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An expert guide to...
Growing Celery ...my way!
Let me start by saying that celery is one of the most dif cult vegetables to grow a perfect specimen of, whether for the show plate or the salad plate. There are so many things that can and do go wrong, but don’t let that put you off; a good specimen is
a delight to behold. That is why the NVS and the RHS award 20 points (the highest available) to trench or blanched celery and 18 points for self-blanching celery. These are made up as follows:
or on a soil warming bench. They take about two weeks to germinate, and when they are large enough I transfer the seedlings into small pots (used cups from water machines are ideal!).
Another alternative is to sow the seeds into multi-cell trays, a
few seeds into each cell. When they germinate, they are reduced
to one plant in each cell. The time of sowing depends on the date you require them for showing or eating. Sowing in early February will give you mature plants in August. If you need them for September, you do not need to sow until late February. If you want to spread the maturity dates, it may be advisable to make two sowings, a month apart.
When the plants are too big for the small pots, they are potted on into four or ve inch (100 to 125mm) pots. In April the plants are hardened off in a cold frame and then planted out eighteen inches (450mm) apart when all likelihood of a frost has passed.
Growing
The most important thing to remember when growing celery is that in their wild state they are bog or streamside plants and therefore need a lot of water. Another thing is that they are one of the slug’s favourite meals. Slug pellets need to be sprinkled round the plants and renewed when needed. Regarding feeding, I usually give two or three feeds of Maxicrop in May and June, and a feed of Phostrogen in July, because this has a higher potash content to harden the growth.
Other than self-blanching or American Green types, celery is blanched, a process of keeping the light away from the petioles (leaf stalk) starting about two months before you need them. I start off with nine inch (230mm) collars when the plants are large enough and nish up with fteen inch (380 mm) collars. The collars are made of corrugated paper, which allows the plants to “breathe” but builders’ damp proof material can also be used. I also think it is a good idea to wrap corrugated paper loosely around the plants under the damp proof material if used to try to prevent the plants from sweating.
Condition Uniformity
Trench Self-blanching
5 6 4 3
Size 4 3
Shape Colour
Total
4 3 3 3
20 18
Both the RHS Horticultural Show Handbook, and the NVS Judges and Exhibitors Guide set out the merits and defects of each, plus advice to judges and exhibitors, and diseases that may affect them (see below) so I won’t replicate them here.
In its natural habitat celery is a bog plant, so it should be grown in a rich, highly organic growing medium, which must never be allowed to dry out, especially in the summer and early autumn when they are reaching maturity.
Seed Sowing
Celery is grown from one of the smallest vegetable seeds. As the seed is too small to space out individually it is sown broadcast but as thinly as possible, on a tray of multi-purpose compost. The tray is given a good watering before sowing and I do not cover the seeds with compost, I just press them lightly into the compost.
The seeds need heat for germination, so they go into a propagator
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