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An expert guide to...
When the collars are removed look for slugs which have got inside, remove suckers which sometimes grow round the base, and remove damaged or broken sticks.
Harvesting
Celery just planted out into 100 gall drum in early June and in open garden, blanched with corrugated paper, in mid-July
Championship winning celery grown and shown by a well matched, well blanched pair. Christopher Hewlett.
Celery leaf miner: This is becoming
a serious pest. Maggots leave tunnels
in the leaves; a bad attack can
almost remove all the sap. Contact
sprays have little effect as the leaf
skins protect the maggot, so a good
systemic insecticide is the answer
after removing any damaged leaves
by hand.
Bolting or premature owering: There will be evidence of stress
at some stage in the growth of the plant, particularly prevalent as a result of underwatering. Also avoid planting too early or in cold soil. Once the seed head is seen, the plant has completed its life cycle and is not t for eating.
Heart rot: One problem with celery is heart rot, which can be devastating. I think it can be caused by too much feeding with nitrogen, which softens growth; this is why I have suggested high potash feeding towards the end of its growth cycle. Also what I have suggested about preventing the plants from sweating should help to prevent this problem. Medwyn Williams recommends watering the plants with a 2% solution of Calcium Nitrate, trickling the solution onto the foliage and into the heart of the plant. The Calcium, he says, hardens the tissues in the heart and thus helps to prevent heart rot. Celery leaf spot: this is becoming more prevalent. Currently I don’t think there is a chemical control that we can buy legally as amateur growers, that will control this disease.
Selection and Staging
What we need are large, rm, undamaged heads, free from heart rot or ower stems, and fully blanched. Usually, the number required for an entry is two, so they need to be well matched. It is important that the heads are kept moist, so they remain fresh until they are placed on the show bench. Transport them to the show wrapped in damp towels, and leave them to the last minute before staging.
Cultivars (or varieties most commonly grown)
Self-blanching cultivars are easier to grow although seldom, if ever, grown for the show bench. Must be grown in a block so they blanch each other; I also use scaffolding boards around the outside of the block to blanch those grown at the edge. Useful varieties include: Victoria, Lathom self-blanching, Loretta and Octavius. These also mature up to one month earlier than the trench types.
Those grown for exhibition are almost, without exception, trench cultivars. “Ideal” has been the standard cultivar for many years, but more recent ones are Evening Star, as seed and seedlings, and a new one coming out this year (2018) is “Discovery”. I grew this as a trial last year, and it performed very well for me, but you must start the blanching process early. If a pink variety tickles your fancy, than “Giant Red” is the one to go for.
David Allison FNVS
Chairman, West Yorkshire District Association of the National Vegetable Society
It is advisable to leave the celery as near to the show date or use date as possible before lifting because it can go limp if left out for very long. You will need to lift them with a fork pushed right under their ank. They have quite a large root system, which is normally
cut with a knife into a wedge shape. The plants need to be washed thoroughly, paying particular attention to between the sticks. Remove any sticks which are damaged, hoping that there are not too many!
The old system of digging a trench, planting the celery plants at the bottom of this trench, then lling the trench with soil as they grow, does help blanch them and gives some protection from winter frosts, but due to soil getting into the heart of the plant and allowing slugs a free rein, this system is seldom used nowadays; self- blanching varieties are the most common for commercial growth.
Blanched celery grown in a raised bed under cover. Note the seep hose to keep the soil moist and re ective blanching material to help prevent the heart overheating.
Pests and Diseases
Slug damage: Probably the number one pest of celery, slug damage is evidenced by bitten, brown edges at the base of the leaf stalks. As well as slug pellets, a good drench with a liquid slug killer is effective when applied from above, helping to get rid of eggs and young slugs in the heart of the plant.
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