It's been a couple months since we'd updated the progress of our celery plant. Since re-growing this plant from a chopped off base of celery about 9 months ago, we've really enjoyed watching the plant grow and evolve. The stalks continue to thicken and shoot up from the center and we've been able to chop off stalks here and there as needed to use in recipes like soups or as flavoring in other dishes.
We've been keeping the planter in our kitchen windowsill and just let it do its thing with small daily waterings. But a couple weird things were beginning to happen, like these white leaves:
...And just some general bushiness that we knew we probably wouldn't use for cooking.
So we decided it was time for a trim:
All the excess growth we trimmed off found a new home in our compost bin to help new plants grow this coming spring when we get planting again.
In a matter of days after trimming back all the stalks this weekend, new leaves and growth have already continued to push their way up through the center of this little celery plant that could:
It's pretty amazing. We are almost 9 months into this project and couldn't have imagined we'd still be going so strong!
Crazy, right? Have you tried this celery growing project yet? We'd love to know how your plants are doing at this point. Have you been growing any other types vegetables from kitchen scraps? We're hoping to try a pineapple at some point.
I have two going and they have been very happy outside (zone 6) until this last week. I've brought them inside now.
ReplyDeleteMine's been thriving (WA temperate). Quite tall and bushy, though not thick and crazy like a storebought celery. I've had it in a large pot, and it grew very quickly - we've used stalks in bloody marys. :) I am scared to eat it, though - still not over the "bugs are normal" issue of growing my own food.
ReplyDeleteJust wash it well no worries on the bugs and LOVE bloody mary's!
DeleteI haven't started one yet but will soon. The thinner stalks I would think would be more tender and very flavorful. I do have a mango growing, peach tree from seed and working on a orange and lemon tree. The pineapple would be really cool.
ReplyDeleteWow Rita we might have to try some of those!
DeleteI am so glad I found this page. I am in Phoenix, AZ and in October I planted the cloves from one bulb of garlic. I've been snipping and using the greens from the garlic for sauces and salads. Last week I planted some more cloves. I planted the end of an onion and it's sprouted and looks to be growing well - so well that I planted another onion end. I can't wait to start some celery. My basil is still going strong (I have enough in the freezer to take me through most of the winter) thanks to the mild weather. I can't believe all the could have been food that I have tossed because I didn't know I could plant. Thanks so much for the advice. I love your help!!!
ReplyDeleteWell thanks so much for checking in! Good luck on all of your projects! Please feel free to visit often. We have some fun project ideas for Spring in 2013!
DeleteThose white leaves look like a fungus and could transfer through your compost to other plantings. I would get rid of the compost, sterilize the container, and start over. If it happens again throw out the plant, soil, pot and all with the garbage and start a new plant. A bigger container would probably result in a more vigorous plant and thicker stalks. Fertilizer high in N might help too. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea! Never thought of growing celery from a pot! Along with the ginger, I'm in!
ReplyDeleteI don't think that looks like fungus at all. I don't know much about how long a plant can regenerate without adding something back into the soil- although it makes sense that it can grow from the crown since the crown will compost and add nutrients (but it will consume nitrogen from the potting soil while it is composting).
ReplyDeleteI have grown parsley & cilantro in a pot in my windowsill and they did a similar thing- turning yellow and the other whitish like this because I wasn't harvesting. Not sure why but definitely not fungus.
Although the parsley (biennial) and cilantro (annual) need to be restarted from seed as the parsley will produce leaves to eat the first year and the second will devote to producing seeds; the cilantro will do the same but all in the first year. Both are best to use the leaves before they start going to seed. By cutting and using you can delay the process but eventually the plant is spent.
I don't know how long you can harvest from the celery but I am going to give this a try.
Have you ever tried ginger? I've heard that you can plant the root in dirt to maintain it- read this in a Madhur Jaffrey cookbook. Unearth it as you need it and put it back under. Have never tried but I am inspired by your windowsill garden.
You guys are the bomb, i am growing the celery, it is growing nicely in water. My question is, when did you transfer it to soil?
ReplyDeleteAlso loved your old trunk project. I saw one just like it at a garage sale for 10.00 and i could not think of a place for it. A week later i stopped in at the local goodwill and the garage sale items from that sale had been donated to them. The trunk had a 100.00 price tag on it. To say the least i was kicking my butt for not getting it. Keep up the great work, love you guys!!
That is awesome about the trunk — what a great find and we know what you mean about kicking yourself! We transferred our plant to soil about a week or two after resting it in the water!
DeleteGreat blog you have here! I am wondering if pinching back some of the new growth would make for a bushier, less leggy plant? Can't wait to try this.
ReplyDeleteHey Susan, you might be right! We do find that cutting back the stalks every so often help promote new growth up and through the center of the plant!
DeleteI started my celery in water and it started growing within a week. I planted it in dirt on the 7th day, and now the stalks are starting to get soft and fall over. Am I doing something wrong?
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear you had such quick success! Our celery stalks begin to get soft and fall over when they are thirsty — try giving them a generous watering right in the center and see if that helps!
DeleteI think I may have over-watered it, b/c the root was starting to rot. I tried to pull it out of the dirt and it was brown & soft. I'll try again, I'm bound to get it right sooner or later. Thanks for you response!
Deletewhere can I find what you did with trunk?
ReplyDelete