Celery root

Discussion in 'Outdoor Gardening in the Pacific Northwest' started by violetbadger, Mar 10, 2012.

  1. violetbadger

    violetbadger Member

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    Last year I planted celeriac (celery root) for the first time. The crowns were healthy, no sign of bugs, but when I went to harvest them, there were NO edible roots, just a mass of subsidiary roots. Very disappointing; I love this vegetable.
    Can anyone tell me what I did wrong? My soil has a lot of clay but is regularly augmented with compost, etc. The bed was in full sun (notwithstanding our climate, which can be very soggy).
     
  2. Tree Nut

    Tree Nut Active Member

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    Have you tested your soil for nutrients? Did you plant the right seeds?
     
  3. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

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    I grow celeriac in Burnaby with few problems, and the plants have always produced sizable roots. Did your plants look different from regular celery? Celeriac has shorter leaf stalks that are darker than regular celery stalks. The differences are obvious when the two plants are grown side by side.
     
  4. violetbadger

    violetbadger Member

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    I tested my soil - the bed where I grew the celeriac, specifically - one of those DIY kits, not sure how accurate they are - and it showed neutral, maybe a little alkaline. I have noticed that people here use a lot of Dolomite, it's on sale all over town as early as February. Could that be the answer?

    Vitog, my plants were exactly as you describe them, which is why I was so shocked with the results. They were 'starts', bought from a local gardener. The seed is hard to find - and believe me, soggy climate or not, we are avid gardeners in Powell River!
     
  5. Tree Nut

    Tree Nut Active Member

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    Violetbadger, I meant a professional soil test that measures all the nutrients, CEC, etc. In your case I suspect it was poor quality seedlings. Stokes has "Giant Prague" celeriac seeds.
     
  6. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    Perhaps celeriac is similar to radishes in that they produce lots of leaves but little or no root if over-fertilized.
     
  7. Sundrop

    Sundrop Well-Known Member

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    It looks like you may have a problem with drainage (having a clay soil + a lot of precipitation), which celeriac will not tolerate. My advice is check your drainage. Also, having neutral or slightly alkaline soil be careful not to add any kind of lime, dolomite or otherwise.
     
  8. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

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    Violetbadger, the one time that I had problems getting the root to grow was 2 years ago, when we had a late cold snap that triggered flower production in the celeriac plants. I didn't have that problem last year, and you didn't mention any flowers in your first post. However, if there were any flowers, then you would not have gotten any large roots.
     

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