Growing celery

allenwrench · Intermediate Crude Joined: Apr 23, 2008 Posts: 893

I have heard that celery is tough to grow at home. Anyone have success with celery?

Also what is a good replacement for celery that can be easily grown at home?

Thanks

Ludi · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:21 pm Post subject: Re: Growing celery

I like Italian Parsley (the flat kind). Extremely easy to grow and full of nutrition. Definitely a better deal than Celery, unless you just adore Celery. Smile

Lovage is a perennial plant which supposedly tastes like celery. I haven't tried to grow it yet but I plan to. Supposed to be easy to grow.
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jlw61 · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:22 pm Post subject: Re: Growing celery

gnm · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:32 pm Post subject: Re: Growing celery

I have had some luck, but what I did was buy one of those celery roots at the grocery (what the heck do you do with a "celery root" anyways?).

Well it looked to me like it might grow and grow it did. I just stuck it in the soil and watered it and out came celery stalks.

It was just an experiment - I've never tried it from seed.

-G
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cavemandoom30 · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:39 pm Post subject: Re: Growing celery

Ok, here are your answers from the professional!!

Celery needs consistent moisture, and loose soil. It can not dry out. Clay soil will not work well. I grow mine in very well amended raised beds in partial shade, well mulched with straw, and I water as needed. I also only grow red celery, which is hardier. Aside from all that, it's pretty easy to grow. Smallage, which is a leafier version of celery, and celeriac, and red celery all are more forgiving of drying out and heat than regular market celery.
Lovage is a close relative, a very hardy perennial, and is about as tough as can be. It gets HUGE, though, and is MUCH stronger tasting than any celery, lovage is like celery that punches you in the face...so use it sparingly!! I do like it though..
Parsley is very easy, but not all that close in taste, but, parsley is super rich in vitamins and minerals, so you should grow some anyway. I like hamburg(root) parsley..You can use the leaves, and the roots!!

Tucker · Tar Sands Joined: Jan 29, 2008 Posts: 61 Location: Orygun

I bought celery starts last year. I ended up with lots of celery from the garden. The only difference was that it was a little loose as opposed to the tightly held together stuff you buy in the store. I didn't notice it being difficult to grow. Here in the PNW, we have to irrigate in the summer and I must not have let it dry out because it was fine.

frankthetank · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 3:35 pm Post subject: Re: Growing celery

I grew it last year. Easy to do. I even started from seed. The seed is TINY...just plant a bunch and thin. I didn't thin enough so mine was really bunched together. Make sure it stays moist. At a $1.50 a piece in the store it makes sense to grow about 20 or 30... Not sure the best way to store it, but i bet you could leave it in the ground until it gets really cold?
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Pops · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 3:49 pm Post subject: Re: Growing celery

Just a thought here, but in the days of old things used mainly for seasoning were preserved for shipment.

If I can't grow peanuts for butter I can't think of a thing to do with celery aside from flavoring soups and stews.

Dried celery is bound to be less expensive than fresh trucked in in Janurary and a couple bucks would go a long way.

Grow stuff in a limited garden space to sustain you is my thinking.
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bobaloo · Heavy Crude Joined: Oct 14, 2004 Posts: 484

Celery is easy to grow here in the PNW, it takes long cool growing season, lots of water and lots of nutrition.

Here's the most important point, let it go to seed. Two reasons. First, I got almost a quart of seed off two plants, the seed is good seasoning. Second, enough of the seed falls on the ground that it sprouts over the winter and reseeds, so I never have to start celery, I now have a perennial self-seeding patch.

Celery is one of those plants that if you direct seed it the plant will send down a deep taproot, but if you transplant it the taproot is lost and it only has shallow roots. It grows a lot better if direct seeded but the tiny seeds are tough to direct seed. The flowering plant dumps millions of seeds and you'll get a ton of starts in the Spring.

kpeavey · Expert Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 1313

I started celery in the greenhouse in Sept, transplanted the best 6 in Dec. I grow it because my neighbor does things with it. I have no desire for the stuff, but will eat it in my neighbors potato salad. It's been nothing but drought down here for the last 2 years. The celery is doing just fine. My neighbor takes the outer stalks, lets the rest of the plant continue to grow.

I prepared the bed with compost, forked it around with a hand fork, then set in the plants when they were about 6" high with about 6" of roots. Mulched them with leaves immediately. Since then I've given the plants ZERO attention. I've given my lawn chairs more attention. I offer more care to the hair in my ears. I've spent the same amount of time on the celery as I have looking at photographs of 1934 Paris fashions and newspaper articles about distributor caps. When I say ZERO, I define it as: complete neglect, a total absence of care, no measurable effort. I don't even know how many plants are there right now. They take up a couple of square feet, stand about a foot and a half tall. Beside them were a couple of onions, some carrots, a couple of thyme plants. Within a few feet are a couple of cherry tomatoes, some green beans, a cauliflower that failed to thrive, some kale, and a fennel plant that has gotten completely out of hand. I think the fennel and the thyme both have reppellent factors associated with them, I don't get bugs near the plants.

I use pitcher irrigation in combination with drip irrigation. I plugged the bottom hole of a standard 8" unglazed terra cotta plant pot, set it in the ground up to the lower edge of the rim, cover it ith a piece of floor tile. The drip system will fill the pot with water when turned on. Water moves through the sides of the pot, irrigating plants at the root level. The system makes the difference between a fine crop and no crop.

I started the seed in 1.5" greenhouse cells, at a couple of inches tall, they were repotted into 3" PVC pipe cut to 6" long. The soild blend is half garden soil, half compost, with a sprinkling of peat moss on the top to keep algae growth down. When the roots begin to show in the bottom of the PVC, they gow into the ground. I dig a hole with a trowel, deeper than the PVC, set the pipe and plant in place, backfill around the pipe. Give it a couple of taps, the pipe lifts straight out without disturbing the roots. Push a little soil in to make up for the space left by the pipe.

I wish everything was as simple as celery.
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alokin · Intermediate Crude Joined: Aug 24, 2007 Posts: 872

I only grow Asian or Chinese Celery this is easy to grow and seems to be perennial. I direct sow it.
this year I try Celeriac which is the root celery, but I guess it's too hot here.

allenwrench · Intermediate Crude Joined: Apr 23, 2008 Posts: 893

Thanks for all the feedback.

Muckingfess · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:39 am Post subject: Re: Growing celery

Why would you waste garden space and effort growing something that takes more calories to eat and digest than it gives you? Seasoning, maybe?

I would go for something that gives more calories or nutrition.

Just my $.02
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frankthetank · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:10 am Post subject: Re: Growing celery

Chili, soups, etc...
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Tyler_JC · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:58 am Post subject: Re: Growing celery

I have to agree with Muckingfess.

If you are growing food in order to have food to eat, don't waste your time on worthless crops like celery.

Focus on expensive or highly nutritious ones.

Tomotoes, beans, eggplant, and peppers provide more food value per square foot and require less upkeep.
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