Permapotes
Celery

Celeriac

Celeriac: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar

Celeriac is a cultivated form of Apium graveolens, generally identified as the botanical variety rapaceum, in the Apiaceae family. It therefore shares its species with stalk celery, but selection here focuses mainly on a large, fleshy base. The name celery root suggests a root, although this part is the swollen base of the plant’s axis, accompanied by numerous roots.

This base is rounded and often irregular, with a beige to light brown surface marked by bumps and root attachments. Beneath it, the flesh is white to cream, firm and fairly even in texture. Its knobbly appearance contrasts with the regular slices or pieces you see in the kitchen. A celeriac does not have to be a perfect sphere to have its normal shape.

A rosette of green leaves develops above the swelling. The leaves are divided into leaflets with toothed edges, showing the relationship with stalk celery. Their leaf stalks, however, are not the same culinary product as the large, fleshy stalks of celery varieties selected for that purpose. These vegetables are different expressions of one species rather than unrelated plants.

The flesh has a celery aroma and a distinctive flavour that remains recognisable in many preparations. Raw, it is firm and crunchy: you can enjoy it grated in celeriac rémoulade or paired with apples and walnuts. Cooked, it becomes softer and suits purées, soups, gratins and roasted vegetable dishes. Combining it with potatoes also offers different textures and degrees of aromatic intensity, without limiting this vegetable to a single familiar recipe.

Varieties differ in the size and shape of the swollen base, the extent of surface irregularities, earliness and sensitivity to bolting. A smoother base can be easier to prepare in the kitchen. Size alone does not sum up flesh quality or the value of a variety, and the different selections do not all produce an identical vegetable.

Celeriac is usually grown for its swollen base during the first season of its biennial cycle. Flowering produces umbels of small, pale flowers, distinct from the foliage that helps identify the plant. In the vegetable garden, its rosette shape illustrates the diversity of vegetables derived from celery.

Celeriac
Celeriac
Characteristics
  • Lifecycle : Annual
  • Exposure : Full Sun
  • Frost Hardiness : Frost Resistant
  • Cultivation Difficulty : Challenging
  • Mature height : 30 cm
Sowing & Planting
  • Greenhouse Growing : Not Required
  • Sowing Depth : 0.5 cm
  • Plant Spacing : 30 cm
  • Row Spacing : 45 cm
Maintenance
  • Maintenance : Low
  • Water Requirements : Moderate
Other characteristics
  • Soil Type : Mixed
  • Soil pH Preference : Neutral
  • Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
  • Disease Sensitivity : Moderate
  • Weed Sensitivity : Moderate
  • Pollination : Insect-pollinated
  • Propagation : Sowing