Keeping celery fresh?

[Millymollymandy]

There are both green and white varieties but all you can buy here is green - it shouldn't have to be blanched. Thing is they sell it by weight and loose and with all the leaves so you are paying for a 2 foot long thing with all the outer stalks totally inedible so everyone picks them off. Only about 6 stalks are edible inside - and that's when it isn't all floppy cos they aren't put in any refrigerated units. You can't buy it all year round either - only occasionally during winter/early spring months.

The Lidl stuff was bagged, white and cut off English styley, and everything was crispy and edible!

[hedgewizard]

You can grow a self-blanching variety in a polytunnel or large greenhouse, treating it as cut-and-come-again. Come the cooler weather it wilts, and you just cover it with fleece until things warm up again. Growth starts again in March, and it bolts around the beginning of May but until then you get some good eating from it - thinner than the autumn stems, but still good eating!

[Green Aura]

Do you know the variety HW?

[hedgewizard]

I used 'full white' from Realseeds last year, but any self-blanching variety will be fine. (self-blanching ones have a more upright habit so hide fewer slugs)

The only trick is making sure your soil never dries out, which means a decent amount of organic matter and a good irrigation routine. I think the rest of mine is bound for the soup pot in the next couple of weeks before it starts to go bitter!

[Green Aura]

Might have another go, when we've got the polytunnel irrigation sorted.

My one and only attempt at growing celery was a total disaster - it started off woody and tubular pretty much from the start. Probably didn't water it enough!