Celery from the Garden, Using the Whole Plant

This year one of my experiment crops was celery.  I stared them from seed on my window seal in early April, then very carefully transplanted then in to the garden mid-May.  I wondered if they were really going to grow, I didn’t know anyone in my area who has ever tried celery, and at first they were slow to grow.  However, once the heat of the summer (finally) came on they grew big and green.  If anything they are a lovely addition to the garden, as they are beautiful and green.

Celery grown commercially is tied in a bundle while it is grown, so the stalks grow straight and tight, this makes for easier shipping and it also keeps the inner stalks lighter in color and mild in flavor.  Next year I might try doing this, but this year I wanted to see what they would do it they were just left alone.  Also, I only harvest a stalk at a time, I didn’t intend to cut the whole bunch at once so I really didn’t need the bunch to be tight and compact.

Picking and eating the celery as been a lot of fun, in my weird quirky way I enjoy stuff like that.

When using celery, there is a lot of the plant that is cut off and thrown away.  The leaves would be great in the compost pile or fed to the chickens, but I decided that I wanted to keep all the wonderful flavor for myself.

I washed the cut tops really well, then let them drain on a towel.

Then I set them out to dry.

(I will show how in another post)