KG494 Print Combined

It’s all about the roots!
Grow your own celery
– The three Ps of success
Prepare
Choose a sunny, well-drained spot in the
garden to create your celery bed. Dig it deeply
(at least a spade-blade deep) and incorporate
into the soil as much compost and well-rotted
animal manure as you can lay hands on.
Alternatively, blood and bone and a general
all-purpose fertiliser will suffice; apply the
blood and bone heavily. Celery loves lime and
enjoys soil with a pH level of 6.5–7.5. For most
gardeners, this means applying lime at the
rate of 60–90 grams per square metre. Add the
lime at least two weeks before the fertiliser as
lime helps sweeten the soil. Plants in sweet
soil have the best opportunity to take up the
nutrients supplied in the fertiliser.
Protect
Slugs and snail enjoy munching on the
celery’s juicy stems so bait or trap for these
beasties. Cover young plants to protect them
from cats and birds that will dig them up.
Celery is prone to leaf rust but unless the
situation is severe, the plants will usually
hold their own. If you are concerned, snip off
damaged leaves and discard.
Pamper
Celery resents any check to its growth and if
it is stressed for any reason at all, it is quick
to bolt or turn tough and bitter. Keep it well
fertilised with liquid manure, growing in moist
but not wet soil and cover it with a cloche
if the weather turns unseasonably chilly. If
temperatures rise unexpectedly, cover the
plants with shade cloth during the hottest
period of the day. Do not crowd celery, that is
another stress it will not tolerate.
gardener.kiwi
Above Celery doesn’t like to be
crowded. Give it space!
Give your seeds the
best start this Spring!
Promote fast and healthy plant
growth by using Jiffy ® peat pots,
pellets and greenhouses.
Jiffy ® peat pots are:
P 100% Organic
P 100% Biodegradable
P Easy to use
P Environmentally friendly
P Best start for stronger,
healthier plants
Jiffy ® products are
distributed in New Zealand
by Mr Fothergill’s Seeds.
kiwigardener 65
www.mrfothergills.co.nz