The Secret to Growing Tasty Celery || Black Gumbo

Do you want to grow tasty celery? There is a secret to get that luscious, mild, crunchy white stalk. It's called blanching. Today I will show you how to blanch celery. It is the last step in growing celery in your garden. There are many ways to blanch celery, I'll show you how I use cardboard to bind up my celery plants and get them ready for a good harvest.
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Black Gumbo shares our suburban, backyard, sustainable gardening efforts. We work a small-scale, typical Zone 9a garden and raised beds, the kind of gardening accessible to all. We tend to take the slice of life approach and hope you will enjoy our family, our dog, our cooking, our adventures, and occasionally some commentary and advice. We love family, joy and friendship, and we invite you to enjoy these things with us!
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[@GinasBeautyReviews]

I never knew this about celery. I’m glad I learned something new for my garden. This makes me wonder what the commercial growers have to do to branch their celery.

[@Charlotte_TSilva]

I use brown corrugated cardboard for that purpose. I learned it from a Korean serviceman I was stationed with overseas. I’m happy to see more people use this method. Blessings to all.

[@troyyarbrough]

I've never grown celery. I had no idea there were some steps involved other than growing and harvesting. Thanks for showing us this.

[@brianseybert2189]

celery is fantastic... needs a lot of water. Very hardy plants. Start em early indoors so you have strong plants to stick in your soil.

[@DanlowMusic]

The 1 thing I learned last year while growing it, start early. It took forever for it to get big enough to transfer for me anyway. I live in WA state and didn't use a heat mat. I also don't get a lot of sun because of all the trees we have around us. It did seem to really start growing in the fall for me. It took off after getting it outdoors finally.

[@Sarahbee-o8t]

I have so much celery. Mine is about 2 ft tall . The freeze didn’t even hurt them . I live in southeast Texas to

[@GardenerScott]

Great tips, Scott. Pre-curling the cardboard is genius!

[@Presnt-momnt]

Loved your trick of rolling up the cardboard. Last time I tried blanching my celery, slugs decimated all the plants inside the cardboard tubes. So now I don’t blanch and use my celery just for cooking.

[@debraroberts1496]

Thank you so much, I never knew that they needed to be blanched!! I wasn't going to plant them again but now I know that, I'll be adding them to my garden again!

[@jackiebarner7811]

Trim just the leaves, wash them in just plain water. Put them on a cookie sheet. ,put them in your oven on low till you see them dehydrate. Put them in a bowl, and crush them up with your fingers. Great celery seasoning for salads and soups. !!

[@karenw9996]

When my dad retired he started puttering in Mom's garden (much to her consternation). One year he grew celery, but didn't know you're supposed to blanch it. Mom tried to use it in her cooking, she really did, but it just didn't work out. None of us knew what happened - was it our soil? the variety Dad planted? Now I know!

[@royamberg9177]

Looks good. Another 6weeks before I start plants in green house

[@NewYorkJennifer]

Celery from seed is not difficult, it just takes time. I plant a few rows of celery in the flats when I start my onions in late January (zone 5). They stay tiny for a long time but really go to town when they get potted up and then transplanted to the garden.

[@GardeningwithBernie]

The celery looks really good, now I know what to do should I decide to grow it.

[@Cktess]

can you tie the bunches and use a frost blanket to help with blanching? instead of cardboard

[@ScottHead]

I think you could make that work.

[@Latebloomershow]

Good job! Hope my celery survives.

[@csimmons3717]

I will be adding celery to my Fall garden lineup every year from now on. I never knew we could grow it here (LA 8b) until I grew a few last year from grocery store bottoms and it was SO strong... I didn’t like it. Now that I know to blanch I’m excited to try it again, but this time I bought the Asian Pink Celery seeds from Baker Creek.

[@etoyiah5695]

Hello. I’m also in LA zone 8b, have you already planted your celery this year?

[@GtJrGrowsItAlaska]

I have never seen the celery trick. Good germination on the peppers. I definitely will try this trick on the celery on my channel and give you your credit. Never saw celery done that way. Thanks for sharing.

[@cltinturkey]

Golly! Boy do I wish I'd known this the first time I tried to grow celery. Smart way to recycle and enjoy good food. Really useful lesson!

[@1mePatter]

I started my celery from using the cut off bottom of the bunch I bought, and putting it in water (it grows great that way) til the roots got developed a bit and the top was shooting out. I just planted it in a pot 2 days ago and I'm glad I found this channel! Now I know what to do. I never knew how they grew before. Thanks! :-)

[@alejandramichelli5583]

I grew celery winter sown method last year. Sprinkled seeds in, closed container and forgot about it. They came up wonderfully and I heard they don’t like root disturbance, mine didn’t mind the transfer from the milk jugs to the garden bed. Didn’t know about blanching! Will try this!

[@sandy-rr1by]

I plant the cut off ends from the store. One is growing back that was put in a flower pot last summer. Will try the cardboard this year.

[@ritalr15]

Last year I grew some celery and it was strong but most definitely a better taste. I didn't read enough to find out about blanching. Thanks for taking the time to enlighten us.

[@Alisone123]

Perfect timing! I am growing celery right now (for the first time). It looks beautiful and green. Tomorrow I will break out the cardboard. Thank you!

[@kathleenelliot5305]

Wow, that is so interesting. Love celery.

[@theapopkagardener2485]

Thank you so much for that celery tip. Now I know what I have to do for my celery this season. Thanks

[@angelalormand719]

Thank you for the video on blanching the celery. I took a bite and was not pleasantly please 😳. It was a bitter mess. I’ll be getting them wrapped up soon. I’m so ready to start my seeds, but I don’t have what I need to start them inside. Hopefully the weather warms up enough for me to start them outside

[@practicingpreparedness100]

Great tip, didn’t know blanching was a thing, bet the celery turns out much nicer thanks

[@Katydidit]

Thanks for the info... I actually managed to grow the Utah Tall from seed ... I hadn't any idea as to how to blanch them, however was super happy to successfully seed them!! Back when I was a kid in a Northern zone, we just used them as they grew. So also, I just used them in their super green form. It is Biblical, bitter herbs! However so happy to now know how to blanch them!! After I saw them all wrapped up... I thought that blanching in succession might be a really good idea!! As I believe that would extend your harvest quite a bit!! So glad Phoebe will get her much needed surgery soon... she is such a joy!!

[@nancytabor8302]

Canning or freezing celery is amazing but it keeps quite well. We use 2-3 a week.

[@Katydidit]

@@nancytabor8302 I am single, so using one a week would be more than plenty for me. My mom used to can vegetable soup, so we added it to that. Any tips for freezing it? I have not had very good results with freezing.

[@vicwickgardens9174]

Wow! So that’s why my celery wasn’t good. Thanks for this much needed info 😊

[@dougmccoy1260]

I have celery in my garden now (Feb) that has survived all the freezing weather. West Oregon. Slugs and big snails are my biggest problem. Just put seeds into a plastic clamshell food container. Mulch and water and they grow well. I let a plant go to seed and saved the seed.

[@MichaelJosephJr934]

The celery in stores has been horrible for many years. I remember it being much better. I stopped buying it. Not sure what changed. I'm going into my 2nd year and may add this. Love your cardboard trick!

[@watermelonlalala]

I agree. It changed to lousy, no real celery taste.

[@nismacaro90]

Amazing 🤩

[@nancytharp8213]

Very informative. Thanks for sharing 🙏 😎 🏖 🏝

[@joanmerriken9216]

Truer words have not been spoken.

[@WILLITGROW]

wow came out nice what i like is when its time to remove the cardboard you can just pull them straight up.

[@hollyreilly4818]

Thank you! I wondered what the trick was.

[@ceecee-thetransplantedgardener]

"Less fiddly". Gardener after my own heart. :) Want to make a specific note - yours is the first garden video I've seen that describes the blanching process for celery. I don't think I've even heard it mentioned. Now truthfully, I don't watch or follow a ton of gardeners on KZbin. I stick to a handful I like and trust. In short - this is a big "reveal" for me. Thank you.

[@GinasBeautyReviews]

I just started my one seed challenge. I chose to go with Moonflower. The idea of it fascinates me!

[@WILLITGROW]

very creative with the cardboard.look forward to see how it turns out.

[@TheMrsMarvel]

Well I'm glad you made this video. A year or two ago, I planted celery and was just a little confused. It grew wildly and beautiful, but it didn't taste all that great, and I assumed it had just seen too many warm days. I felt like everything wanted to bolt yearly that year. I ended up just using it for stocks and broth. You don't know what you don't know, I guess. As always, thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with us! Now I'll tackle that pesky celery, hopefully, with a little more success lol

[@drofumidragon5580]

Never knew when to blanch the celery, so I just ate the ones in the middle. Will try it this year.

[@cltinturkey]

Fish pepper was so prolific for me. Started earlier and produced longer than any other peppers. Really impressive. Hope yours is a great success.

[@ann7318]

I had to look this up and refresh my memory, Thank you. I have some growing from seed. I got celery seeds at a local store that had celery seed in the seasonings, and thought I would try and see if they would grow.

[@FuturepumpLtd]

Great video! We love to learn about all sorts of crops, and blanching is an especially interesting technique!

[@suevalenti9584]

Love KZbinrs! I think it's the best college, thanks for the tips and great ideas!

[@sandrinefresne6575]

Hi from 🇬🇧. I am trying celery and parsnips this year. Smart way to blanch them , never thought of it !

[@debbiewilhelm3035]

Thank you for the lesson. I grew celery last year and didn't know about blanching them. It grew great but was so biter it went to the compost. I'll try it again.

[@floridawoman25]

Thank you. I didn't know about this . The ones in the store are stringy. But I put the ends into the ground.

[@tmontero8492]

Hi Scott -- I always enjoy your clear and concise videos and learn something new. I am growing celery for the first time, not for lack of trying with seeds.... Starts are the way to go for me. I enjoy the strong flavor of the celery not wrapped before harvest, as well as the abundant leafy tops. But I intend to wrap a few stalks for fresh eating -- thanks for demonstrating your method. I dehydrated sliced ribs as well as the leaves for cooking. Rose Red has an excellent video on dehydrating celery and making celery salt with stalks she purchases from the grocery store. Good wishes from the San Francisco bay area!

[@LindseyMinakerMusic]

This just blew my mind!! Thank you so much!

[@angelaefferson8620]

That's a good idea to run cardboard around celery , I grew celery last year and that plant was everywhere growing wild , just shooting off in every direction

[@dianeirvine1384]

Learnt something new today thanks heaps. Will be doing that with my celery from now on.

[@LeahsLeaves]

I didn't have a good blanching method like this and switched to a Chinese type that has thinner tender stalks. But recently I got some Tall Utah seeds in a swap. Now that I've seen the way you do it, I'll try a traditional celery again.

[@lynmoore8355]

Thank you for this episode as my celery is about the same height, so tomorrow I will be doing just this with the cardboard, didn;t know that I should do it.

[@edwinf4393]

I started growing celery a few years ago and as I planted the young plants I put 4” plastic pipe x 12” around the plants. It has worked very well. A lot less time consuming then wrapping with newspapers or cardboard. Plus I reuse my plastic tubes year after year.

[@nonyadamnbusiness9887]

The issue with colored inks is not the oil base, it's the heavy metals in the dyes. It's getting rare, but some inks still contain heavy metals. Chromium, cadmium, mercury and lead are hard to get rid of once in the soil.

[@brianmoore4299]

Thank you for the video. I grew celery from seed a few years ago successfully I thought until I tasted it. It was bitter and stringy. I will try this method as I have some growing now and see what the difference will be.

[@jackiehorsley9263]

that Is so interesting about your celery I did not know you had to blanch celery like that It sounds kind of like when you have to blanch cauliflower In the garden so It does not turn yellow

[@thirddaysoapsgarden]

Great tip! Thank you. Can't wait to grow my Celery .m

[@amysnipes4245]

Thanks, Scott. Good info. I like the dark green for soups/stews/stock. Bit I'm going to try blanching this year too.

[@BlackJesus8463]

I didn't know celery gets done like. Thanks.

[@GmamaGrowz]

Thanks for sharing your celery secrets 🤩!

[@IAMGiftbearer]

Great information! This is one of the vegetables I eat almost every week so I plan on growing some and your video was quite helpful!

[@MikeSchoon]

Awesome information. I noticed my Pink Celery from Baker Creek was a bit "stronger" in flavor than store bought. I ended up dehydrating it all. Time to try again!

[@MikeSchoon]

What's a whatsapp? 😆I don't use such things on Debian.

[@ScottHead]

Spam, do not reply. Was not me, so sorry.

[@MikeSchoon]

@@ScottHead Figured it was. Impressive that they used an almost valid area code, but noted the profile name was missing.

[@tinytexasgarden9420]

Learn something new everyday. Thanks!

[@lukustreloar7243]

Mmmmmmmm interesting 😉😉😉😉😉😉

[@tangell481]

They look so neat and tidy nice 1

[@russbarker2727]

A good idea Scott. I use a length of 10cm soil pipe to blanch my celery.

[@anapaulacrawford5837]

I started mine by seed and they're 4eanches tall. And I guess once again is another freez this weekend. I guess I am going to cover them up when they get bigger. Thank you for the info! God bless

[@Angie-ci1lp]

This is right on time for me,I purchased celery seeds(planting in grow bag) Thanks for sharing 🙏🏽❤️🙏🏽

[@angelasheppard7197]

Thanks for all you do.

[@leeannmillet8215]

Thank you

[@gretarank2784]

I'm growing celery in 5 gal buckets in Zone 6. I started with stumps from market celery. My first crop about September I cut off leaving the root base still in ground and it was great, but my second crop the leaves are good for drying but the stalks are very narrow. I moved the buckets indoors to the garden room before frost hit and covered the root ball more with good soil now I'm seeing baby stalks coming so I'm hoping to get maybe another crop of better stalks. What I don't use fresh I dehydrate especially the leaves.

[@watermelonlalala]

I bought some celery at the grocery store. When I got it home I noticed it looked like cut and come again celery, not so good. I planted one of them in a pot, trying to get it to root. Either it is not doing much or something is eating it down when I am not looking.

[@annsfrench]

I just bought a six pack of celery the other day on a whim. I’ve never grown it before. I was so surprised to see so many tiny seedlings in each cell of the six pack. I separated 18 individual celery plants from only two cells! I’m not even sure what I will do with the rest of them. 😂 I wasn’t aware that celery had to be blanched. It makes sense now that I’ve seen your video.

[@gardenhighlightsworm]

Great tip

[@notadonna5983]

I have some old clay pipe. Am going to try using them for blanching. Thanks!

[@mariagamboa6249]

Wow something very interesting 🌿

[@fernieu3537]

hard work . great job🙏

[@catejordan7244]

This is the best video on blanching celery I hav3 seen. Thanks

[@ralph601]

It looks great Scott. Celery and peanut butter are yummy. Any tips on growing Leeks? Thanks have a great night.

[@ScottHead]

Never grown leeks, not really a successful crop in my zone though I love leeks.

[@ralph601]

@@ScottHead OK. Thanks.

[@jefffarris1288]

I must say, even if you do not do all of this, you an grow it for the smaller stalks and leaves. It is delicious in soups and stir fries this way.

[@baldnproud]

I like you , you explain thing so well, and you’re so cool, God bless you! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾😂😂😂😂👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@baldnproud]

I actually decided to plant some more celery, I got more inspired again by watching the video. 😍👩🏾‍🦲🥰

[@jefffarris1288]

Very cool video - I have not seen this process before. I am trying celery again this year - have seeds sprouted in the grow room. Gary from the Rusted Garden has also had recent success, and he says one key he has learned by trial and error is, when you plant out, to thin to a single plant, which seems counter-intuitive, because the stalks appear to come from multiple plants.

[@connecticutwormsgardens]

Each plant produces one bunch of celery which contains multiple stalks. Imagine celery you would buy in the store, at the bottom there is a white base with roots on it and coming off that are six or seven stalks of celery. I think what Gary was saying was thin them out so they're not crowded. If you thin to one plant you will only get one bunch of celery. Each seed makes one bunch consisting of 5 to 10 stalks. Hope that makes sense

[@hongkongmaru]

It's a nice video!

[@noramaegomez197]

Hi Scott 👋🏼 I’m so happy for you & your family Especially for Phoebe ! Congratulations 💚🌱💚 please keep us updated on how her Surgery goes.

[@SaminemRedjomoenawi]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤Dear Sir, Thank YOU very much for showing this Editorial MINDSET ❤❤❤❤❤. Now I am 60 and I want to plant lots of SUNFLOWERS and Sellery Paprika tomatoes Oregano Peppers ❤❤❤❤ In my garden I have Papaya with a red deliciousflesh and I am raising chickens for their eggs ❤❤❤❤ PLEASE be always happy cuz You are blessed with a Good garden🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 Humble respectfull Grateful Greetings from Saminem 🌺 from My Lovely tropical country

[@ceepark114]

I bought celery plants several years ago and they were small , fibrous, and bitter tasting. I am starting several plants by seed this year and will try the blanching method. I think since they are so slow growing that once the heat of the summer hits it turns the celery bitter.

[@sandradanforth8524]

Fantastic idea, thanks 😊

[@maryt8184]

Good job! I planted celery seed this year. They germinated well and are just now getting 2 leaves. they are slow growers and I wonder if I will get a crop before the heat of summer knocks them out.

[@InLawsAttic]

So hard to find the whiter celery, and lately the celery is very “rough”-like thick ribs and very dark green. Yuk. Decided to grow my own- I want that crisp whitish celery like I used to get. Thank You!

[@ears9506]

Please talk a little about the thermometer you put into the seed tray under the dome.

[@brianseybert2189]

I use domes when first planting to keep the moisture in. When I see the first seed germinate, I take off the dome and lower the lights, just me.

[@samarsabha3546]

I used the cardbord rolls that we find inside the kitchen paper towels.

[@charlenequinilty7252]

I have tried the kind you don’t blanch. Works for me. A lot less trouble.

[@charlenequinilty7252]

Black gumbo I got a message that I was on short list and to contact number. Just being cautious..was that you?

[@ScottHead]

No it is a spam bot attack. Trying to clean it up.

[@edwinf4393]

I wondered how other people blanched their celery. I use a different method I use short sections of 4” thin walled drain pipe, the white pipe. Plant your celery wait a week or so til celery gets going and then push a piece of pipe around celery plant. Pipe should be about 10”-12”. Works very well for me for years. Rain I think will deteriorate the cardboard and tape?

[@PsychedelicTara]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! As a 76 year old organic vegetarian I’ve bought and eaten tons of celery over the years. But I won’t buy celery that isn’t “blanched”, or has “strings”, because they’re never sweet. Sometimes I’ll go months without seeing any acceptable celery! I’ve never grown celery, because I didn’t want it to be bitter. Now I’m inspired to try growing it! Do you have any suggestions to deter the “strings” from forming?

[@ScottHead]

I don't have many suggestions to avoid strings, I think that's just part of celery.

[@hunnybunnyssunshineliving5155]

Thanks, just what I needed👍🏼🤙🏽💯

[@SaminemRedjomoenawi]

I love the Beef Steaks Tomato ❤❤❤❤ They are so Round and have lots of meat to put in salads❤❤❤❤ You are very HAPPY😂😂😂😂😂 CHEEERS!!!!!!🌺🌷🌷🌷🌷🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🌻🌻🌻🌻💐🌹🌹🌹

[@LeverActionLarry]

Good stuff as always! Thanks for the content!

[@AlonzoCalderon-q5f]

Do you have a video how to prepare the ground for it.?

[@annetteharbajan8960]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge much appreciated. I subscribed to your channel.