Celery

[curly_kate]

I was looking through the Baker Creek Seeds catalog, and am considering growing celery this spring. Anyone have any tips?

 

[desertcat]

No tips, but the thought's crossed my mind too.

 

[curly_kate]

I've heard it can be a little tricky, so I'm not sure if it's worth it or not.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I can pretty much tell you what not to do based on my experience. I really should have done more research before I tried it, but I did it on a whim.

I sowed the seeds in the spring (probably March or early April) in the garden and had difficulty telling them from certain prevalent weeds when they came up. (I don't remember the name of the weed but the weed has a massive root system and yellow flowers.) I let it go long enough so I could finally tell which was the celery and which was the weed. I got a fairly poor germination rate. Maybe it needs warmer soil to germinate?

The few plants I got stayed alive all summer but never really grew that much. I kept waiting for it to take off so I could blanch it, but it never did. It made it through the next winter with minimal protection and actually stayed alive. Then, the next spring, it finally sent up some stalks that looked a little like the celery I was expecting. It was very strong. I did not eat it as celery but used it for cooking.

So I would suggest researching it for your area. Your extension office may be able to help you. Find out the right time to plant it for you and the right conditions. I'm not convinced it needs full sun. This may be one that is best started in the fall and over winter. Maybe my summer was too hot. It is possible that certain varieties will grow better for you than others. I'd also suggest starting it from seeds indoors so you can tell what is celery. I usually don't have that problem but it sure got me on this.

I'm sure I did several things wrong. Hopefully you will have better luck than I did, but I'll repeat I never did the research I should have.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I grew it this year and it is one of the crops I plan to grow again next year.

What I did was to start it indoors in late winter/early spring. Then when it was time to bring it outdoors, I planted it in a window box size pot -- 4 to the pot, spaced about 6" apart, more or less. Keeping them in a pot allowed me to move them around. But I mostly kept them on my deck, which is mostly shady. Celery needs to have moist, rich soil. My entire property bakes in the summer, because we have very little shade, so keeping the celery on the deck kept it cool and moist. Also, our soil dries out very quickly, so keeping the celery in pots allowed me to give them the richest soil I could get my hands on. They like plenty of compost.

I am still harvesting stalks of celery. We got hit with some really cold nights -- down to 11 degrees F. Since my celery is in pots, it was easy enough to move them to shelter during the cold snap.

 

[jojo54]

I grew it this year and it is one of the crops I plan to grow again next year.

What I did was to start it indoors in late winter/early spring. Then when it was time to bring it outdoors, I planted it in a window box size pot -- 4 to the pot, spaced about 6" apart, more or less. Keeping them in a pot allowed me to move them around. But I mostly kept them on my deck, which is mostly shady. Celery needs to have moist, rich soil. My entire property bakes in the summer, because we have very little shade, so keeping the celery on the deck kept it cool and moist. Also, our soil dries out very quickly, so keeping the celery in pots allowed me to give them the richest soil I could get my hands on. They like plenty of compost.

I am still harvesting stalks of celery. We got hit with some really cold nights -- down to 11 degrees F. Since my celery is in pots, it was easy enough to move them to shelter during the cold snap.

I tried celery once when living in Saskatchewan (from bedding plants)
and found it tasted very bitter compared to store cought. Plus it was fairly dark green and quite tough. I don't remember the variety but it turned me off growing celery. I heard that you cover it so it stays lighter green but I found it was quite dirty in between stalks. What are your tips on growing celery. Cover with dirt? milk cartons? I am interested in trying it again if it is tasty and not bitter.

 

[lesa]

I grew it one year, from transplants. We ate a tiny bit, and the chickens got the rest. I understand it has very specific watering needs. I won't bother with it again. Not an easy one to store or freeze and really the organic celery at the market is cheap enough. If it is your absolute fav, maybe its worth the experiment...Good luck!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

We don't eat celery very often, so usually what happens to me is if I buy some, I take a few stalks off to use and then the rest gets wasted. So for us, it is nice to have a fresh plant outside at all times.

I grew a variety that has red stalks. I did not do anything to try make the stalks less bitter or tough. We usually eat the celery in soup or sauces, so I am not as sensitive to the flavor. But when I did eat one stalk in the summer, I thought it had a stronger flavor than store-bought celery.

I potted them in potting soil mixed with lots of compost. I don't notice a lot of dirt in the stalks, but I usually water around the outsides of the plants.

 

[4grandbabies]

I was looking through the Baker Creek Seeds catalog, and am considering growing celery this spring. Anyone have any tips?

Someone on here mentioned Baker Creek seeds, I was not familiar with that catalog,so I ordered it and it came today. What a neat catalog....plenty of unusual products.
I think I would like to try celery also, so will be following this thread, tho I think what we have heard so far, shows it will take some care and attention

 

[digitS']

I tried celery 30-odd years ago and had results similar to some others here - didn't germinate well and grew strong-flavored and tough. So, I've never tried it again.

You may be happy with some alternatives which are, perhaps, less demanding. I grew parcel once and altho' I didn't find much use for this "leaf celery" it provided seasoning for various things and could be sprinkled in salads.

Celeriac is a favorite. It really came to my rescue because I like celery and can use a lot of it thru the winter. Celeriac is also called root celery.

It must be about the homeliest vegetable to come out of the garden. But, if you just wash it and don't trim off the crazy roots, the bulbs are available for soups and stews just about forever in the produce drawer of the fridge.

I have to start the plants in late winter and transplant out later so that the bulbs make some size. I've tried not doing that and ended up with tennis ball size bulbs after all summer. It's best to give them a good start and they can produce some heavy roots.

Steve