Author Topic: Celeriac  (Read 5287 times)

Paulines7

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Celeriac
« on: December 01, 2020, 12:34:05 »
I have grown celeriac from seed this year and the leaves are looking really strong and healthy.  However, there is no root ball yet.  Does anyone know if  these will appear over the winter and into spring?  Is there anything I can do to help them form a large root.  Your help is much appreciated.

I haven't been on here very much in the past year or so as my husband is ill.  I am doing all the housework and the garden and don't get much free time. When I relax, I usually fall asleep in my armchair!  I just thought I would say "Hi" to you all.   :wave:

Obelixx

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2020, 13:07:35 »
Good to see you popping in Pauline.

Celeriac needs a lot of moisture, like celery.   I grew it twice in Belgium but, even there with lots of rain, I had to water in hot dry spells to be sure to get a crop and it's readily available in the shops there so I stopped.

This is what the RHS advises - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/vegetables/celeriac
Obxx - Vendée France

BarriedaleNick

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2020, 17:40:23 »
They might put on a bit of growth but like celery they will bolt come warmer weather - They are probably done.
I had some success with it but nowhere near supermarket size but the woodlice seemed to like living in them!
Lots of water and lots of organic matter - they like a feed!
Moved to Portugal - ain't going back!

ancellsfarmer

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2020, 17:51:58 »
Mine were planted out after harvesting garlic c23/06. Established well, watered often and thoroughly. Tall stems and big leaves. Now lifting enormous root clumps (Need to use the fork!), but very poor 'ball'.Individual roots have swollen, resembling ugly horses' teeth.Same variety Giant Prague , as previous years; in fact the same seed as last year. If it was easy, anybody could do it.
Freelance cultivator qualified within the University of Life.

ACE

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #4 on: December 02, 2020, 06:10:29 »
Mine are never large, cricket ball size once they are topped and tailed and tailed,  :toothy10: but they do for the two of us. I am not a lover of celery but chucked in the soup maker with all the other veg that is going spare it is quite nice.

saddad

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2020, 08:36:20 »
Nice to see you again Pauline, sorry to hear OH isn't well.
Celeriac is the only veg. I will buy as a plug plant... they need a long season and from seed never got big enough. The trick really is lots of water and rich soil...

Tulipa

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2020, 15:04:35 »
Hello Pauline, I don't have any advice so no help but just wanted to say I am sorry to hear your OH is poorly, it sounds like you are really busy but take time to look after yourself too. Take care.
Thinking of you x

ed dibbles

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2020, 18:55:24 »
These are my five tips for growing large (or larger than) supermarket sized celeriac.

1. Grow an F1 variety. I grow Ilona from DTBrown though Monarch is good too. Prague Giant or Prince will only ever produce tiny roots.

2. Sow early. Late february is my time but around that time of the year.

3. Celeriac has an extensive root run so need a wide spacing, 18 inches apart is about right. The little plants look a bit lost to begin with but this spacing is needed for large roots.

4. Water and feed. a general fertiliser when planting (growmore or BFB) followed by High nitrogen feeds about a month apart until july. Water about once a week if there is no rainfall. If there is a drout celeriac should be a watering priority.

5. When the outer leaves fall horizontal pull them off leaving only the upright leaves. This swells the roots.

Have a look at my picture entry for the latest photo competition. We will be enjoying those celeriacs from store for a few more months yet. :happy7:

« Last Edit: December 02, 2020, 18:56:59 by ed dibbles »

Beersmith

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2020, 20:54:55 »
3. Celeriac has an extensive root run so need a wide spacing, 18 inches apart is about right. The little plants look a bit lost to begin with but this spacing is needed for large roots

Good comment Mr Dibbles!

For so many seasons this is the thing I got so wrong. My celeriac spaced out rather like beetroot never seemed to get much bigger than cricket ball size. Then one season almost by accident - having taken on an extra plot and having plenty room and rather poor germination combined - I set my few plants widely spaced and the difference was dramatic.
Not mad, just out to mulch!

gray1720

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #9 on: December 02, 2020, 21:34:20 »
Ooooh, must remember that!
My garden is smaller than your Rome, but my pilum is harder than your sternum!

JanG

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #10 on: December 02, 2020, 22:03:33 »
Agreed. And agree too that February sowing in modules, if you can give them some protection, is also important

Paulines7

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #11 on: December 03, 2020, 03:26:02 »
Thank you so much for all your replies and for your good wishes.

Having read your answers I know now why mine haven't formed root balls; they are too close together.   The plants are about 2ft high now so would probably be too big to transplant but I was wondering if I thinned them out now whether root balls would form on those left.  I could use the plants I pull out for soup.   I had no trouble getting the seeds to germinate in my greenhouse and they did incredibly well.  In fact I had so many plants that I was able to be very selective and transplant only the strongest ones.  I put them in a raised bed and watered them in dry spells.  If they were salad celery they would all be the right size now for harvesting but without a rounded root I am disappointed. 

Ed Dibbles, my plants look nothing like those in your picture in the photo competition nor do they look like the plants on the RHS website that Obelixx mentions in his post!  Maybe the company I bought them from put celery seeds in there and not celeriac!  I will look out the packet and see whose seeds they were and what variety I have.  I will definitely order some Ilona for next year.  The outer leaves on mine haven't shown any sign of falling yet.  I didn't put any fertiliser in my raised bed but dug in manure so maybe it was too rich for them and that is why they have only produced leaves.

Well, thank you all again for your suggestions.  They have been helpful and hopefully, I will grow better ones next year.   :icon_cheers:

 

small

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #12 on: December 03, 2020, 15:20:57 »
Just to say, good to hear from you and I'm sorry about the health issues. I never managed to grow very big roots, and gave up finally when it was just not worth the discomfort of peeling them. The taste was no better than a supermarket one, either.
Hope you can keep on with the growing though!

Paulines7

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #13 on: December 05, 2020, 01:33:34 »
I prefer to have celeriac mashed instead of potatoes as they have far less carbs and I am diabetic. I usually buy them from Tesco and though they are difficult to peel at least the Supermarket ones have the roots cut off.  They are quite expensive to buy being well over £1 and one I had bought year was full of carrot fly maggots.  That's why I decided to grow my own this year and have a framework around my raised bed on which to fix fine netting.  Fingers crossed for next year.

Obelixx

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #14 on: December 05, 2020, 08:43:46 »
I like it in a remoulade which is just French speak for finely grated and dressed with a light mayonnaise and it's also good sliced and cooked like a gratin dauphinois - layered in a baking dish, seasoned with S&P and garlic and then bathed in cream and baked slowly and gently.  Makes good soup too.

Hope it grows well for you next year.

Here are some more ideas - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search/recipes?q=celeriac 
Obxx - Vendée France

Vinlander

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #15 on: December 05, 2020, 10:42:42 »
As everyone says, celeriac needs a long season so it does poorly when sown in a row, however it's different from beets etc. in that it doesn't bolt early when disturbed (as long as you put it somewhere better).

Anybody who has grown it from bought plants will know this - so why not sow it early in cells in a warm place - it works well and doesn't really need to compete for propagator space - seedlings are happy on a sunny windowsill, and should even survive being between the window and the curtain.

However such places are easily overlooked, so I recommend putting a tray or trough on the shelf as a self-watering system (capillary matting draped over a little platform inside - even double J cloths work OK) the more forgetful you are the higher the platform needs to be (so the water can be deeper).

The celeriac should be moved to cloches/cold frame in March, but the same system will help you bring on the tomato seedlings in March/April (when it can get really scorching on that sill, and plants that haven't got a capillary system can be lost in a day or two).

Cheers.

PS. When you pull the unwanted shoots off the crown it's worth rooting them, as some will swell to cue-ball size and a few may even survive to swell up properly next year (and though it's pretty hit & miss it's no work).
With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

The simple/complex split is more & more important: Simple fertilisers Poor, complex ones Good. Simple (old) poisons predictable, others (new) the opposite.

Vinlander

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #16 on: December 05, 2020, 10:54:00 »
I should have mentioned that Hamburg Parsley behaves much more like celeriac than like parsnips - so it needs the same extra bit of special treatment, but it's just different enough to put a welcome bit of variety into the Sunday roast.

On the subject of different flavours, Salsify is a little bit more different again, but it is happy sown in the ground - even easier than parsnips (if that's possible) though I've never grown one much thicker than 3cm so they need less cooking time (unless you cut your parsnip to the same size).

Cheers.
With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

The simple/complex split is more & more important: Simple fertilisers Poor, complex ones Good. Simple (old) poisons predictable, others (new) the opposite.

Paulines7

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #17 on: December 05, 2020, 23:17:44 »
I like it in a remoulade which is just French speak for finely grated and dressed with a light mayonnaise and it's also good sliced and cooked like a gratin dauphinois - layered in a baking dish, seasoned with S&P and garlic and then bathed in cream and baked slowly and gently.  Makes good soup too.

Hope it grows well for you next year.

Here are some more ideas - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search/recipes?q=celeriac

Obelixx, thank you very much for the lovely recipes and the link to those on the BBC Good Food site.  They look really delicious. 
I have been watching Masterchef:The Professionals on tv and they have used celeriac in some of their dishes either raw or cooked.
 
Vinlander, thank you for your posts. 

As everyone says, celeriac needs a long season so it does poorly when sown in a row, however it's different from beets etc. in that it doesn't bolt early when disturbed (as long as you put it somewhere better).

Anybody who has grown it from bought plants will know this - so why not sow it early in cells in a warm place - it works well and doesn't really need to compete for propagator space - seedlings are happy on a sunny windowsill, and should even survive being between the window and the curtain.

However such places are easily overlooked, so I recommend putting a tray or trough on the shelf as a self-watering system (capillary matting draped over a little platform inside - even double J cloths work OK) the more forgetful you are the higher the platform needs to be (so the water can be deeper).

The celeriac should be moved to cloches/cold frame in March, but the same system will help you bring on the tomato seedlings in March/April (when it can get really scorching on that sill, and plants that haven't got a capillary system can be lost in a day or two).

Cheers.

PS. When you pull the unwanted shoots off the crown it's worth rooting them, as some will swell to cue-ball size and a few may even survive to swell up properly next year (and though it's pretty hit & miss it's no work).

I will try transplanting a few as I have some spare beds now and hope that they don't bolt when disturbed.  I didn't have any problem growing them from seed into very healthy strong plants as my greenhouse is double-glazed.  I started them off at the same time as my chillies, peppers and bedding plants and watered them regularly.  It's when I had to plant them out that I had a problem because I only had one bed ready and it's only 1 x 1 metre square.  I put them about 6 to 8 inches apart expecting some to die off but they all grew! 



Obelixx

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #18 on: December 06, 2020, 16:58:58 »
My pleasure Pauline.  I like trying new recipes to keep us from getting bored and that site is good for inspiration and, in your case, as it posts the various food values too and they have a whole section of low GI recipes which should be of interest to you.   Site seems broken today so I can't post a link but the BBC Food website has these - https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/high-protein_low-gi_vegetarian

Obxx - Vendée France

ed dibbles

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Re: Celeriac
« Reply #19 on: February 22, 2021, 09:45:46 »
Hello all. :wave:

Time to start these of the next week or so as per instructions above.

 

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