Celery

Celery is typically started from seed and transplanted into the garden once seedlings are established, and it grows best in full sun to partial shade in moist, rich, well-drained soil, tolerating a range of textures from chalk and clay to loam and sand.

Growth is slow through the early part of the season and picks up later, so consistent moisture is needed throughout; because the plant naturally favours damp ground, it can also tolerate somewhat salty conditions.

Celery can be troubled by aphids, earwigs, nematodes, celery worms, and slugs. Poorly drained soil predisposes plants to root rot, and blight is also reported as a concern in some growing areas.

Plants can be lifted from the ground through the fall up until the first hard frost, with roots and leaves trimmed away at harvest. Once harvested, celery can be kept without its tops in an open plastic bag in the refrigerator for at least six weeks.

Culinary: The stalks are eaten raw or cooked, while the leaves and seed are used in small quantities to flavour food; celery seed in particular is harvested as a spice.

Cultural: The Romans and Egyptians once wove the plant into garlands, and the Greeks used it as a culinary herb. Various parts of the plant, known as Karafs, have also been used in traditional Arab medicine for complaints of the liver and spleen, brain disorders, body pain, and sleep disturbance, and it has likewise held a place in traditional Chinese medicine.

Celery descends from a wild marsh-dwelling ancestor native to Macaronesia, North Africa, Europe, and west to the Himalaya, typically found in moist, low-lying ground. It was first cultivated as a food plant in Europe, principally in Italy and France, cultivation dating back to ancient times, before spreading to Sweden, Algeria, Egypt, and Ethiopia and eventually further afield.