Utah 52/70 Tall Improved Celery
Seed Count: Approx. 200 seeds
Days to Maturity: 120 days
Description: Utah 52/70 Tall Improved Celery is a commonly grown variety in home gardens. This early producing, disease resistant variety produces medium dark green, strongly flavored, tall, crispy stalks that grow a foot in length! This celery is great to add to salads, soups, and stocks. You can also just eat these crunchy stalks fresh as a snacky snack right out of the garden. The Utah 52/70 Tall Improved Celery has strong roots, and develops a good heart. Grows in a compact habit.
How To Grow
Sowing: Celery grows best as a fall crop in most climates, so its best to start your seeds about 10 weeks before the last spring frost. Soak them overnight to speed germination, then sow them in a flat in rows 1" apart. Keep the soil moist and keep the flat out of direct sun. Celery seeds are notorious for slow germination, and can often take two or three weeks to sprout. When the plants reach about 2 inches tall, transplant them into nursery pots. Set them out in the garden when they reach about " tall or after your last frost date. Space them 6-8 inches apart in rows 2-3' apart, putting them at the same soil level as they were in their pots. Make sure the soil is enriched with compost or other organic matter, so the celery can grow quickly. Companion plant celery with tomatoes, cauliflower, or cabbage.
Growing: Provide celery with adequate water. Celery is a thirsty plant, and requires steady watering to succeed. Feed your plants with compost or fertilizer every two weeks. If the temperature falls below 55 degrees F consistently, cover your plants. Growing success for celery depends on plentiful moisture, enriched soil, and protection from high temperatures and the sun. For a sweeter, more tender taste, many gardeners blanch their celery about two weeks before harvesting it. This is accomplished by wrapping newspaper or cardboard around the stalks up to the point where the leaves begin. However, this is a self blanching variety, so this step is not necessary, though you can still do it. You can also simply mound dirt up to cover the stalks if you wish to blanch them.
Harvesting: Cut off the entire plant at soil level as soon as it reaches a diameter of 3", or remove individual outer stalks when they reach 12" tall. I love to eat raw celery, but cooked its delicious too. Its an absolute necessity in my dressing. Celery leaves can also be used, such as for flavoring like an herb or in salads. To save seed in areas where the ground freezes over winter, it will be necessary to dig up the celery before the first heavy frost; cover the roots with dirt and the stalks with straw, and keep them in a humid location with near freezing temperatures. In the spring, remove rotted or damaged stalks and set out the plants after the last frost. In warmer climates, leave the celery in the ground and cover them thickly with mulch over winter. In the spring, allow the plant to flower; when the seed heads on the flower grow brown and dry, cut them off and allow them to fully dry indoors. Remove as much chaff as possible, then store in a cool, dry place.
