Celery Help

[alasdairmorrison]

What is the best way to store celery and how do I stop my celery from being eaten by slugs.I have had a good crop so far but we have had a very cold (frosty) spell and while the plants are still standing the stalks are frosted and when they thaw are soft and mushy.

[zazen999]

Hi

The trick with celery is to grow it in trays or pots, sat on a gravel tray full of water. Then it stays lush, doesn't frost [esp if in a courtyard or greenhouse or coldframe], blanches itself and you can harvest it and let it grow back. I've never had slugs on mine, so can't help there.

And, welcome to the Vine. And unless your celery is also called Alisdair, I'm going to change the title to Celery Help for you.

[Snadger]

Had a munch on some of mine at the lottie today. It was realy tasty but I had to munch around the slug channels!
If it will stand until next weekend I think I'll pull it all up and salvage what I can for celery soup!

[Jeanied]

I'm with Snadger on this one - you will be able to harvest it now but it really is best to use it in soup - maybe a soup base and freeze. Or you could cut it up and blanch it to freeze in batches to use later.

[solway cropper]

Pulled most of mine last week before the hard frosts of the last few nights. Some of it was a bit stringy but we've had a couple of good soups out of it and a load more I put through the blender and have frozen it to use as a soup base later. Still have some growing in a big tub in the greenhouse to be eaten fresh in salads. As for slugs what's wrong with slug pellets. You can get 'organic' ones if you're a bit worried about chemicals but they don't seem to be as effective.

[COMPOST CORNER]

Pulled most of mine last week before the hard frosts of the last few nights. Some of it was a bit stringy but we've had a couple of good soups out of it and a load more I put through the blender and have frozen it to use as a soup base later. Still have some growing in a big tub in the greenhouse to be eaten fresh in salads. As for slugs what's wrong with slug pellets. You can get 'organic' ones if you're a bit worried about chemicals but they don't seem to be as effective.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. First year growing celery, but it has been incredibly stringy, ruined my last batch of soup.