Ibis Celeriac

Apium graveolens var. rapaceum

Story: Celeriac is closely related to celery and celery leaf but bred for its tuber-like base which can be stored and eaten as a sweet, flavourful root vegetable. Ibis particularly is a bolt resistant, hardy and smooth skinned variety which is popular for growing in the UK and a real favourite. 

When to sow: Sow from January to March with heat like tomatoes and plant out after last frost. These are slow growing plants so be sure to get them sown early, sowing them on the surface of moist seeding compost before sprinkling lightly with fine compost or vermiculite.

Requirements: These are slow growing plants so be sure to get them sown early, sowing them on the surface of moist seeding compost before sprinkling compost or vermiculite to cover them. Once the seeds have germinated, celery is low maintenance. It prefers rich, moist soil in full sun and does best when grown without much competition. It may suffer from celery leaf miner - an issue best handled by removing damaged leaves and practicing crop rotation.

When to harvest for food: Harvest from mid summer to early winter and store as you would root vegetables

When to harvest seed: Celeriac is biennial and seed is harvested in the second year once the umbel flowers have fully dried on the plant. 

Need to isolate: Yes

Saving Seed: Celeriac requires some planning to successfully save seeds from. It is closely related to celery leaf and celery so can cross with them if they are also allowed to flower. Luckily, we tend to harvest these crops before it has the chance to flower so there is little risk of cross pollination. Celeriac is biennial, completing its life cycle in a two year period so must be overwintered - select the best, healthiest plants (20-30 plants are required for proper genetic maintenance). It is possible to overwinter them in situ in mild winters with fleece protection but a hard frost could kill them. The best method is to dig them up with a good chunk of soil still attached to the root ball if possible and bring them inside a greenhouse or polytunnel to overwinter and set seed the following year. Allow the celery to go to flower and for the seeds to form - seeds should begin to ripen in summer in a hot greenhouse and begin to dry on the plant. Once seed heads are brown, cut the entire stems and bring inside to dry fully. Crumble the seeds from their stems, package, label and date. 

Number of plants to save seeds from: 10 minimum, 20-30 ideal

Pollination: Insect pollinated

How to send back seed: Please label all seed with variety, type, date and your name and contact. If you didn't get a chance to fill out our online data collection form, you can also send us a few lines about how it grew for you/flavour etc. Please aim to send back 1 tablespoon of dried seed or more so that we can continue to share with network members. Send to: The Seed Saving Network, Omved Gardens, 1 Townsend Yard, N6 5JF.

Please remember, if you’re an individual grower you can order up to 4 packets of seeds. If you order more than this, you will receive just four packs to begin with. This is to ensure we get plenty of data in return and to keep our stocks sustainable for years to come.* 

*Community groups, seed guardians and Experienced SSN Growers can order larger quantities, please email us at info@seedsaving.network if this is the case.

If an item is out of stock we will send a close alternative.