-leaf” kinds are Giant Pascal and Winter Queen. The latter variety has a splendid flavor and keeps well into the winter.
Chard.—One of the easiest to grow and most productive of the pot herbs is Swiss chard, “silver beet” or “leaf beet” as it is sometimes called. The seeds should be sown in rows about eighteen inches apart. When the plants are about four inches high they can be thinned so as to stand six inches apart and the thinnings used as “greens.” Later on alternate plants should be taken out, so that finally each plant is a foot away from the next. After this stage is arrived at the chard should be picked by pulling off the outside leaves.
There are two varieties listed in the catalogues. One, Lucullus, has crumpled leaves and very broad, thick, white midribs. This is the variety that should be grown when it is desired to cook and serve the midribs separately, after the fashion of asparagus.
Swiss chard is a form of beet which does not produce edible roots. Nitrate of soda, as recommended for kohlrabi, is an excellent fertilizer for this crop.