Celeriac

Celeriac in early June

Celeriac in August

Celeriac is a variety of celery that produces large, flavorful roots and much smaller stalks than traditional celery.  We grew it for the first time this year and it grew without special attention and was free of pest issues.  During the growing season, we used the foliage in place of parsley and it added a nice flavor to our recipes.

We started from seed inside in late February (8 weeks before the last frost).  We planted them outside in mid-May.  The only peculiarity of celeriac is that it is biennial.  So if it's planted outside too early and experiences several cold nights in a row, it can be tricked into thinking it has gone through a summer/winter cycle and is now in year two.  In year two, biennials put energy into flowering instead of root growth.  Try to plant it late enough in the season to avoid multiple sub-50 degree nights and you should do well.  Keep it well watered and somewhat weed free.

Celeriac in September, nearing harvest time

 Celeriac appreciates cold nights, but because much of the root is above ground, it should be harvested before a killing frost (28 degrees).  Harvest by pulling the root, cutting off the greenery, and shaking off excess dirt.

Harvested celeriac root

We dried our celeriac for easy addition to soups and other recipes.  Other storage options include blanching (as described below) and then freezing or you can store the whole root in a root cellar environment (~55 degrees and dry).

Dehydrating Celeriac:

Partially peeled celeriac root

Shredding peeled celeriac root 

• Peel the root, removing all of the brown skin
• Shred the root
• Blanch in boiling water for 4 minutes and then immediately immerse in ice water to stop the cooking
• Dry in a dehydrator on its lowest temperature setting (ours was 95 degrees) until the pieces readily break into two pieces when bent
• Grind into powder and store in an airtight container for later use

Blanching celeriac root with ice water waiting

In the dehydrator before drying

In the dehydrator after drying

Grinding dried celeriac into powder

Weekly Gardening Outlook

This will be a continuing series where we look ahead at the coming week in gardening for the Northwest Arkansas area.

Jalapeño and Serrano peppers with a solitary tomato.

Harvested celeriac root ready for blanching and freezing

Maturing green beans

It's officially been fall for almost 2 weeks now. A light frost the last three mornings reminds us that a killing frost (28 degrees) is soon to come.  We harvested all remaining peppers, tomatoes, and celeriac.  The green beans are going to remain on the on the vine to mature into next year's seeds.

Rocky Top lettuce mix (week 4)

Rocky Top lettuce mix (week 4)

Pink Beauty radishes (week 4)

Scotch kale

The lettuce and radishes are lush and beautiful.  Visions of fresh cut salads are dancing in our heads.  It appears the kale revival experiment is not going to be productive.  As seen above, they aren't leafing out as we had hoped and what leaves they have produced are unpalatable.

Weather outlook:

-Beautiful fall weather.  Cold at night; warm and sunny during the day getting up to the low 80's.  Dry with no chance of rain.
-Ten day forecast

What's being harvested:

-Peppers

-Tomatoes (They are loaded with small, green fruit that are destined to be turned to mush by freezing temperatures)

-Chard
-Celeriac root

-Basil, mint, and other herbs (enjoying them while they last)

Weekly Gardening Outlook

This will be a continuing series where we look ahead at the coming week in gardening for the Northwest Arkansas area.

Rocky Top lettuce mix (week 2)

Pink Beauty radishes (week 2)

Dry weather this past week has required frequent watering of these new seedlings, especially the lettuce.

Swiss Chard

 These gems continue to produce for us, regardless of the weather.

Blue Scotch Kale

The kale hasn't taken off again like we had hoped, but the temperatures have been close to 90 over the last week.  Maybe when it cools down.

Celeriac growing nice big roots

 These aren't ready to harvest yet, but they are growing great!  Should be good recipe additions this winter.  We have enjoyed the greens as a celery flavor addition to many recipes this summer.

Purple "green beans"

 This was part of dinner last night.  Nothing like fresh from the vine to the plate in less than 30 minutes.

Jalapeño peppers to the left; Serrano peppers to the right

 The cooler weather has rejuvenated these peppers.  Believe it or not, they don't prefer scorching hot temperatures.

Evergreen bunching onions

These have provided us with fresh green onions for cooking all summer.

Things to be on the lookout for:

Harlequin bugs atop Swiss chard

TIP:  Spray the plant with water for a few seconds and, within a minute or two, any harlequin bugs will climb to the top of the plant.  This works for squash bugs and leaffooted bugs as well.  Once at the top, they can be sprayed with an organic contact killer like pyrethrin or hand picked/vacuumed off.  Even though pyrethrin is considered organic, we hand picked these off.  We will be eating the greens and don't want to spray them directly.

Weather outlook:

-Warm; upper 80's early falling to upper 70's later in the week, with a chance of rain every day.
-Ten day forecast

What's being harvested:

-Green beans

-Peppers
-Chard
-Tomatoes
-Celeriac leaves, basil, mint, and other herbs
-Apples