celeriac

[rita1]

hello has anyone had any success in growing celeriac.
this is my first time growing it. i have it in my window sill in a pot with a plastic bag and today i noticed a couple of seedling. so what is next. how long do i keep them in side.

[gingerbilly]

I tried them on raised beds last year for the first time.....only 4 out of 12 seeds produced ......but absolutely loved it.

Found it very hard to germinate (about 30 ish days in a heated propagator) but as long as you like the celery taste it's exceptional.....makes fantastic potato and celeriac mash......planted mine out around late April under cloches and fully open from end of May in the south......picked them late August.

[Kirk]

I grew some a few years back and they came to nothing much.
After that I thought it might be a good idea to actually read up on them, sort of find out about them afterwards.
Seems they are basically Celery - RHS information - just a very slightly different form, but very close.
They need to be kept moist at all times, don't like getting dry as then the ball doesn't form.
Also it seems that as they are celery if they grow lots of greenery then they don't grow a nice big root to munch on. So you have to keep the number of leaves/stalks down. Makes it sound as if they revert to celery with stalks and no root ball if they get the chance.

Decided they were a bit too much trouble, and I only tried them the once.
Worth searching out information on them.

[out in the cold]

I am gonna try them this year. Any advice on these is welcome

[KittyColdNose]

Erm... Helloooo OITC? They have already sprouted in the kitchen.

[out in the cold]

Erm... Helloooo OITC? They have already sprouted in the kitchen.

domestic!
Now I am not allowed to ask questions....
I don't know the best way to deal with them.

As I said before being rudely interrupted, any advice is welcome.

[Mr Bones]

Keep them on a coolish windowsill until the frosts have passed then transfer them into a well manured bed about a foot apart. They're heavy feeders, need to be kept constantly damp and are attractive to slugs. That said, although your crop may not grow as big as commercial roots the taste will be far superior.There's more detailed info here on the RHS website. Hope this helps

[KittyColdNose]

Thanks Mr Bones. Would chicken manure pellets do them good? I also have organic liquid feed and horse manure bu it's not rotted yet.

[Nicos]

We have finally cracked how to make them succeed!!

Very well manured ground and very well watered.
If you think about it, they are basically a bog plant, so lots of well rotted compost/manure to retain moisture and water regularly- esp if it's hot.

If you don't water them, then they stay small or go hollow.

As they grow outside ( after the frosts) gently twist off a couple of outside leaves at their base from time to time to expose the part which is going to swell. No idea why- but I've read this and it seems to work better than if you don't!!

[veggiechicken]

Now that I'm over my fear of celeriac aka baby's heads, I'm going to give them a try this year too. Don't forget that the leaves you strip off are also edible - so its a BOGOF veggie I like that

[taff]

And woodlice really like then too, so rip off leaves as advised by Nicos, so there aren't hollows they can nest in..

[VirginVegGrower]

I echo Nicos' and Taff's advice. The light needs to get to the root so hence ripping off of outer/lower leaves. Water and feed, water and feed. Oh and oh growing outside, straw mulch around them to protect their crowns, but only on cold days.
Can recommend Celeriac and Stilton soup.

[taff]

I made some celeriac and blue cheese bread [ really, really nice...]
Celeriac soup with harissa is also bleedin lovely

[sir david]

We eat it raw like grated carrot .
Goes well with black raddish.

David

[rita1]

We have finally cracked how to make them succeed!!

Very well manured ground and very well watered.
If you think about it, they are basically a bog plant, so lots of well rotted compost/manure to retain moisture and water regularly- esp if it's hot.

If you don't water them, then they stay small or go hollow.

As they grow outside ( after the frosts) gently twist off a couple of outside leaves at their base from time to time to expose the part which is going to swell. No idea why- but I've read this and it seems to work better than if you don't!!

i have been reading up about them and they said the same thing, i have no idea why they suggested picking off the outer leave, but hey if it works i will try it.
i soaked my seed over night and they have all come up in less then 2 weeks so i am chuffed, they are in the window sill with the plastic bag over them, when do i take the bag off and transplant them into bigger tubs. thanks for your advice so far, spot on......