;D I've had my lottie for about 3 years, and thought that this year I'd try and grow something I'll eat! I'm trying celery! The little sweethearts have germinated beautifully, I've dug a "Manure" enriched trench to keep in moisture, but I've suddenly realized, I have no idea what pests celery attracts. ??? Is it a pigeons picnic? A butterflies buffet? Or a rabbits risotto?! Advice obviously required, thank you and please exscuse name....
Do NOT let me put you off. Just prepare!!
http://everest.ento.vt.edu/~idlab/vegpests/veghosts/celery.pests.html
But - there's slugs too - the major threat?? Lost this years crop to them. So - this year I'm going back to self-blanching. How to protect against slugs?? I hope that someone will come up with a solution.
OK Put off! Not really. Why don't you have to protect self blanching against slugs? Or am I being really stupid. Probably best not to answer that.... ::)
It's much easier to control slugs on the surface than deep down in a trench. I think!
And I made the mistake of wrapping my trench stuff in newspaper, which immediately melted, rather than 'stout' paper.
One limitation of S/B has been that it is not frost-hardy. I'm hoping that the one we have this year will be.
some things in life remain a mystery,why are we here?what happened to Lord Lucan? why do people grow Moneymaker toms?-and how does one grow trenched celery avoiding slugs,rot and general nastiness :-[
Stephan
I'm still hoping that someone will tell me!
The fact that all commercial 'dirty' celery is perfect, makes one wonder about chemicals??
I'm growing self blanching celery for the first time this year. I was planning to cover them with fleece (like I have done my carrots) in the hope that I will avoid most of the pests. Time will tell...
Did you know that eating a raw stick of celery helps to relieve heartburn and indigestion.
It's also very slimming!!
Think problem may be irrelevant, seeds seem to be succumbing to damping off fungus! :'(, Even worse, spent good Friday digging trench, filling with compost and then recovering!! How sad is that.. ::) Any advice gratefully received, either on damping off, or on what to plant in gorgeous trench now!! ???
Leeks.
Tim : Good Morning Happy Easter Sunday to You
You must have read my Mind :D
Just Fiished doing Mine for the Leeks
I knew that Ina does it!
Thanks for advice, leeks like tlc then? Do you think gourds would apprciate this too? Have a pack of mixed gourds to attempt and read that they were really hungry plants. Decisions, decisions. I'll actually be glad when everything is planted and I just have to tweek things occasionally!
It's not so much tlc - it's blanching, as for the celery?
PS Can anyone sow one celery seed at a time? This is after taking at least 4 out of each cell. With tweezers!!
I did mine in a seed tray ??? Was I wrong? The intention being to prick the little dears out when they had their first true leaves. I still have a few survivors. Decided to remove any seedlings that looked vaguely poorly, so far so good. Cool picture, I'm not that adept with technology! If I don't have to water it or pick it etc, I just get confused ;D
up - nothing is wrong - just different!
Cell culture just gives them less root disturbance - they go straight into the ground 'as is'. In fact, these cells are probably a bit on the big side!
Keep yours well spaced. You can prick out almost as soon as you wish. Some of the 'thinnings' from here went elsewhere.
Tim, how old are your seedlings? Mine still look quite small, first sowing has only over the past couple of days developed their first true leaves, they germinated on 2 March. Second sowing looks about the size of yours in the photo, they germinated 2-3 days ago.
My seedlings seem to have been the same size for about a week! Sulking or something! Do they have to be much bigger than ones in photo on top on? Surely you'd need a really, really small pot! :D I'm going to try and play them a bit of music, any suggestions? :-\ Thought I might try a bit of Kate Melua?!
Mine were sown (on heat) on 13 March - germinated on 24th.
Those are 45mm cells &, right or wrong, the plants will stay there until they get planted out.
I don't think that it's normal to pr**k out or pot on at that stage but, with great care, it works.
think l did the same as Tim last year with my celery (wrapped it in newspaper) all that hard work of digging trench etc gone to waste not one stick of celery any good. As for chemicals Tim, farmers do use them we usually get to use them after a few years of the farmers using them.
Have you had successful crops of celery? Beiginning to get the feeling that this could involve a lot of heartache and tlc for not very good celery. Be honest, I can face the truth.. I think ???
Although our trench celery, last year, was a disaster, I think that, if I had taken some precautions, like nematodes etc, & put a few slug pellets in the fill-in soil, we might have got by.
I'm back to self-blanching this year, as you have seen.
Mine are on their second 'proper' leaves but were pr*cked out as soon as they had their first into cells. When is it okay to plant them on the plot??
A thought on this - the shorter time they are in the ground, the safer? But yours are self blanching, Emma? I would think that when they are 3" high, or are outgrowing the cells, whichever is the sooner - & after hardening off?
Yes self blanching. I shall leave them to it for the time being then. Are they incredibly thirsty plants? Can get my hands on lots of 2 year old FYM - would a good dose of that before planting help?
AH ha, I know the answer to this!! They love a really well enriched soil, very thirsty and very hungry. That's as far as my knowledge goes, and that's from books, good books, mind you...! ;D
Okay dokey - quick ansa, thanks! I shall get plenty of poop dug in. Extra water, unlikely. Will water when I plant them, but then it is up to mother nature, or me if I really have nothing else to do at the allotment.....yeah, like that ever happens!.
hmm, i am worried about my celery and celeriac. the seedlings have been out for a few days and are still really tiny (tim's cell picture springs to mind).
now, i get nervuous around tiny plants - will they ever grow big enough to pot them up and plant them out? ???
if so, how long to reach a decent size? (2 inches or something)
anyone?
svea
My seedlings are still quite tiny. After initial growth seem to have stopped! But I'm hoping a bright sunny day and a bit of music will goad them on!
Very excitied, celery seedlings now producing pair of true leaves!! Still very slow though, toms are racing away. ;D
Must be that music you're playing them ;D
What music did you play them?
I played them some Kate Melua, Reef and a bit of classical, just to cover all bases! ;D Not sure which one they took too!
Re the playing of music...for mothers day I was given a radio which recharges by winding it up therefore have very portable source of plant music ;D ;D ;D
Debs
I bet your celery plants are happy! I'm really pleased, much to my amazement, they're growing really well, first set of true leaves have appeared, now producing next. Can pot on soon, Ihope... Daughter wants to know if they're ready to eat yet? ::) Lottie
still small, mine are. no new leaves yet.
hope they manage to grow before they all die on me :-\
I'm sure they'll be fine. Keep playing the music. Mine seemed to take an age to do anything. I've decided they take a while to grow a half decent root system, then take off. Could be wrong but feels right!!! ;D