Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ten also the quality of seed from a given plant is dependent upon the extent of its root develop-
ment. To encourage the development of root hairs, the Chinese use the following peculiar pro-
cedure, which is worthy of emulation. Before they plant out root vegetables in the spring, they
make three or four shallow cuts with a sharp knife from crown to tip. Along these cuts, a bulge
or ridge develops, out of which innumerable root hairs grow, which contribute significantly to
the nourishment and vigorous development of the plants.”
CULTIVATION HISTORY
The original home of wild parsley has not been firmly established but was pre-
sumably around the Mediterranean or in western Asia. Root parsley has been used since antiquity; it
was the Romans who first brought it north of the Alps, where it especially caught on in what is today
Austria, Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands. Parsley is an important component of Suppengrün
(soup greens) and other bouquets garnis used to flavor soups and stocks. It reached England in the 18th
century (where root parsley is still commonly known as Hamburg parsley, after the first variety to be
grown there) and is now naturalized in many parts of Europe.
CELERY
Apium graveolens
There are three main forms of cultivated celery: celery root or celeriac (var.
rapaceum
, grown for its
bulbous root), celery (var.
dulce
, grown for its stalks), and leaf celery (var.
secalinum
, used as a spice).
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
• 15 well-formed, healthy plants
• support posts and string
• frost-free overwintering
POLLINATION NOTES
Celery blossoms are insect-pollinated, and all three forms, being of the same
species, will cross with each other. Because wild celery is found only sporadically on some sea coasts
(as far north as the British Isles and Denmark), risk of cross-pollination with it is practically nonexist-
ent. Though it is rare, celery can cross with parsley—an exception to the rule that plants from different
species cannot pollinate each other. The resulting seed produces parcel, a plant with parsley-like leaves
and a celery-like aroma.
