Page:How and what to grow in a kitchen garden of one acre (IA howwhattogrowin00darl).pdf/86

 inches thick at the top, and the ends closed in the same manner. The roots are packed solidly in the soil, and the banks are carried up level with the longest tops; when the very cold weather sets in the whole top, banks and leaves, is covered with straw, leaves or corn fodder, to keep the frost out. I would not recommend this method of storing unless it is expected to have the supply all used or marketed by the 1st of January. The best way to store celery is in a hotbed or cold frame, which is built two or three feet deep in the ground, as already described. The celery plants are set side by side in this, as in the boxes or barrels, and the roots tightly packed in moist soil; then the sash can be put on at nights and in the daytime can be entirely removed or slightly raised to admit air, according to the temperature. On very cold nights the sash can have an extra covering of straw or old carpet, and if there is a heavy fall of snow it can be left on a few days, until the weather again becomes warmer. Stored in this manner, it is no trouble to get the celery when wanted; it can be given plenty of air, without which it will not keep, and the late kinds, if packed closely together, will complete their bleaching. If the kinds which require blanching are not kept earthed up as the growth advances, it will be almost impossible to blanch them.

The dwarf and half-dwarf kinds are the best, as they are superior both in quality and appearance and are much easier grown. Of these the Dwarf