Planting My Winter Garden: Celery

The thumbnail shows last year’s celery planted next to ‘Bull’s Blood’ Beets.

Here is this year’s celery planted ten days ago from a six-pack. Last year I tried growing 'Ventura’ (Fedco) but later read that celery seeds are notoriously hard to germinate and grew transplants. They do reseed in the garden for me.

It’s wonderful to have fresh celery in the garden for cooking. I cut stalks as I need them—fresh, organic and no pesticide residues. I’ve grown them in pots too so a sunny balcony or patio will do. Read my post on growing a celery plant from the end of a bunch of celery. You can do that in a container too.

Wherever you grow it, celery will need abundant compost and moisture. Mulch helps and so does some liquid fish emulsion as it grows.

To learn more, read All About Growing Celery by Barbara Pleasant at Mother Earth News.

For centuries, aromatic celery has flavored soups and added crunch to salads. But today’s commercial, non-organic celery continuously ranks near the top of the list of vegetables known to carry chemical residues, with some samples tainted with more than 60 pesticides. Read more