D'Elne Celery - Apium graveolens

Elne celery is a descendant of a plant called marsh parsley, native to the Mediterranean. Celery was not considered a vegetable but rather a medicinal plant until the Renaissance.

Celery leaves are used as a seasoning in soups, stews, and to flavor certain sauces and stuffings. Raw, tender stalks, finely chopped, can be added to salads. Celery also has many virtues; it is anti-rheumatic, appetizing, digestive, remineralizing, and contains vitamins as well as copper, iron, and iodine.

Celery requires a significant supply of well-decomposed compost (5 kg per m²), wood ash, and manure. Foliar fertilization with lithothamnium powder can also be done every three weeks.

Harvest: Elne celery is harvested by cutting the entire stalks at ground level as needed. Elne celery is sensitive to frost.

Storage: Before the first frost, starting from the end of October, the stalks are uprooted with their roots and stored in trenches or in a cellar in sand.

Gardener's tip: Celery is particularly demanding in terms of water and nutrients. Provide a good mulch to maintain moisture at the base of the plant and a good supply of organic matter.