Did you know that MARCH IS CELERY MONTH??!! However, that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate celery regularly by growing and eating this nutritious vegetable!
Going to the grocery store is quite a pain to the posterior to get any vegetables. You never know if the product is worth buying at such prices and with the quantity of the produce. Have you ever gone to the grocery store knowing the celery there is a toss-up between if it is fresh or nasty? It’s disappointing when you get the nasty sleeve of celery. When growing your celery, you don’t need to front a disgruntled face. You will know how it is grown, what soil its uses, and how healthy it is.
If you are interested in sowing it in your garden, here are the two most straightforward ways to grow celery.
These 2 Easy Ways include:
- From a seed
- From the bottom root of the celery
Planting Celery from a Seed
- Plant the seed in nutritious soil. For example, if you have any from your compost pile or manure, use that. Miracle-Gro also works.
- Make sure you water the seeds consistently. Celery loves moisture. The plant will get limp and stringy if celery doesn’t get the water it needs.
- When you plant a celery seed, it takes approximately 135 days to mature. Therefore, if you are adamant about growing celery, start early.
Planting the Root of Celery
Have you thrown out the root of the celery in the trash or the compost bin after using what you need? Of course, but you don’t have to do that anymore.
Here are the steps to planting celery in your garden:
- Chop off the end of the celery
- Please put it in a bowl with a couple of inches of water, and make sure you change the water every few days.
- I wanted to experiment with a celery end since my curiosity was piqued. I always wanted to see if growing celery from the end scrap was proven accurate, from what I kept hearing about growing vegetables from scraps.
- When I put the end of the celery in a bowl, I started to see the middle of the bunch beginning to sprout within a week.
- These ends sprout for months until the growth is stunted.
- Below is a picture of my experiment.
- Plant in your desired location once the middle of the celery end sprouts.
- I would do about 6 inches to 1 ft before sowing into the ground.
- Be careful of the middle when you are planting celery in soil.
- To harvest, look below for tips.
Perennial or Biennial?
Celery is a biennial plant. Biennial plants will not return after two years of producing food for you. Therefore, you will need to plant it again if you want more.
Tips for Celery
- When you plant your celery, grow it outside in colder temperatures or even in containers in your house with a colder environment.
- If you decide to plant the seeds in the spring outside your garden, make sure that they have some shade or cover them for the first six weeks.
- According to Almanac.com, celery needs three things to grow well.
- Cool Weather.
- Constant Watering
- Rich soil, like compost.
- Can be grown in a sunny place or under a grow light
- As a note in the back of your brain, remember that when you grow celery, it takes a long time. The growth time is about 135 days or approximately a 1/4 of a year to develop (3 to 4 months)
- For Harvesting:
- You can either cut the stalk individually or from above the soil line. It all depends on how much you need and when.
In conclusion:
Celery is low carb, low calorie, and great for your health. You can eat it in soups, cook it in other recipes, or even have it as a snack with peanut butter if that tickles your fancy. Celery might take longer to grow than most. But in the end, it helps your health and your wallet.
One thing you should note before growing your celery: it takes approximately four months to develop. Please ensure you are committed to celery and know how much you need for your family since it’s one of the slowest growing vegetables.
If you want to know more, Almanac.com has more information about celery, pests, and more tips on celery.
Happy Gardening!
