Celery

Celery. Over the last couple of months, I would buy celery, at the store, or farmers’ market.  When home, I would cut the entire bottom off, wash the celery stalks, and place them in the refrigerator, wrapped in a wet dish cloth. 

So what happens to the cut off end you ask??  I place the cut off end in a bowl with water and place the bowl on my window sill, to allow time for roots to grow.  I change the water in the bowl holding the celery end daily.  After a mass of roots form, I take each celery bottom and plant them in a pot or directly into the garden.  This is how I started my celery this year, instead of using seeds.

 

Leaving bottoms in water to create roots.

Planted in soil in a garden bed.

 

How do you grow your celery?

*****Winners Announced*****

The winner of the Canning & Preserving for Dummies Book is 1^st Man. 

The winner of the Food in Jars Preserving in Small Batches Year

Round is Buttons.

The winners have until Thursday, May 2nd; to respond to me with your mailing address.

If the winners do not respond by 11:59PM on May 2nd ; I will have no choice but to select another winner.

 1^st Man and Buttons, please e-mail me your mailing address.

My E-mail is: SandyLivesay@gmail.com

Bits & Pieces

Update on straw bale garden; the peas have started sprouting along the soil mound on top of the first two straw bales. 

The tomato plants had to be replaced as previously mentioned.  The seedlings planted in the next straw bales have grown and are now producing all kinds of flowers. 

This afternoon, I needed to place chairs up against the fence to prevent the winds from breaking these tomato plants.  I’m thinking of placing a piece of plywood along the fence line to prevent wind damage.

My lettuce (several varieties) and spinach (several varieties) have taken off nicely.

The green beans are branching out of the ground at different stages.  I have three rows planted up against this string trellis.

 

All the strawberry plants are blooming, I’m hoping for all kinds of strawberries this year.  We are low on frozen strawberries and homemade jam.  

This year I decided to try growing rutabaga, here are a few popping out of the ground.  I didn’t plant many seeds because not all of us here on the property enjoy eating rutabaga.

I started cauliflower from seeds again this year; it’s actually growing, unlike last year.  Hopefully, the critters will leave these seedlings alone.

Here are a few leaves of Swiss chard coming up from seeds.

Most of my herbs were started from seeds; I still have them inside the greenhouse.  I’m looking forward to transplanting them in a large garden bucket in the next couple of days.  

I also have another tray of peppers and tomatoes which need transplanting in the garden beds.

Little Beans is in a hurry to get into the house, he heard Poppy pull up in the truck from work, and he’s getting impatient at the back door for me to open it up for him.

How are your garden beds coming along?