Allotments 4 All

Hi.  I'm planning to grow clerey in pots this year.  The type I have bought is Galaxy Lathom self-blanching.  Can anyone tell me whether it needs full sun or will it be able to tolerate some shade?  Thanks.

G xx

All I can tell you Georgie is mine was in dappled shade at the plot, and altho it grew fine, and didn't bolt (a miracle on my plot) it grew slowely and never really bulked up hugely.  Good enough for me, as it is only me that likes it, but if I needed lots, I would have had to cut several plants. 

Thanks Emma.  Never tried celery before.  There's loads of advice in my books on growing it but not a word about whether full sun needed. :(

G xx

Tim grows it lots.....I'm sure he and others will advice you tomorrow.

Georgie, I grew a self blanching type last year and it was in full sun. It grew beautifully with thick stems and lots of them to each plant. Although some plants were lovely when it came to eating them, quite a few were dry inside, I put this down to lack of water during the dry summer and with a hosepipe ban. We're on clay soil which is usually quite moist so wherever you grow them make sure you water them very well. Just checked my book and it says all varieties of celery require a sunny site. :)

Thanks Jesse, that's really useful advice.  I looked celery up in a book I'd forgotten I had this morning and it, too, suggested sunshine and plenty of water.  There's going to be a fight for the sunshine in my semi-shaded garden next summer!   ::)

G xx

Hi Georgie, i go along with all that has been said,Sun and well Watered but remember the the slug,s and snails they get into the center of them and make aright mess.

I've given up on celery, I can grow it beautifuly but the slugs wreck it before it's ready.
How do you store it by the way?

My celery was interplanted with my lettuces, the slugs ate the lettuces and left the celery alone. Remember to use the leaves like a herb and if they run to seed then keep the seeds to make celery salt.

I grew my celery in a trench filled with well rotted manure, watered it loads and used enviro mesh over it. I was dead chuffed with it! I didn't store it, just picked as and when, it lasted through the minor frosts, but was annihilated by the really cold snap...lovely stuff though, used to love the smell when pulling it, oh roll on Spring!!

I'll be growing sacrificial plants in small pots for the slugs and snails - Basil and French Marigolds - and employing other tried and tested methods like broken egg shells, frogs and toads and if the worse comes to the worse organic slug killer from Growing Success.  Hopefully they will leave the celery alone. 

Jesse, how do you make celery salt then?

G xx

Grind some celery seeds, add it to a jar of salt and shake/mix until evenly mixed. I want to try making fennel seed salt this year as well. You can also make a herb salt by mixing a variety of dried ground herbs with salt. You can include dried chillies as well, and if anyone knows how to dry garlic I'd like to try adding dried garlic as well. The variations are endless :D

Wow, so simple.  Many thanks.   ;D

G xx

The lettuce trick never worked for me :'(