Apium graveolensvar.rapaceum
If you love both cultivated celery and stem vegetables , you ’ll adore this various veg that ’s like a two - in - one jazz group .
The protuberant root known as celeriac , orApium graveolensvar.rapaceum , is n’t going to win any awards for looker . But it has a comforting , crude flavor with hints of turnip , parsley , and cultivated celery .
Plus , it ’s sustain the consistency of a murphy !
Photo by Leslie Morrison.
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So whatisceleriac , just ? Is it just the root of the type of celery you might turn in the garden , or is it an entirely dissimilar plant life ? How do you develop it , and how do you eat it ?
In this guide , we ’ll answer all of these motion and more . Here ’s everything we ’ll enshroud :
What You’ll Learn
What Is Celeriac?
allow ’s get down to the nitty - gritty of what set celeriac apart from its closelipped congenator , celery .
Both vegetable are classified asApium graveolens . But celeriac is of a variety have a go at it asrapaceum , and instead of being cultivated for its boneheaded , gamy stubble , it was first domesticate thousands of years ago for its bulgy hypocotyl , a part often disordered for its root .
This part of a plant life ’s form actually appear beneath the stalks , but above the roots , and grows underground .
For simplicity ’s sake , we ’ll just call it a radical veg .
Now , you ca n’t just dig up even - sure-enough Apium graveolens dulce and expect to find a large , juicy root . Also called “ celery root , ” “ turnip - rooted Apium graveolens dulce , ” and “ thickening cultivated celery , ” this vegetable matures in 90 to 120 day , depending on the cultivar .
It prefers full sun , although it can tolerate some shade , and postulate rich , well - draining soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0 .
The egotistical hypocotyl usually produce at least three to five inches in diam , and the aboveground stems and leave of absence grow to between six and 26 column inch improbable and broad , bet on the variety show .
Celery origin is a biennial that ’s usually farm as an annual , and it tastes best if left in the ground to get at least a soupcon of hoar .
While celeriac does have stalking and go away that look like a sad , developing edition of celery , they ’re not the main focal point when mature this plant life . They are edible , though !
Instead , the key edible portion is the hypocotyl , a knobby bulbous stem that grows below ground and pushes up through the grunge at the top when it ’s close to maturity – much like a Daucus carota sativa ’s shoulders do .
The plant ’s actual roots grow off of the enlarged hypocotyl , so that ’s why technically , Apium graveolens dulce root is n’t a true root veg . But like many other type of tuber and vegetable that grow underground , we can venture it is .
Once the haired , tough skin is peeled off , you ’ve got a veg with all the trademark of a deliciously crisp , sweet , and hearty root that can be eaten raw in salads , or cooked into a tasty soup .
Cultivation and History
knob celery has been around for centuries and is among the oldest rootage vegetables in written account .
Ancient Egyptians , Greeks , and Romans used celeriac for culinary , aesculapian , and religious purposes , says Fitzgerald - Orr . Its line of descent are in the Mediterranean Basin and northern Europe , where it descended from a wild version ofA. graveolens .
Though it is not especially pop ( yet ! ) in the United States , celeriac is well - screw in continental Europe , especially during the winter .
It constitute the base for the pop French stunner celeri remoulade , a coleslaw made with Apium graveolens rapaceum , lemon succus , creme fraiche , mayonnaise , and Dijon Indian mustard .
node celery is a good source of character , potassium , and vitamin B5 ( pantothenic acid ) , and an first-class author of vitamin B6 ( pyridoxine ) .
you could peel it , slice it , dice it , roast it , mash it , electrocute it – whatever sounds most appealing to you , this versatile veggie can do !
Propagation
Celeriac is suited toUSDA Hardiness Zones3 through 11 . The easiest mode to propagate this phallus of theApiaceae familyis to sow germ .
Be sure to buy fresh ones , to benefit from the good germination rates possible .
We recommend sow these seed indoors , as they have a low-spirited germination charge per unit and require land temperatures between 70 and 75 ° F to sprout .
In Zones 3 through 6 , you ’ll typically sow seeds indoors in April and transplant seedling out in June .
You ’ll want to sow seeds indoors in the tardy winter or other spring about eight to ten weeks before your area ’s average last rime date .
Seedlings or young plants purchased from a nursery can go out to the garden in June too , or whenever the soil has warmed sufficiently and the risk of frost has pass away .
Those in Zones 7 and up can sow seeds indoors in summer solstice for a belated summer or early fall transplant , and a winter harvest .
Sowing Seeds Indoors
Before you get started with seed seed indoors , you’ll need a seed - set out trayandseed - starting potting mix . humidness domes are a must , and a packet of celeriac germ , of course !
Use a seedling tray with cellular phone that are at least three inches wide and deep , to reserve the roots plentitude of space to grow warm for the next eight to 10 week .
Peat pots are idealistic because Apium graveolens rapaceum form a taproot that may be damaged well during transplant . I love these peat crapper from Jiffy that areavailable at the Home Depot .
Jiffy Biodegradable Peat Pots
Place a set of pots on a seedling tray with drainage holes like this one from Viagrow , available at the Home Depot .
Viagrow Seedling Trays
The idealistic germination temperature for celeriac is between 70 and 75 ° F , so you may want to consider purchasing a estrus matte to place below the tray .
I like this one from Viagrow that ’s alsoavailable at the Home Depot .
Viagrow Heat Mat
satisfy each cell in your seed - starting tray or biodegradable pot with potting admixture . Make an indentation with your finger in each well or bay window that ’s about a quarter of an inch deep .
Since the seeds tend to have a germination rate of around 50 percent , you ’ll desire to discharge two to three seeds in each cell , in the Bob Hope that at least one will germinate .
Cover lightly with soil and spray with a misting bottle to water . rate a humidness dome over the top of the tray and rick on that heat mat .
Keep the soil evenly moist until germination occur , which can take anywhere from 10 to 21 days .
Once the seeds germinate , move the tray off of their heat mat and remove the humidity domes .
localise the trays in a windowsill that receives at least six to eight hour of sun per day , or position agrow lightover the tray , proceed it about one to two inches aside from the leaves and adjusting the altitude as the plants grow .
Water once or twice a week as the seedling develop , keep to keep the intermediate evenly moist .
If two or more seedlings germinate in each cubicle , pinch off the weaker ones once they have a few sets of true folio , leaving the stiff to get and thrive .
Three to four workweek after sprouting , give the seedlings a 50 per centum dilute Elvis of balanced fertilizer agree to parcel instructions .
You ’ll found the seedlings out when they have at least three hardening of dead on target leaves .
Transplanting Starts
When your seedlings or nursery start have three sets of true leaves , you could begin hardening them off – as long as it ’s two workweek or more after your sphere ’s medium last frost date , that is .
It ’s best to harden celery root off when strain temperatures remain at or above 45 ° F all day and night .
If you put them out in temperatures low than that , they may get the signal that winter is here and skitter their root - forming leg entirely , focusing only on florescence as they typically would in their second class of increment .
To temper the young flora off , coiffure them in a sheltered area alfresco for one hour the first twenty-four hour period , two hours the next , and so on until they are able to stay outside full time .
Find a sunny spot in the garden , or an area with afternoon refinement if you live in a hotter growing zone .
Celeriac requires rich , sluttish , and well - run out soil , so be certain to prepare the planting country as needed , and improve with well - rotted manure or compost .
Dig hole the width and deepness of your grass , and space them at least six to eight inch apart .
If you ’re grow a cultivar with a wider bed covering , set them 12 to 26 inches apart , calculate on the spread head signal onyour seed packet .
Gently remove the ancestor glob from their current pot or cells – I wish to carefully pilfer the side of the peck – and coiffure them in the waiting holes . If you are using biodegradable pots , you’re able to set the entire great deal in the hole .
Backfill with stain and water thoroughly .
How to Grow
Celeriac prefers cool growing conditions , with soil between 60 and 65 ° F and breeze temperature between 65 and 75 ° F .
If you live in an especially live or sunny area , either check that you plant your celery root during the nerveless part of your growing season , or give it a fleck with afternoon subtlety .
You ’ll need to keep the stain evenly moist . Thoughcelery is a marshland veg , celeriac can not grow in squashy grease , as this can lead to fungal issues and rot .
piss profoundly at least once a week in the absence of pelting , and check the ground every two to three days by push your finger down one inch . If the stain feel dry , go ahead and bring home the bacon another long soak .
knob celery is a heavy feeder , so you ’ll want to fertilise it every three to four weeks with a balanced , 10 - 10 - 10 NPK plant food .
verify you keep the area around your knob celery weed to allow the roots to grow uninhibited .
Growing Tips
Cultivars to Select
Unsure of which celeriac cultivars you should plant in your garden ? Check out these popular favorites :
Brilliant
For baseball game - sized celeriac that grows three to five inches in diam , try ‘ vivid . ’
This mixture matures in 105 to 115 days . The tasty clean flesh is smooth and almost fiberless , and its nutty flavor smooth in a bevy of dishes .
‘ Brilliant ’
Despite that medium root sizing , the foliage turn tall . Expect plants to develop 19 to 23 column inch gamey , and 22 to 26 inches wide .
you may find packet of 35 seedsavailable from Burpee .
Giant Prague
This cultivar has been enjoy preference bud in Europe since 1871 , and you could grow it in your garden , too .
‘ Giant Prague ’ matures in 110 to 120 days . The roots can grow six to eight inches in diameter , make it one of the largest knob celery mixture around .
The foliage can reach eight to 12 column inch in tiptop , and the plants diffuse six to eight inches .
‘ Giant Prague ’
Slice launch the relatively smooth pelt and you ’ll find crisp white build with a hard celery and Petroselinum crispum flavor .
To add this delicious multifariousness to your garden , sow areavailable online from on-key Leaf Market .
Monarch
Do you want to grow a celeriac miscellanea with a better sprouting rate ? Try ‘ Danaus plexippus , ’ which has a documented 80 percent germination pace , and thin cutis that ’s easy to peel .
No marvel it gain ground the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit in 2011 !
‘ monarch butterfly ’
Even well , you may reap the flavorful roots just 100 day after germination . These plants produce about 15 to 20 inches magniloquent , with a facing pages of about 10 to 15 in .
determine packets of seeds onlinefrom David ’s Garden Seeds via Amazon .
Managing Pests and Disease
While root celery is less prone to pest and disease harm than celery , there are a few likely issues to watch out for .
Pests
As with most plants , aphids can do problemsin large number , but immense infestations on root celery are rarefied .
If you do notice these tiny bugs , spray them off withthe hoseor give neem oil to the foliage . Spray once a week , in the morning or eventide , to keep aphid populations under ascendancy .
Bonide Slug Magic
Snails and slugscan target young transplants , so if you remark those telltale holes in the leafage , apply a mathematical product like Slug Magic from Bonide , available from Arbico Organics .
Carrot rust fungus fly sheet ( Psila rosae ) larvae can have the most scathe to the actual roots because they burrow in spite of appearance to tip , induce irreversible damage .
Yellow Sticky Traps
If you’reconcerned about carrot rust rainfly , point sticky cakehole like these , useable from Arbico Organics , near your plants . cultivated carrot rust fly are about a quarter - inch long with dark - dark-green bodies , yellowish legs , and metal backstage .
Adult flies wo n’t cause harm straightaway , but they will lay bollock in the top of plant life and in the soil immediately surrounding your Apium graveolens rapaceum .
If your sticky trap argue the presence of these fly front , spray the foliage and top of the root , if visible , with an insect powder like Monterey Garden Insect Spray RTU .
Monterey Garden Insect Spray
This spinosad - free-base product isavailable from Arbico Organics .
Diseases
continue the soil moist but not waterlogged can help you to forfend most of the diseases that can plague celeriac . But sometimes , even our good sweat can fall shortsighted !
Keep an middle out for yellow stain on the sr. , out leaves in the late summertime or early downfall .
This can indicate early blight , triggered by the fungusCercospora apii , wherein the spots turn brown in showery weather and the affected foliage eventually pop off .
lately blight , cause by the fungusSeptoria apii , presents as brownish blot that finally merge . touched leaf will feel abnormally dry .
For both type of blight , remove the affected foliage and spray plant in their entirety with copper fungicide .
Phoma root rot , which is because of the fungusPhoma apiicola , is another infection to find out for . The leaves will have light chocolate-brown spots that may exhibit concentric ring , and the antecedent can become twisted and uneatable .
This disease typically spreads from the crown down to the root . If you notice the telling foliage spots , transfer all affected foliage and spray the plant with copper fungicide .
Harvesting
One of the neat thing about celeriac is that it tastes best after stay outside through at least one light Robert Lee Frost .
As is the suit with many inhuman - weather crops , the coldness help to convert some of the amylum they contain to wampum .
you may also harvest your harvest throughout the wintertime if you survive in Zone 5 or above , but note that it ’s easiest to harvest when the earth is not frozen solid .
Keep the middling number of 24-hour interval to maturity for your selected cultivar in mind .
The ancestor should broadly be between three and five inches in diameter at harvest time , look on the matured property of the assortment you are develop . The shoulder will stab out of the earth when they are quick to plunk .
A Note of Caution:
impinging with celery source leaves and stems can cause a severe rash in some people . Be trusted to bear long sleeves and gloves when picking your crop , and wash your hands afterwards .
To reap , go into the garden with a horticulture trowel or fork . cautiously loosen the poop around the beginning and pull it up with both hands .
sweep off as much of the dirt as possible . With a fair tongue , trim off any baby roots that are sprouting from the main lightbulb .
Cut off all of the foliage except for about an column inch . you’re able to appropriate the farewell and stem for use in a homemade vegetable line of descent .
Before you deplete your premium , lap the tough cutis under nerveless , scat weewee with a veggie brush . Then , peel the skin with a tongue or a vegetable peeler , and chop into whatever shapes suit your preparation best !
Storage and Preserving
To store celeriac if you wo n’t be able to use it instantly after harvesting , brust off any dirt , and commit it in a charge plate bagwithoutwashing it first .
knob celery entrepot best when temperatures are between 35 and 40 ° farad with 95 pct humidness . If you have the space , you’re able to salt away unpeeled celeriac in the crisper drawer of your icebox for up to three months .
Some gardeners also wish to stand their ascendent up in a container filled with a few inches of water , so the base where the rootage emerged is just scantily touching the water , with a fictile bag localise on top to retain moisture .
Celeriac may also be stored in a nerveless ascendent cellar or basement .
Or , you could freeze your harvesting for consumption later on .
Wash , skin , and edit the root into third power . Blanch in simmering piss for four minutes and then dump the pieces in an ice rink bath .
drainage , dry , and lay the pieces on a cookie flat solid to freeze on an individual basis , and then load down them in labeled deep freezer base .
Use the blanched and frozen pieces within about a month .
Celeriac can also be used to make pickles , or it may be peel and then slit thinly with a mandoline , dried in a dehydrator , and crumbled to make flavoring flakes with a cultivated celery smell and no added salt .
The flakes can also be ground into a powder . storage dry up celeriac in a lidded jar in a cool , teetotal place .
Recipes and Cooking Ideas
celery root sputter in soups , provide a square , crude flavor to any stew , cream soup , or broth - based comforting bowlful . It also makes a fantastic Gallic fry .
you could even boil it and mash it like a potato – just substitute cultivated celery antecedent for potatoes in this recipe for garlic parsley mashed potatoesfrom our sister site , Foodal .
Or , puree it and make this delicious cultivated celery root and orchard apple tree soup , also from Foodal .
I wish to slit refreshful celeriac into thin strips and add it to a slaw , like this purple cabbage and shaved asparagus slaw , also from Foodal .
If it was unfamiliar to you before , after screen out a few recipe , you ’ll wonder how you ever lived without this vegetable in your life !
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Catch Up to the Trend
Celery beginning is a beloved reposition vegetable in continental Europe , and it ’s time to make this desirable addition to the home garden democratic in the United States , too !
Before you go , check out these additional articles ongrowing root vegetablesnext :
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Laura Ojeda Melchor
