I am not still not sure about growing celery so I keep having to come back to you.
The plants are now about 14 inches tall,some sticks look the size of shop bought ones,so I pulled a plant and tasted. It was very nice, very sweet and crisp.There were some good strong thick stalks surrouded by some small ones,here is were I am puzzled.
Why would the outside stalks be skinny and the inside ones be fat.?
Clearly I have pulled it too soon although what is there is good but probably a waste to pull the whole plant.
Should I be tying something round them too as they are fanning out a bit.
The bit under the ground was white but the other was green?
XX Jeannine
Thought a picture might help
Is this a self-blanching type that you asked about some time ago? If so, what variety is it?
I thought the self-blanching type like to be grown close together so they can "blanch" each other. The ones that need earthing up I believe are wrapped in newspaper before earthing up. I'm not that experienced with celery, my son is in charge of that department.
we planted ours in a small trench, when i think on, i push some of the earth around them..hopefully, that should help blanch them, also they're planted fairly close to one another ;D
I can't remember the name, and I did think it was a self blanching one, I planted them about maybe 8 inches apart.
Is there something I do next that will hold good for a self blanching or other.
OR,if I treat it as not self blenching one what do I do next.
Sorry but I really have no idea with this,it is a real new one on me.
XX Jeannine
Asbean is correct.
In my experience self-blanching types do not in general blanch as well as "straight", ie trench-grown celery varieties .. but they are much easier to grow.
We plant them in blocks with the plants about 6 inches apart. By the time that they are your size they are rubbing shoulders with each other and this minimises the amount of light getting down to the stems, helping to improve the blanching, as Asbean says. Some, Hessayon for example, suggest putting straw around the edge of the block to help blanch the exterior facing parts .. we do not bother with this.
The amount of blanching can vary with the variety .. some just produce pale green sticks. We have grown Sutton's Golden Self-Blanching 3 for the last couple of years and they blanch reasonably well.
Trench varieties are treated differently. As the name implies a trench is made and the plants are placed in the bottom of the trench. Around August time corrugated cardboard (or similar) is wrapped around each plant, mainly to keep the hearts clean, and then the soil is gradually put back in the trench. Earthing up continues until, in theory, only the green foliage is left protruding. The areas under the soil will get blanched.
Trench varieties are hardy and can last up to Xmas or later depending on variety .. self-blanching are not (they will succumb to the first autumn frost). Trench varieties are arguably fussier about soil conditions, ie they prefer lots of humus. Self-blanching equally like good conditions but are probably a bit more forgiving.
Re size, I am generalising here but I would expect a full-grown celery to be a good 2 feet tall.
Finally, your plants are very early .. ours are less than 6 inches high at the moment though they will soon zoom up .. we usually pick the first ones in early August.
Hope this helps.
Thank you so much, Manics was very good too, I think I followed her instructions wrong though,I did do a trench but I thought that was so the soil could be made good and lots on maure could be put in,then like na idiot I filled it up woth fine soil and planted in it.
So could I now tie a cardboard collar around them or is it too late. shall I just let them go and do their own thing.
XX Jeannine
I think that you have to establish if it is a self-blanching or trench tvariety hat you have.
I am speculating wildly but from your picture it looks more like a trench-type (cos it is a darker green than I have seen in my limited experience of self-blanching types). If it is then use the cardboard and earth up as much as you can (just as you would with spuds) using the surrounding soil.
If it is self-blanching then you could do the above anyway .. though I have never done it myself.
Thank you, that is what I will do. I will know better for next year XX Jeannine