The crunchy celery variety is considered to be particularly he althy. We show you how to properly plant and harvest celery and how best to prepare it.
Fresh green stalks and a strong, spicy taste characterize the he althy vegetables from the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, it is not nearly as common as its family members carrot (Daucus carota), parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) or fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare). That should be changed, because celery (Apium graveolens dulce) is not only very tasty, but also full of he althy ingredients such as vitamin E, provitamin A , potassium, magnesium and calcium. At the same time, the green vegetables have hardly any calories and can be used in a variety of ways in the kitchen. With a little patience and the right care, the he althy stem can be grown in the garden without any problems. This article explains how this works and what you should pay attention to.
Celery: properties and origin
Most people know the typical celeriac (Apium graveolens rapaceum) from soup vegetables. Along with its siblings, cut celery (Apium graveolens secalinum) and celery, these three varieties belong to the species of the true Celery (Apium graveolens). In total, there are about 30 species that belong to the genus Celery (Apium), which in turn is part of the Apiaceae family (Apiaceae)
. The wild form, which originated in the Mediterranean region, was already cultivated in ancient Egypt between around 1200 and 600 BC. used as a medicinal plant and also served as grave goods. In ancient Greece, the leaves of the celery plant were braided into a wreath for the winner of the Nemean Games, and the Romans also used the herbaceous plant with its intense aroma. However, the varieties of celeriac and celery known to us are only known from the 17th century. There are now nine different cultivars. In Germany, celeriac is still the most popular.Stalk celery, also stalk, bleach orCalled celery, it forms a small tuber compared to celeriac and has strong, thickened leaf stalks. These can be short, medium or long-stemmed and come in different colours. The herbaceous plant can grow up to one meter in height and forms double umbel inflorescences. The leaves are dark green and pinnate or bipinnate.
The best celery varieties
In order to find the right celery variety for your garden, you can decide according to various criteria: For example, would you like green stalks or would you like a more unusual color? Whether the respective variety is resistant to diseases and how much yield it produces also play a role. Last but not least, you can also decide whether the variety is self-bleaching or needs to be piled up just before harvest or sealed with a paper bag, for example.
The following varieties have already proven themselves in cultivation and meet a wide variety of criteria, so that there is sure to be something suitable for your garden:
- 'Tall Utah': Dark green, vigorous celery with 25 - 30 cm long green, fleshy ribs. Excellent taste, medium late maturity but not self-bleaching.
- 'Peppermint Stick': Showy variety that features white stems with pink stripes. Color persists through cooking, bold flavor.
- 'Conga': Fast growing variety well suited for spring and summer cultivation. Medium green, long stems.
- 'Tango': A beginner-grade strain that can be grown throughout the season. Resistant to bolting and heartrot.
- 'Gigante Dorato': Large plant with firm, wide ribs that turn golden yellow when the plant is piled up. Strong aroma reminiscent of lovage.
Buying celery: this is important
You can buy celery both as a young plant and as seed and grow it yourself. You can buy the young plants in nurseries, garden centers or hardware stores. However, since celery is not one of the most popular types of vegetables in Germany, the selection there may be smaller. An online seed mail order company, for example, can be a good address for a large selection of varieties. However, if you want to grow your own, patience is required, because it takes a while from sowing to planting outsidewhole eight weeks. You can find out how the young plants are cultivated in the next sections.
Tip: Since celery stalks can be affected by leaf spot disease (Septoria apiicola), which is passed on through the seed, it is important , only buy strong and he althy young plants and plant them outside. When buying seeds, you should also choose resistant varieties.
Planting celery
Once the threat of spring frost has passed, you can plant your celery stalk in the garden. But even without a large garden, growing celery is no problem, because the green vegetable can be cultivated in a bucket or raised bed without any problems.
When to plant celery?
If you prefer young plants yourself, the work begins as early as the end of February, provided there is sufficient light and warmth, because celery stalks germinate in the light and require temperatures between 18 - 20 °C for optimal germination. Sowing can be done on the windowsill or in the greenhouse. For this you can use a breeding tray in which the seeds are very lightly covered with sand or soil after sowing. Then it's time to wait. After two to three weeks, the first cotyledons will appear. Now the young plants should be placed a little cooler. Also make sure that the substrate is not too damp to prevent fungal attack. When the seedling has developed the second true pair of leaves, it can be pricked out and separated into pots. From around May, when the danger of frost has passed, the young celery can be planted outdoors.
Tip: If you transplant into pots after pricking out, it makes sense to add some garden lime to the substrate, because like its wild ancestor, the cultivated celery also loves calcareous soil.
The perfect location for celery
Celery is a highly consuming plant that prefers sunny, sheltered and nutrient-rich locations. These should be loamy and sufficiently moist without causing waterlogging. Sandy soils with sufficient humus content are also suitable with regular watering. Furthermore, the umbelliferae have a preference for saline and calcareous soils due to its natural location near the coast. These natural site conditions can be mitigated by monthly wateringbe modeled on s alt water. Simply dissolve 5 - 10 grams of table s alt without iodine in warm water, put it in a 10 liter watering can and fill it up with water.
If the soil is not calcareous, it can be mixed with finely ground egg shells as fertilizer before planting. Alternatively, you can work with pure wood ash or burnt lime. Don't forget, however, that despite celery's preference for calcareous soils, the pH value must not exceed a maximum of 7.5.
Note, however, that celery is sensitive to boron deficiency. The trace nutrient element can no longer be absorbed efficiently, especially when it is dry and immediately after liming - so do not grow celery in locations that are too dry or on freshly limed areas.
Tip: If you are looking for suitable neighbors for the celery stalk, leeks and cabbage are particularly suitable. The cabbage (Brassica) is particularly happy about the company of the celery, because its strong smell keeps the vegetable pest cabbage white (Pieris rapae) away from it.
Procedure for growing celery
Before the celery leaves come outside after the young plants have been cultivated, you can let the young plants get a breath of fresh air. So the planting shock is not so great. After the soil has been loosened up well, the celery can be planted at ground level at a planting distance of 15 - 20 centimetres. Celery has a high potassium requirement. Because it also has a high overall nutrient requirement, planting in a nutrient-rich soil with a good supply of potassium, such as our Plantura organic tomato & vegetable soil, is highly recommended.
The row spacing between plants is as much as 50 centimetres, which is because it helps prevent Septoria leaf spot. Because there is more moisture between plants that are close together and thus an environment in which the fungus can spread very well.
Tip: To make better use of the wide row spacing, lettuce can be planted between the celery stalks. This can be harvested before the celery starts to get really big.
Caring for celery: Everything for watering and fertilizing
In order to get nice, strong stems, it is important to carry out a few maintenance measures. Above all, sufficient fertilizing and watering are importantHeavy feeders are the be-all and end-all. For a suitable supply of nutrients, it is advisable to fertilize the plant twice during its lifespan. Once for planting and another time in summer. Potassium-rich fertilizers such as the Plantura organic tomato fertilizer can be used for this purpose, which provides the plant with a balanced and long-term supply without animal ingredients.
Watering should also be done regularly, as celery likes it sufficiently moist and has shallow roots. It is important to ensure that the water that is not too cold is poured directly onto the ground and not over the entire plant. These measures can counteract infestation with leaf spot disease. The bed can also be covered with mulch, such as grass clippings, to ensure sufficient moisture. The soil loses less moisture through evaporation and the organic material provides food for the microorganisms. If you particularly love your celery, you can also pour s alty water over it once a month, which contains 5 - 10 grams of s alt per 10 liters of water, so it feels like it's on the coast and therefore very comfortable.
Another important maintenance activity is hacking. The soil should be regularly loosened with a hoe to free the celery from weeds.
Celery: diseases and pests
Even if celery is considered less susceptible, it is not spared from diseases and pests. In particular, the already mentioned seed-borne leaf spot disease Septoria (Septoria apiicola) can cause problems in years with high rainfall. It presents with large brown, gray or yellow-greenish spots in which the black spore vessels can be seen. Since the fungus is transmitted through the seed, it is important to only plant robust and he althy young plants outside. Seeds from unsafe sources can also be subjected to a hot water treatment as a preventive measure. To do this, the seed is treated with water at a temperature of 53 °C for 10 minutes.
The celery fly (Acidia heraclei), but also voles and snails are the main pests that cause problems for the vegetables. The approximately 5 mm large celery fly, which likes to stay on umbelliferae, lays its eggs on the underside of the leaves. From these then hatch the voracious maggots, which eat wide tunnels in the leaves. A close-meshed plant protection net helps against flies or, as a preventative measure, mixed cultivation with cabbage plants. However, a net also leads to high humidity on the plant, which in turn Septoriais promoted. In general, it is important to weigh up: If you tend to have problems with leaf spot disease, then the priority is that the plant and its surroundings always dry off as quickly as possible. Black foil, for example, is suitable as mulch material instead of damp lawn clippings, and intermediate plantings or nets should be avoided if possible. However, if your location is open to the wind and drying off is not a problem, it is worth using nets, natural mulch materials and intermediate planting.
Harvest celery: When is the time?
From June, tender stems can be cut off as needed and as long as the plant is not damaged underground, new stems will always sprout. However, everything must be harvested before the first frost, because unlike celeriac, celery is very sensitive to frost. To harvest, you can simply pull the entire plant including the roots out of the ground. If you have planted your plant in a bucket, you can also bring it indoors and overwinter the celery at temperatures of 10 to 20 °C.
Tip: New varieties are partially self-bleaching. However, if you don't have a self-bleaching variety, you can mound the plant with soil or wrap it in a paper bag three weeks before harvest. Due to the lack of light, chlorophyll formation is interrupted and the sticks later taste milder.
Storing and freezing celery
Celery keeps best at temperatures around 0°C, so the refrigerator is the best storage option. It will keep there for up to four weeks if handled carefully. Be careful to avoid bruises, otherwise the sticks will quickly become soft and no longer taste fresh and crisp. If you have more celery than you can use, the whole plant can be wrapped in moist soil or sand and stored in the basement.
Tip: Leek and horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) are particularly suitable as camp neighbours. The stalks should not be placed next to apples, pears or avocados, as celery is sensitive to the ripening gas ethylene.
You can also freeze celery without any problems. It can go in the freezer both raw and blanched. For both methods, it is advisable to first cover the leaves and rootsremove. Raw celery keeps for a few months. If it has been blanched beforehand, it can stay in the freezer for up to a year.
Prepare celery
Celery can be processed in no time at all. The roots are cut off and the stems are cleaned under water. If the outer stalks are a bit fibrous, you can use a knife to trim off the threads, as with rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum).
Is the celery edible?
The fine seasoning of celery can refine dishes in your kitchen in a variety of ways. Finely chopped, the leaves are great in soups, sauces or pasta dishes, for example. The stalks can be sliced or diced and used in a variety of recipes. But the aromatic plant also cuts a fine figure raw. With a delicious dip, the sticks can serve as a small snack in between, for example, or they go into the juicer, where they are freshly squeezed to produce the green wonder drink celery juice. The intensely tasting juice is all the rage right now, as it is said to have a calming effect on the stomach and drain water.
Ingredients and Calories of Celery
Celery is extremely low in calories. Since it consists of over 90% water, 100 grams bring about just 15 calories. In addition, celery also shines with extremely he althy ingredients. Stems and leaves contain provitamins A, E, B1 and C as well as minerals such as iron and calcium. The typical taste comes from the essential oils such as Apiin, which are said to have an antibacterial effect.
Would you like to learn more about celery? You can read more about the plant in our article on celery root.