Celeriac is a strange creature that is a vegetable. If you thought Kohl Rabi was weird, wait until you see this bad boy!

What’s is Celeriac?

If someone described Celeriac to me, I don’t think I’d want to grow it. It does sound hideous to look at with its bulbous gnarled skin and celery type leaves.

However it is also described somewhat as an ugly duckling with its surprising celery, parsley and nutty flavour. If cooked it acts like a potato so is perfect for creamy dauphinois dishes and in the winter when it is harvested, what more could you want than a cosy creamy delightful dish.

Why am I Growing Celeriac?

Hopefully I can redeem myself here and win you back over into tempting you to grow celeriac.

I’m growing celeriac for the architecture in the vegetable garden. It has (I’m told) a certain stature presence in the beds which is of wonderment and curiosity. Is it a beauty or is it a beast? This is why I am growing it, to see for myself.

How do I Grow Celeriac?

Celeriac is one of the most slowest growing vegetables known to man and woman. If you have ever grown Parsnips, you’ll know how slow I mean.

For this reason it effectively needs the whole year to grow so sowing in March or early April is key to its growth.

Celeriac needs a few specialities to get it growing:

• Light – Celeriac seeds need light to germinate, so sow it on the surface of the soil.
• Heat – Celeriac seeds need heat (at least 20 degrees centigrade), an indoor sunny windowsill in the kitchen works well.
• Time – Celeriac seeds need time to germinate. They are tiny seeds and need at least 14 days to germinate and sometimes up to 6 weeks to break through the soil surface.

Have I Started Sowing Celeriac yet?

Yes, here are the tiny seedlings on the windowsill. They took 14 days to germinate.

Will you be Growing Celeriac this year?

Start sowing now if you are!

Celeriac Facts

• Slow Growers so start indoors on a sunny windowsill. They don’t like cold soil.
• Start sowing seeds preferably in March but ok in early April.
• Transplant plants outside in late Spring. (May).
• If Slugs are a problem in your garden, it’s best not to grow celeriac. They gather on it, like a moth to a flame.
• The Bulb sits above the ground and needs lots of water to swell up. It absolutely hates drought conditions.
• Harvest in October.
• Celeriac is closely related to celery and is high in vitamin K and C.
• Celeriac is a biennial plant and needs warmth to grow outside and any cold snaps may confuse the plant into thinking it’s already produced a bulb in year 1 and its now in year 2 going to seed and starts to bolt (flower).

Jobs To Do in the Veg Garden

What to Sow Grow & Harvest in March

What to Sow Grow & Harvest in April

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