Celeriac

[Issy]

Does anyone have any tips on growing celeriac? Have tried in the past but all I seem to get are loads of roots and they are the size of marbles.

[bramble]

Hi Issy, I have tried growing celeriac for the past few years and like you, all I get is a tangle of roots.
The main tip is to keep them well watered, never let them dry out and take off any sideshoots. I have done all of these but still never had any success.
Good luck and let me know if you succeed.

[happyhumph]

My experience is the same as Bramble I'm afraid - did manage to get a couple to just under tennis ball size once.....

[bazzaboy]

Does anyone have any tips on growing celeriac?

It's originally a bog plant, Issy, so needs rich damp compost and good exposure to sun to initially grow maximum leaf..... But then in late Summer panic it into swelling the root by steadily and sequentially removing nearly all the leaves! I know that sounds unlikely but I first heard that tip on Gardener's World (enthusiastic Monty, no less!) and I tried it and it did improve the crop (from marble to golf ball)... But give it a try and see if it improves your crop this year. Happy days..... bb.

See:
How To Grow Celery and Celeriac | gardenersworld.com

[Mr Bones]

Normally my celeriac grow to about 3in diameter but mulching with wood chips last year they reached 4in. As Bazza says, keep removing the outside leaves as the root swells and feed well, I use chicken pellets.

[Thelma Sanders]

Getting them to germinate, in the first place would help

[Bren In Pots]

I've not had much luck growing celeriac either last year I used the seeds as micro veg.

[burnie]

I tried last year and had huge tops and no swollen bits, up till now the seeds sown have not yet sprouted, I will try this leaf removal and see how it goes

[Penellype]

I've not had much problem with celeriac (*ducks to avoid low flying items). I sow plenty of seed on top of compost in a medium sized pot in April and put the pot on the windowsill covered with a plastic bag. The seeds apparently need light to germinate. They take about 10 days to germinate and then I remove the bag.

When they get to the 2-4 true leaf stage in early May I choose a dozen or so strong seedlings and prick them out into modules. These go straight to my friend's greenhouse and are planted out late May. Last year they were completely eaten by slugs by mid June (the year before they formed about 4 inch roots). Undeterred I dug some more out of the original pot - I'd been eating these in salads but there were plenty left. I planted them straight into the soil and mulched them with "Strulch" which is supposed to deter slugs. There was some damage, but the plants grew and I'm still harvesting tennis ball sized roots for my friend (I don't much like celeriac).

The plants were grown in nearly full sun at the boggy end of the vegetable garden and given plenty of water.

So the way to grow them seems to be:
Give them light to germinate - don't cover the seeds.
Keep them wet and keep the slugs off.

[bramble]

I have had no problems getting celeriac to germinate and have planted out lovely healthy plants.
I have kept them well watered and removed the bulk of the leaves.
They have looked so healthy but were still little more than a tangle of roots.
Also, they spend so long in the ground.
If you are short on space its not worth it.

[Penellype]

Maybe its the variety - mine is Monarch.

[Mr Bones]

Maybe its the variety - mine is Monarch.

Could be down to variety, mine was Asterix

[the beadle]

Keep em wet

Once they go in the ground they need water EVERY day for at least two weeks, they hate the dry. We love celeriac and regularly grow about 100, we usually get around 75% success rate. As the saying goes, The wetter the better. I grow Monarch.