Today I will explain in a very simple way how to grow celery from a stalk. But first, let’s learn a little about celery and how to take care of it.
Celery (Apium graveolens) is a plant native to the Mediterranean, which is characterized by having a juicy, hairless, furrowed, and branched stem, long and cleft leaves. Its flowers are white and do not reach a significant size.
Unlike other vegetables, celery when cooked retains a large percentage of its nutrients. An example is that when it is steamed, it can keep between 83% to 99% of its antioxidants.
This vegetable is a great source of vitamin K since in only 4oz of this vegetable we can find about 40% of the daily recommendations of vitamin K. Another nutrient it possesses is vitamin B9, which is necessary for the formation of structural proteins and hemoglobin. It also has fiber, an essential nutrient for the maintenance of the intestinal flora.
How to Grow Celery from a Stalk – Step by Step
To plant celery from a stalk, it is necessary to cut the base of the vegetable. The celery to be used can be a product of our garden or from the supermarket.
The part of the stem that is obtained is placed in a container and fill with water to cover half of the base. After twenty days of growth and when the plant shows several leaves, it is necessary to repot it into a pot. To start with the repotting, you must remove the old leaves from the outside of the base. Fill the pot with compost and make a hole the size of the celery base. Cover the plant until only the sprouts are exposed. Once the repotting is complete, water abundantly.
Remember that celery requires soils with a good supply of organic matter. Prepare the soil properly, add compost, and throughout the cycle can be added vermicompost or some liquid organic fertilizer.
How to Care for Celery Plant
Celery absorbs half of the nutrients one month before harvest, for which it is important to maintain high moisture levels in the last weeks of cultivation. This practice is done so that the stalks are more tender and whiter, and consists of bundling the well-developed plant, more precisely the petiole, leaving the leaves free when they reach about 12” (30 cm) in height with burlap, paper, or black polyethylene. This is done about 15-20 days before harvest.
Harvest Celery Plant
For green varieties, 120 days after repotting. For yellow varieties, 80-100 days after repotting. The time of harvest is determined by the size of the plant, previously removing the girdle, then cut the plant at ground level harvesting the rosette of leaves.
Learn more about How to Grow Celery Step by Step.
