The people from Martha Stewart living have dubbed celery the unsung hero of the snack world. When we think about all the foods that are elevated in flavor by this crispy and crunchy vegetable, we can’t help but agree. Celery goes well with dips and spreads. It adds something more to soups, and it’s become quite a popular juice to drink.
Without question, we enjoy it for its versatility as an addition to our food. And here’s some good news: you can grow celery in your own home! Using the root end of a bunch of celery, you can regrow more stalks.
With the pandemic changing the way we go about our day to day life, getting a proper supply of healthy and organic vegetables may come as a challenge. There’s an alternative that doesn’t involve frequent visits to the grocery store where spending even more money is involved.
If you are looking for ways to cut costs this season, double on your vegetable intake, and start a new productive hobby, regrowing vegetables is a rewarding activity. As plant lovers, take this as an expansion of your garden and green thumb knowledge.
Different Types of Celery
Celery dates as far back as 850 B.C. Interestingly, it was grown to serve a medicinal purpose. Traditional Chinese medicine used this plant for many health reasons, including treatment for joint pain or rheumatism.
Today, it is primarily cultivated for its culinary purpose. You may be munching on the familiar stalk celery, but did you know that there are other celery plant varieties? Some types like the celeriac are now growing popular in the United States. It’s a different type that is grown for its root.
Technically, there are three different kinds of celery.
- Self-blanching or yellow leaves
- Green or Pascal
- Celeriac
Leaf celery has a thinner stalk compared to that of the Pascal. It is grown more for the aroma of its leaves and seeds. As mentioned, the celeriac is grown for its delicious root. The roots are harvested and then peeled. You can eat this food, raw or cooked.
Green stalks celery is the typical choice and most popularly available. We put celery stalk or leaves on different kinds of food. In the past, this type produced hollow and bitter stalks. It was the Italians who began cultivating celery in the 17th century. After years of development and experimentation, we now enjoy the sweeter and milder flavors of the vegetable we know and love today.
Factors For Growing Celery from Kitchen Scraps
Regrowing celery in your home is both an economical and healthy move for you and your family. Not to mention that this vegetable is easy to love and improves any food we add it to. But before you grab that potting mix, there are some factors you must understand before you regrow celery from kitchen scraps or old stalk.
How long does it take to grow celery?
From a seed, celery will take around 130 to 140 days to grow to its fullest. But from an old stalk or kitchen scrap, it is expected to grow much faster.
What is the ideal temperature or climate for the celery to thrive?
This plant needs mostly cool weather and a lot of moisture. The summer isn’t suitable for this. Fall or early spring would be the most ideal time to start planting. But it cannot stand without any sun. Celery needs to be in full or partial sun. Be sure to keep the temperature at 55 to 70ºF.
The older generation of growers discovered the celery grown at a cool temperature reduces the strong flavors of the plant.
What kind of celery is used for regrowing?
In cultivating food, one might wonder if there’s a specific variety or type of celery that you must use for this project. There’s only great news here, this method of growing celery from scraps work with any type of celery! Yes, even the store-bought, mass-produced kind.
Is there a soil requirement?
When your celery bunch is ready, you will have to plant it in soil. The best soil suited for this plant is a pH-neutral one. Keep in mind that celery loves water, so, get a special potting soil mix that retains moisture or mulch on top of the soil.
Should it be fed fertilizer?
Any crop without all it’s nutrients will turn out tasting very bitter. And bitter vegetables don’t make a tasty salad. Start feeding celery with fertilizer if you want to see results. Use a balanced liquid fertilizer if you are growing your celery in a pot or large container. Once the crop is fully established, you can change it up to a nitrogen fertilizer to help improve the crop.
Items You Will Need
The beauty of regrowing celery and other vegetables is you do not need heavy or special equipment. After you’ve cleaned and cut off your bunch of celery, prepare a clean saucer to place it in. Start with these items:
- Water
- Dish or saucer
- Potting Soil
- Planter
- The bottom of a celery bunch
How to Regrow Celery from Scraps
Step One: Save the base or bottom of a bunch of celery.
If you’ve ever bought celery from the grocery or market, you’ll notice that stalks are fused together in one base. Most people discard this bottom end as it isn’t usable for cooking. But you, savvy gardener, will need exactly this base to regrow celery and get more of the edible stalks.
Start by taking a sharp kitchen knife. Cut the celery from the base and make sure you have at least 2 inches of the root end. What you will have is the round-shaped bottom from which the new plant will grow.
Make sure that your base is cleaned and dried. See that your bunch base is not full of little debris or dirt. Depending on where you get your vegetables from, the plant may have pests hiding in there, or it may be carrying disease from the grower’s soil.
For a healthy growing plant, use cold, clean water to rinse off the base. Pay attention to crevices and parts that might be hiding little bugs or even more dirt. Dry it well.
Step Two: Put the stalk in water.
To regrow celery in water the best container is a shallow dish or a saucer. You need to have enough water for the base to soak up but you must avoid it being too deep.
The water level should be at least a third of the way up the celery base, again see that the water is not too high. Put it in a way that the top area where the stalks grow out is facing upward.
Step Three: Let it grow where it is sunny.
All plants must be exposed to the sun to photosynthesis. This creates energy that powers the plant’s growth. This fresh cut of celery will like a place that is sunny for it to regrow. During the day, place it by a sunny window.
It can also grow in a greenhouse, or under special growing lights.
Step Four: Change the water regularly.
Celery is a thirsty plant, and you might notice that your water will evaporate fast. Keep the saucer topped up with enough water. Make sure it is clean.
After a couple of days, however, water will stagnate, so take the stalk out, wash the dish clean and place fresh, clean water. Ideally, you should change the water every two days. The new plant should stay in the water for about a week. There are plenty of factors in play for your plant’s growth. Look out for drying out of the outer stalks or the plant itself shrinking.
Growth will be slow. Within seven to eight days, there will be changes happening to the bottom plant. First, some offshoots will emerge from the center of the base. You will notice new growth. Initially, the leaves that willl grow are yellow. But as it will get larger and stronger, it will become green.
Step Five: Plant the celery into soil.
When you’ve got strong and dark green leaves on your new celery, it is ready to be planted into the soil.
If you wish to grow an indoor herb and vegetable garden, get a pot like a window planter and fill it with fresh soil. Add your new celery plant into the pot and completely cover the bottom with soil so only the shoots will show.
Give your plant some TLC and help it continue to grow. On it’s first few days on the soil, it will need plenty of water. This will help the roots grow strong.
If you have the right climate, you can directly plant your vegetable in your outdoor garden. This will require your attention and thoroughness. Check the temperatures and soil consistency of your garden to get strong and thriving roots.
There you go! Now you know how to regrow celery. Once you’ve got a healthy and robust celery plant, you are ready for harvest! Try this plant project and you will want to do this for all your other vegetables. It’s a great way to eat more veggies and save.