Celery!
Celery has been surging up over the last day or so, 10 days after seeding. This is Utah 52-70, a pretty common variety. Celery is a member of the carrot family (Apiaceae), along with parsley, parsnip, fennel, Gotu Kola, caraway, cumin, CARROTS, cilantro/coriander, chervil, dill, anise, hemlock. Cool family! It also has a reputation for being hard to grow: maturity in up to 4-5 months, cold-sensitive seedlings, needs lots of moisture. Any two of those three can make it a challenge in this garden, especially with the crazy weather. As great as it would be to grow, celery hasn’t been high on my list! Well, it’s started now, and we’ll see what happens…
Tags: celery, seedlings
Somewhat related posts: • Seedling action • Seedlings continue to grow… • Seedlings everywhere! • Greenroom bubbling over… • Greenhouse filling up
Somewhat related posts: • Seedling action • Seedlings continue to grow… • Seedlings everywhere! • Greenroom bubbling over… • Greenhouse filling up
Katie said,
March 10, 2008 @ 12:38 am
Hey Mike,
Good luck with the Celery. I started ‘Utah Tall’ 12 weeks before our LFD, and sowed a ton of it hoping for the best. It all germinated, I thinned, but to no avail. The seedlings never got larger than the ones in your picture.
I certainly hope you have better luck than I did!
Katie
Steve Mudge said,
March 10, 2008 @ 6:39 am
I planted some seed in February ‘07 (one year and a month ago) of the Utah variety. It grew slowly and survived the Texas summer I think because it was in the shade…as the weather cooled down it started to take off and now we still have a celery plant to use, a year later! Only caveat is that it is quite leafy and strong flavored, so its great for soups and flavoring but too intense for eating raw–the key I think is to grow as fast as possible to develop fatter stalks–they love cool moist conditions, in fat celery grew wild(escaped) on the moist seeps on the shady cliffs overlooking the beach I went to in SoCalif. I think they are biennial so ours will probably flower this spring. Also–it has survived 21 degs F and two snows this year without damage, so that may give you and advantage in leaving it out in the field longer into the fall.
Bob Tome said,
March 11, 2008 @ 2:17 am
Hey, I have also planted some herb recently, to start indoors. My growing season doesn’t start for awhile, but I couldn’t help myself! I have cilantro, corn, squash, sweet peas, green beans, and tomatoes all pushing their way through the soil. I was wondering if anyone has tried any of these products - Bountea.com - and do you think it would be ok to use one or more as a nutrient source for my young seedlings?
Mike (tfb) said,
March 11, 2008 @ 11:34 pm
Katie, Steve:: Thanks for the celery stories. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if I’m crunching away come fall…
Bob: Hadn’t heard of Bountea, but I took a look at the site and it sounds great, they have a lot of interesting products. It’s a well-written site! For me, I always try to avoid buying fertility. I’d try some if it introduces beneficial microbial life that would establish itself in the garden. I think I’ll email ‘em with questions!