Celery is an earthy crop with interesting varieties available only to gardeners, says Jack Wallington
My first foray into celery isn’t going well. I sowed seeds of ‘Giant Red’ on March 28, excited to eat a variety I’ve not seen in shops. The seedlings are now sulking on threadlike stems and it’s hard to imagine them surviving the week, let alone making crunchy sticks.
Celery, I suspect, isn’t on many people’s lists of vegetables to grow, but it’s a subtle addition to casseroles, salads, stocks and soups, cranking up substance and earthy flavour. It’s too late now to sow seeds, so buy plug plants from nurseries or online instead. Vegetableplantsdirect.co.uk has a great selection but limited stock. Plant out after the last frosts – in damp, nutrient-rich soil – water and fertilise generously.
Key to sweet, succulent celery is blanching – blocking light to the stem. Traditional trench celery is planted at the base of a 12in (30cm) deep trench lined with rich compost or well-rotted manure. Old varieties to try include ‘Starburst F1’ (mr-fothergills.co.uk, quickcrop.co.uk), ‘Giant Red’ and ‘Loretta’ (marshalls-seeds.co.uk). Soil is then easily drawn up around the stems as plants grow, keeping leaves above soil. These days we have self-blanching varieties such as ‘Golden Spartan’ which shade themselves when planted 9in (23cm) apart. Self-blanchers tend to be the same as those sold in shops.
I’ve successfully grown celeriac, the bulbous relation of celery, for years. It’s an easier, problem-free plant also worth planting now. Grow in the same conditions as celery without the blanching. Plant in the normal way, feed and water through summer for bulbous stems.
As to my celery, I’ve remedied their gangly growth by adding a layer of extra compost to support the fragile stems.
Find Jack’s blog at jackwallington.com. Follow him on Twitter @jackwallington and Instagram @jackjjw
