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Post by Mumsey on Jul 28, 2015 14:01:43 GMT -5
On a whim I bought 4 celery plants and hoped for the best. They certainly have been watered well by Ma Nature! They are in partial shade now, keeping their feet cool with mulch. Went out and snipped a tip from a stalk.
IT WAS AWESOME!!!!! It will definitely go in to Bloody Mary Mix!!!
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 28, 2015 17:42:24 GMT -5
I loved my home grown celery but didn't grow any this year. I am envious.
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Post by datgirl on Jul 28, 2015 17:45:33 GMT -5
I grew celery too and I don't even like celery except------in a Bloody Mary. P-)
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 28, 2015 17:47:40 GMT -5
Well, I cheated. I went out and stole 3 stalks for potato salad. OK, the real reason was Bloody Mary mix! OMG, what a difference from using the store bought stuff. I put a green pepper in the mix, no hot peppers yet. It's a very spicy, slightly sweet taste. I put in tobasco to spice it up.
Didn't make too much, barely enough for one Mary. Gotta have more maters!
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Post by desertwoman on Jul 28, 2015 17:48:40 GMT -5
I've tried celery. Much too dry here. Even if I water it a lot it fails to thrive. I've never even tasted home grown celery!
I'll have to live vicariously through you.
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 28, 2015 18:10:31 GMT -5
It's crunchier! What I sampled isn't too stringy either. I will try to restrain myself and not cut any more until late August/September. Even DH was impressed! And that's a big deal. This is a guy who thinks fresh garden lettuce tastes "funny". Little does he know I sneak the garden lettuce into things....
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Post by mcool61 on Jul 28, 2015 18:33:43 GMT -5
I grew celery for the first time successfully this year but mine seems a bit strong & stringy. I think it is tall Utah. It also has a few bug bites of some kind. Mine are in full sun & have some mulch. Maybe they would be better in part shade like yours & I'm also going to wrap a couple of them to blanch the stalks a little. I have been cutting it up small & hiding it in things like spaghetti sauce. I can eat it with peanut butter & like it but no one else in the family will. I read somewhere that you can dig them up & bring them in for the winter & continue to get a small harvest over the winter. I'm going to try that. Glad you are having success. It is nice having all your own components for sauce etc. Much healthier too I'm sure.
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Post by restless on Jul 28, 2015 19:03:56 GMT -5
I love celery. I am growing cutting celery this year. Last year I grew a celery from the root of a store bought organic celery. Worked great. If you like it with peanut butter, you may also like it with hummus and roasted pepper, an herbed soft cheese with olive tapenade, or egg salad inside. They make good party appetizers if cut small.
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 29, 2015 3:39:06 GMT -5
The year Dad grew it, it was bitter and stringy. It was a dry year and with his volume of veggies, it was impossible to water that whole row twice a day.
The kind I have is "self" blanching. Don't recall the name, will go check later.
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Post by binnylou on Jul 29, 2015 4:05:01 GMT -5
Will miss having celery in the freezer for soups this winter. It's so handy to have it soup-ready. Plus the more I read about the pesticides in our foods, the more I dislike buying it in the store. Luckily, a local store is offering an organic choice.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 29, 2015 7:47:23 GMT -5
I grew celery for the first time successfully this year but mine seems a bit strong & stringy Did you blanch your celery? That really cuts down on the strong taste and maybe some extra water will plump them up to eliminate the stringiness a bit. You can even stand the cut stalks in a cup of water in the refrigerator. I always do this for nice, crisp celery. I grew Tall Utah and when the plants were good sized I wrapped them with newspaper and tied it with garden twine. Just leave the top of the plant sticking out of the paper and it will get light but the stalks will get pale. I like the taste better this way. You can also cut up your celery and freeze it for cooking. You don't need to heat blanch it, just cut and freeze. Slugs like celery so watch for them.
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 29, 2015 18:53:35 GMT -5
I was getting a bag of goodies together for a neighbor tonight. DH said "you're not giving her Celery are you?" He really likes it even though it really isn't harvest time yet. Assured him I was not, that it won't really be "ready" til September.
That's the first thing he has drooled over from the garden in years! I will continue to plant it and he will have to promise to water it twice a day if it is a dry year!
I did notice a slug on the counter after bringing in those few stalks. Psssttt....quiet......don't tell DH, he would gag! Glad I saw it before he did.
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Post by mcool61 on Jul 29, 2015 22:23:02 GMT -5
Did you blanch your celery? No, not yet. I'm going to try it. I was a little concerned about the ink on the newspaper but I think it is mostly soy based so might be ok. May try to get some brown paper out of the bottom of a banana box next time I'm at the store if I remember. I did notice it seemed a little less strong when left in the fridge a couple hours. I'll try not eating it right away & see if overnight in a glass of water is better. I loved my home grown celery but didn't grow any this year. I am envious. I'm going to dig mine up this fall & pot it up & keep it in the house. I was reading somewhere that a person has used the same plants for 3 years. I hope it works cause this stuff is really slow to start. I didn't think it was ever going to amount to anything. We have had a lot of rain so I'm sure that helped. I think I've let it get too dry in past years when I tried to grow it. I did notice a slug on the counter after bringing in those few stalks. Psssttt....quiet......don't tell DH, he would gag! Glad I saw it before he did. If he notices a slime trail, tell him it is just the probiotics oozing out. My grand kids freak out on green worms in broccoli. I tell them it is just extra protein.
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Post by davidjp on Jul 30, 2015 0:25:05 GMT -5
Only grown true celery a few times and have mainly used it then by cutting a few stalks now and then. Always been impressed with the flavor compared to stuff you can buy. The other thing I've grown is Amsterdam seasoning celery which grows almost like cilantro and never gets thick stems but you cut as a herb and has a nice celery flavor.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 30, 2015 7:05:49 GMT -5
I was a little concerned about the ink on the newspaper but I think it is mostly soy based so might be ok. They do use soy inks now, not because it is healthier for us but because using solvent based inks made from petroleum products is so much more expensive! Don't use any glossy inserts or colored inks. Many organic growers use newspaper for mulch.
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