Allotments 4 All

I didn't remove leaves, earth up or anything like that, simply planted them, watered and weeded. They were about tennis ball size, maybe a little bigger and were very tasty. I prefer them smaller as a large one (like the shop bought ones) are too big for our size family. Didn't grow enough either, finished them by Novemberish time. Something did have a go at a couple of them, a round hole was gnawed into the root, might have been that pesky mouse that ate all my pea seeds.

Thanks for all the helpful advice and information.  :)I'm constantly amazed at the level of erudition of the folk on this forum.  :o

they didnt make trouble germinating, but then took a long time to grow at all.i carefully potted them into small cells when i could handle them, then they took seemingly ages to grow to bedding plant size. actually, it was exactly two months from sowing to planting out - it just seemed like ages.
sowed mid march, planted out mid may.
still have some in the soil now - they have been nibbled a bit but are good to eat :)

i grew (tried to) celeriac last year, but shall take heed of all advice given:

Shall sow early in heated greenhouse

Ensure the planting area has had plenty of muck added

Shall remove outer leaves, water copiously...

...and hope for the best ;D

Mine were leaves and a stump last year :-[

Debs

I've found some seeds of celeriac called "Prinz". Anyone tried them or know anything about them?

I've grown Celeriac for the last two years. Both times I sowed seeds into small modules in about mid march and had no problems with germination - 100% if I recall, both times.

I planted out in May and found that both time I planted them too close! (so much for learning from your mistakes) I think they probably need to be about 10" apart to grow to a decent size. Mine grew to about tennis ball size both years, which to be fair is not too bad, but you do get a lot of waste, so bigger than this is probably better.

Definitely strip the lower shoots off as they start to turn brown and dry, exposing the base of the bulb - which is mainly above ground, not quite like a Kol Rabi, but close.

The other key thing is water - they definitely need a lot of water - this year I will be planting mine closest to the water butt, alongside the celery.

I still have some in the ground now, and they're fine - had one just last week.

Tony

Thanks for all the advice people, I shall be trying to grow celeriac for the first time this year.  It will be good to have so much info to measure up too.

Quote from: grawrc on February 04, 2006, 17:49:57
I've found some seeds of celeriac called "Prinz". Anyone tried them or know anything about them?

That's what I grew last year, they were fine :)

Thanks Jesse . I'll try some of those then.

QuoteA root. The plant is also known as celery root.

In fact it's the swollen stem.

You don't need to remove lower leaves on modern varieties.

They're easy to germinate with heat and on my clay they grow very large, I don't give them special treatment or anything but they do need quite a long season.

Try using them to make fishcakes instead of potatoes, taste wonderful

I think I shall try the variety that Adrianhumph grew (Brilliant) which he has

shown on the previous page.

If anyone has not tasted celeriac they MUST! It was born to be mashed with

potatoes, salt, pepper and lashings of butter. :P

The supermarket prices are astronomical - about £1.70 ish for a decent size

such as the one Adrianhumph grew.

I shall make it my challenge to grow a decent sized specimen...

... perhaps another challenging competition idea

Debs

I grew Alabaster last year as recommended by EJ (thank you  ;D) and my father-in-law says they are the best he's seen off our patch. They are still on the small side, but very tasty in with some mashed potato.

I am going to start them off in the next few weeks and try sowing them in modules instead of seed trays to see if they get ahead.

Where does it go in the crop rotation?

it's part of the umbilifer (??) carrot like faction - roots, i guess. or free for all.
it can get affected by carrot-like diseases - as can parsley, parsnip, lovage, and celery

Mine go in with the salad crops on the rotation plan

Quote from: Svea on February 06, 2006, 23:23:47
it's part of the umbilifer (??) carrot like faction - roots, i guess. or free for all.
it can get affected by carrot-like diseases - as can parsley, parsnip, lovage, and celery

Just for info, the name for what used to be the umbellifer family is Apiaceae, they don't half change names around a lot it seems to me!

I think the ICBN has made the Umbelliferae a special exception, so that the name Umbelliferae is equally accepted instead of Apiaceae. Sea holly, cumin, coriander, fennel, dill, caraway, agnelica & chervil are the same family, too. Don't know if any of them get the same pests.

Confusing when taxonomists move things about, but they are making so many discoveries about what is related to what with the advent of gene sequencing, so plenty more changes to come, I suppose.

For example, the Scrophulariaceae family which includes a lot of British wildflowers has been shown to consist of a number of genera which are more closely related  to other families than to each other, so they will probably end up being put into other families or new families will be created.

Have bought celeriac seeds to try this year after hearing Gordon Ramsey going on and on about how wonderful it is.  I bought one to try and had it roasted last night. Lovely I thought...OH spat his out !!   Looks like I'll be growing it only for myself then. 

Thanks for the tips because I really didn't have a clue what to do with it. 

One thing.  Will celeriac tolerate shade?

Organic gardening catalogue ...

"Celeriac will tolerate light shade if soil is kept moist in dry weather and it needs a long, unchecked growing season. "

http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2109

Does this answer your question. I cannot believe your OH spat the celeriac out ! It is superb when roasted.

Heldi,

Try it mashed into potatoes, salt & pepper and butter.