Early (self blanching) Celery

Bit of yet another experiment this year, using some techniques gleaned from giant celery growers (who start theirs off very early), I'm trying to work out how to get an earlier crop than waiting for frosts to pass before planting outside.

I've been making successional sowings of celery seeds for a couple of months, bringing the plants on using additional lighting from T5 growlights, and the largest plants are now almost 400mm high and in deep 2L rose pots (to avoid root disturbance).

I'm just about to sow more seeds, plus have plants in 40x cell modules, 24x cell modules and 70mm square pots. As soon as it's warm enough to plant the largest in polytunnel borders they'll go in, together with some of the earlier sown plants. Hope to work out the optimum times/method for early and continuous crops all summer and autumn.

17th March



Today

 

I’ve just bought some self-blanching celery - never grown it before, so I thought I’d give it a try.

 

If planted out in open ground, it grows better planted in a block and with a low (say 300mm high) mini windbreak/screen around the perimeter.

 

I didn’t think you put collars on self-blanching

What is the ‘mini windbreak’ for and what what do you make it from - cardboard?

 

I don't.

The first couple of times I grew sb celery planted closely in a block, I noticed the plants around the outside weren't as good as those in the middle, then I planted them next to a Coldframe and noticed the plants next to the frame were better than those on the 3 exposed edges.

When the sewing machine was out I hemmed up a long strip of Mypex woven polypropylene sheet, formed sleeves at the ends and have grown my celery inside ever since. It's held in place using short length of broom handle. Something similar could easily be produced using any suitable material [1], timber battens and a staple gun.

The ends are overlaped and intermediate pegs sited to suit various sizes/shapes on plan:





[1] Cardboard would get soggy and disintegrate.

 

A combobulator - sounds good. I will see what I can put together. Thanks

 

When I grew a few Celery last year I grew it as Scrungee did in blocks and agree the outside ones were not as good as those in the middle of the block. As I live in Scotland which isn't the warmest part of Britain I did grow some under a 3 mtr poly cloche. These grew the best but did eventually grow too tall for the cloche but the Celery just balanced the cloche on their stalks and didn't seem to mind in the slightest! So ideally if I was growing it this year, NOT after the historic glut of last year, I'd grow it under a tall cloche.

 

Celery do very well in our Community Garden. My plot neighbour successfully grew a mass of it in 2015, the type with big fat stalks.

My own partial attempt was last year.

Planted last May and neglected since mid-October 2017.



These were spindly seedlings given to me as spares.

I had run out of space and compost so I just plonked them into the same box as the two tomato plants I had growing there. I figured that they ought to have the same watering requirements as tomatoes and I was right!

I didn't want to disturb the celery roots so I just cut away the tomato stems after they died off.

The celery plants have survived rain, frost, sleet and snow unprotected so appear to be quite hardy.

 

@Scrungee when do I put the collar/band around the celery. This is them now

 

It's not a collar, but a short barrier around the perimeter of the block

 

When do I put it on @Scrunge and how deep should it be?

 

Now, 300mm high.

 

Thanks @Scrungee