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Homegrown Celery

August 21st, 2009

This year I decided to grow celery. My sole reason for growing it was for my tomato soup (our favorite canned item by far). I bought some ‘Tendercrip’ celery seeds from Baker Creek this spring and I started the seeds in February. They took a while to germinate, but when they did, every single one germinated. I ended up with 24 celery plants. I gave some to my mom and planted 12-14 in my gardens.
Homegrown_Celery
I’ve been waiting for my tomato harvest to pick up so I have enough for a batch of soup, and I was hoping my celery would be ready in time. I was pleasantly surpised when I went out to harvest a celery plant yesterday and I found this lovely one, weighing in at 1 lb 10 oz – WOW.
Big_Celery_Harvest
I didn’t blanch them, I happen to like the green celery. Those leaves will come in handy as well, they will add excellent flavor to my soup and to chicken stock and soups this winter. Another plus in my garden is that nothing eats celery. Since I have deer, rabbits, chipmunks and groundhogs that eat a lot of other things, anytime I can find a plant that will do well in the back without animal threats I’m one happy gardener.

Have you ever grown celery?

28 Comments to “Homegrown Celery”
  1. Mangochild on August 21, 2009 at 6:48 am

    That’s a huge celery! I’ve not grown it as its not one of my favs, but my mother loves it. Is it possible/worth the work to grow only a small amount?
    .-= Mangochild´s last blog ..The Impact of “Kitchen Gardening” =-.

    Reply to Mangochild's comment

    • Susy on August 21, 2009 at 9:21 am

      I think it would be worth it. I didn’t need to do much for it, it really takes care of itself.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  2. annie avery on August 21, 2009 at 7:05 am

    it’s actually the only celery i like, homegrown.. store bought is much too sterile and uniform for me to trust

    Reply to annie avery's comment

  3. Daphne on August 21, 2009 at 7:56 am

    I’ve never grow celery. I don’t use it in much, just winter soups. I keep thinking I need one plant for my yearly needs. Right now I just buy individual stalks one at a time from the grocery.
    .-= Daphne´s last blog ..Beauty of the Beans =-.

    Reply to Daphne's comment

  4. s on August 21, 2009 at 8:09 am

    I grew a cutting celery for the first time this year that has done pretty well. Good to hear the standard varieties aren’t too hard to grow–I’d like to try it but it seems like it might not keep well for the volume you get.

    How are you planning on preserving the leaves? (Drying, freezing?)
    .-= s´s last blog ..meze monday =-.

    Reply to s's comment

    • Susy on August 21, 2009 at 9:22 am

      I’m planning on freezing it, I may dry some of the leaves for seasoning though.

      Reply to Susy's comment

    • Stephen Earley on January 14, 2013 at 11:40 am

      I have had good luck with dehydrating celery by chopping it into 1/4 inch thick slices and drying them thouroughly. I just toss a handfull into soup, etc. and find that they rehydrate and flavor perfectly. I do okra, green beans, onion, garlic, etc. the same way and create wonderful soups from them with a chicken stock base. Collards, greens of all kinds do as well but must be blanched first. I then crush them into small bits prior to rehydrating to make it easier to eat. Good luck.

      Reply to Stephen Earley's comment

  5. KitsapFG on August 21, 2009 at 9:03 am

    I grow celery and find it is a crop that likes my natural environment so it thrives despite it’s reputation as a high demand crop (lots of water and very fertile soil). I keep some going as long into the fall/winter as possible for fresh eating purposes and the rest is harvested and sliced up and then flash frozen on cookie sheets and put into gallon zip lock freezer bags – so I can scoop out what I need for cooking purposes and then reseal the bag. Since most of my celery use is for cooking – this works really well. I do the same thing with diced peppers and chopped onions too.

    Reply to KitsapFG's comment

  6. Christine on August 21, 2009 at 9:51 am

    The town I grew up in is actually known for celery. There are a bunch of huge fields that were once filled with nothing but celery, but are now owned by sod and cattle companies. It was neat going into grocery stores and seeing my home town on the label, though.

    Also, we got the rabbits, if you’re interested in taking a peek!
    .-= Christine´s last blog ..Bunny pen =-.

    Reply to Christine's comment

  7. warren on August 21, 2009 at 10:29 am

    “nothing eats celery”

    you said it yourself! I do not like it much…though it looks cool in your hand! A huge plant!
    .-= warren´s last blog ..The Stop Sign Artist of Charleston, WV =-.

    Reply to warren's comment

    • Susy on August 21, 2009 at 6:21 pm

      You’re too funny!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  8. the inadvertent farmer on August 21, 2009 at 12:00 pm

    It has been years since I’ve grown it. Mine never got as big as your’s…I think you just might have inspired me to try again next year! Kim
    .-= the inadvertent farmer´s last blog ..Friday Funnies =-.

    Reply to the inadvertent farmer's comment

    • Susy on August 21, 2009 at 6:21 pm

      I did give mine a dose or two of liquid seaweed partway through the season. I read that celery loves this.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  9. […] homegrown celery | Chiot's Run chiotsrun.com/2009/08/21/homegrown-celery – view page – cached This year I decided to grow celery. I bought some 'Tendercrip' celery seeds from Baker Creek this spring and I started the seeds in February. — From the page […]

    Reply to Twitter Trackbacks for homegrown celery | Chiot’s Run [chiotsrun.com] on Topsy.com's comment

  10. Home Canned Tomato Soup | Chiot's Run on August 22, 2009 at 4:46 am

    […] more than I did last year (31 pints). I’m particularly excited about this soup because this year I grew my own celery. I also started a lot of onions, but onions are one of those things that don’t do all that well […]

    Reply to Home Canned Tomato Soup | Chiot’s Run's comment

  11. Colin H on September 11, 2009 at 2:29 am

    Great Article, I’m going to grow my own next year.

    I weighed in at 18 stones 6 weeks ago. I started eating two large heads of celery per day with a tuna / mayo mix each meal. 6 weeks on I’m weighing 16.5 stones and really feel healthy. My friends and family are all suffering with autumnal colds, but not me. Energy levels are up, concentration is at a peak and I feel that my cholesterol is optimal (although no tests to prove it).

    Celery Rocks … I will continue to eat it even after I have achieved my weight loss goals.

    Reply to Colin H's comment

    • Susy on September 11, 2009 at 9:09 am

      Congrats on getting healthier! It’s definitely a worthy pursuit and you’ll be glad you did for years to come!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  12. Paulina on September 21, 2009 at 4:54 pm

    Do you know when the celery has been out in the garden too long? Or is there such a thing? Mine have been in the garden for a month maybe.
    What I notice is that they get dry a bit. Anything on this would be appreciated.

    Reply to Paulina's comment

    • Susy on September 21, 2009 at 4:56 pm

      Celery is a biennial, meaning it will live and set seed next year. So you can leave it out in the garden as long as you want. If you leave it over winter it will go to see though. I plan on leaving mine in the garden as long as I can since I don’t have room to store it and I prefer it fresh.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  13. A Little Under the Weather | Chiot's Run on September 23, 2009 at 4:46 am

    […] made myself a big pot of chicken soup with a chicken from the local farm, farmer’s market onions, homegrown celery and lots of homegrown garlic and hot peppers. It’s soothing and really helped break up my […]

    Reply to A Little Under the Weather | Chiot’s Run's comment

  14. Cindi on July 21, 2010 at 6:58 pm

    Can it be grown as a fall crop and if so how many days till maturity? I work a farmers market and would like to time it just right. We open up again for a fall market October 1st and close down for the winter season about the 3rd week in November.

    Thanks again, Cindi

    Reply to Cindi's comment

    • Susy on July 21, 2010 at 7:27 pm

      I’m guessing you could, they wouldn’t get as big as if grown all summer long, plus it probably depends on the zone you live in. I started mine early in the spring and they were HUGE by the end of the summer.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  15. CJ on January 28, 2012 at 10:37 pm

    Can you share your tomato soup recipe? We really love it and need a good canning recipe.

    Thanks,

    Cj

    Reply to CJ's comment

  16. Canning Tomato Soup | Eat Outside The Bag on January 29, 2012 at 11:36 am

    […] than I did last year (31 pints). I’m particularly excited about this soup because this year I grew my own celery. I also started a lot of onions, but onions are one of those things that don’t do all that […]

    Reply to Canning Tomato Soup | Eat Outside The Bag's comment

  17. Nina on February 5, 2012 at 9:00 am

    Great blog…just ran across you on Bakers Creek website, while buying celery! Have you ever grown tomatillos? I’m thinking about growing them this year and wondering how big the plants get, how much space they need, are they vines or bushes etc?
    Nina

    Reply to Nina's comment

  18. Leotis Foster II on November 28, 2012 at 3:37 am

    I brought tender crisp celery seeds a couple weeks ago and planted them in a small greenhouse container about 2 weeks ago and it just started to sprout, I was just wondering how long does the celery take to get big enough to harvest!

    Reply to Leotis Foster II's comment

  19. darryl siegel on May 22, 2013 at 9:37 am

    I live close to the N.C. S.C. border, zone 8 and have twice started celery from 3-5 inch plants in early October and they are ready to harvest in mid May. I suppose if we had a night or two of low teens there may be some frost damage but our low temp here all winter is typically 14-18 degrees.

    Reply to darryl siegel's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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