by Kriss Erickson

Created on: June 02, 2008

Growing Leaf Celery Plants

I like celery leaves in egg and chicken salads and soups, and as an addition to green drinks, but I am not fond of the stalks. So I was pleased to find a variety of celery, apium graviolens secalinum, that is grown for the leaves. This leaf celery variety is very easy to grow, and better yet, is perennial. Leaf celery has short stalks that can be used in the same way regular celery stalks are used. In the winter, the stalks tend to burst if they freeze, but new leaves emerge from the center of the plant.

CULTIVATION

I started my leaf celery indoors, about 6 weeks before the last frost, which in the Pacific Northwest where I live, means starting the seeds from the end of February through the middle of March. Check your local climate listings to see when a is good time to start your leaf celery. Leaf celery is a cold weather plant, like radishes and lettuce, so you can also direct sow, or plant the seeds directly into your garden, as early as the soil in your area can be worked.

Leaf celery likes sandy loam, so work the dirt with a spade or tiller, about a foot down before you plant. I started my leaf celery plants in 2-inch pots, 2 - 3 seeds per pot. My leaf celery seeds germinated in 10 - 12 days and quickly formed small celery leaves. I transplanted them into 4-inch pots, one plant per pot, when the seedlings were about 4 inches tall. By early May the plants had filled the 4-inch pots and were nearly 12 inches tall. I transplanted them into the garden at that point.

Once in the garden, my leaf celery plants grew to about 2 feet tall by about a foot and a half in diameter. I was able to use the leaves immediately. I cut the leaves for the first couple of months rather than pull off stalks, but by the end of the summer, I could simply pull off any stalks I needed. I used the leaves all season the following winter and the leaves and stalks the following spring. The leaf celery plants are so vigorous that I dug up several this spring, potted them and sold or gave them away, to make room in my garden for new crops.

FERTILIZATION

I use a chicken manure 'tea' to fertilize my garden. I gather manure from my chicken coop, age it for several weeks, then place it in a bucket and fill the bucket with water. I pour the resulting brown water over and around the plants, careful not to allow the solids to land on the plants as the manure is strong and can burn tender leaves. I refill the bucket many times until all the manure has been diluted and spread.

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