🥬 Celery

Homegrown celery has a stronger, more aromatic flavour than shop celery, and is delicious cooked as well as raw. It needs a long season, rich soil and plenty of water, making it one of the more demanding crops, but it is worth the effort for a well-flavoured result.

Self-blanching types, grown close together to exclude light, are easier than traditional trench celery. Leaf celery and celeriac are easier alternatives with a similar flavour, while red varieties are hardier and tastier.

Varieties to try

Celebrity (self-blanching, reliable)Victoria (self-blanching, good flavour)Loretta (green, reliable)Giant Red (hardy, strong flavour)Par-Cel (leaf celery, easy and strong)

Sow in March to April on the surface of seed compost, pressing in lightly but not covering, as light helps germination. Keep at 15–20°C; seed is slow and may take 2–3 weeks. Prick out into individual modules when large enough to handle.

Harden off in late May and plant out in early June, 25–30 cm apart in blocks, not rows, in rich, moisture-retentive soil in a sunny site. Self-blanching types are best planted close together to exclude light. Never let seedlings dry out or get cold, which makes them bolt.

Top tips

• Do not cover seeds with compost.
• Keep seedlings warm and moist.
• Plant in blocks.
• Plant out only after frost.

Celery needs constant moisture: water deeply and regularly, and mulch thickly with compost. Feed fortnightly with a general liquid fertiliser. Dry spells cause stringy, hollow stalks and bolting.

Self-blanching varieties may be wrapped in cardboard or paper to hasten blanching in the last weeks. Slugs and celery fly (leaf miner) are the main problems; pick off affected leaves and use fleece to protect plants. Celery leaf spot can be avoided with clean seed and good rotation.

Top tips

• Never let the soil dry out.
• Mulch thickly.
• Feed fortnightly.
• Cover with fleece against celery fly.

Watch out for

Celery fly (leaf miner)SlugsCelery leaf spotBolting if checked by cold or drought

Cut self-blanching celery from August to October when the stalks are 25–30 cm tall and plump. Cut the whole head at ground level with a sharp knife, or pull individual stalks from the outside as needed. Harvest before the first hard frosts, which damage the plants.

Red and leaf types are hardier and can be picked into winter. Use the leaves as a herb, too. The roots are edible but not as large as celeriac.

Top tips

• Cut the whole head at ground level.
• Harvest before hard frost.
• Use the leaves as a herb.
• Cut stalks as needed.

Use celery raw in salads, with cheese and as a dipper, or cook it in soups, stews, stuffings, braises and as part of the base of many sauces. Homegrown celery has a stronger flavour, so you may need less. The leaves are a fragrant herb for soups and stocks.

Whole heads keep in the fridge for two weeks, wrapped in foil or in a bag. Chopped celery freezes for cooking, though it loses crunch. Dry the leaves for winter seasoning, or make celery salt.

Top tips

• Use the leaves as a herb.
• Freeze chopped celery for cooking.
• Wrap in foil in the fridge.
• Dry leaves for celery salt.