What Happened To English Celery?

[Frank-the-Wool]

I always enjoy quality Stilton, Jacobs biscuits and used to be able to get English Celery that was of a very good flavour although you had to wash it well as it had very black soil or possibly soot around it and wrapped in blue paper.
Now we are going out of the EU can we not grow Celery here again?
The Spanish stuff is OK but it seems a lot of food miles for something which is mostly water!!

 

[Grass And Grain]

Friend of mine grows a few acres each year. Stcks are more green coloured than the white stuff from supermarket. No idea who he sells it to.

 

[Exfarmer]

Friend of mine grows a few acres each year. Stcks are more green coloured than the white stuff from supermarket. No idea who he sells it to.

Proper english trench grown celery , should be pure white!
ihve tried growing it in the garden but the slugs beat me every time.
i am told that grown properly it was grown in deep cut trenches in the peat. Then ridged up ao a man could not see over the top
used to be a crop only available in the Autumn so the supermarkets refused to stock it in favour of celery grown on the flat, which can be grown all year round.
i would love to be able to buy it, but I am not overly hopeful.
Gees claimed they were growing some genuine Fenland celery a few years back but it was nothing like proper celery.

 

[Grass And Grain]

Proper english trench grown celery , should be pure white!
ihve tried growing it in the garden but the slugs beat me every time.
i am told that grown properly it was grown in deep cut trenches in the peat. Then ridged up ao a man could not see over the top
used to be a crop only available in the Autumn so the supermarkets refused to stock it in favour of celery grown on the flat, which can be grown all year round.
i would love to be able to buy it, but I am not overly hopeful.
Gees claimed they were growing some genuine Fenland celery a few years back but it was nothing like proper celery.

Maybe my mate needs to ridge his up. He seems to sell it ok though.

 

[Devil's advocate]

I always enjoy quality Stilton, Jacobs biscuits and used to be able to get English Celery that was of a very good flavour although you had to wash it well as it had very black soil or possibly soot around it and wrapped in blue paper.
Now we are going out of the EU can we not grow Celery here again?
The Spanish stuff is OK but it seems a lot of food miles for something which is mostly water!!

G's salads at Ely Cambridge grow huge amounts at various sites & rent/own land in Spain to grow the crop overseas out of season.

Langmead farms used to even move Staff & machines between Spain & UK.

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

G's salads at Ely Cambridge grow huge amounts at various sites & rent/own land in Spain to grow the crop overseas out of season.

Langmead farms used to even move Staff & machines between Spain & UK.

Very interesting but why cannot we grow more here for a longer season?
Is it the Spanish have better soil for it? If so I have not seen anything other than poor thin stuff.

 

[Exfarmer]

Very interesting but why cannot we grow more here for a longer season?
Is it the Spanish have better soil for it? If so I have not seen anything other than poor thin stuff.

Celery is very frost prone

 

[Bogweevil]

Trench celery is red or green stemmed (technically petioles), open pollinated and was grown mostly in dark fen soil which could be drawn over the stems to blanch them. Other soils fill the heads with grit or mud which very nasty. This is relatively labour intensive and the product does not look good in pre-packs, and in any cases has a limited season. Supermarkets sometimes offer it as speciality product. It is a pig to grow if you don't have fen soils with a high water table as it goes stringy and/or bolts with even a hint of drought. Fen celery is a protected name: https://assets.publishing.service.g...t_data/file/271302/pfn-fenland-celery-pgi.pdf

I presume commercial growers raise their own seeds as they are seldom offered except to gardeners.

Nowadays self-blanching celery of lesser quality is grown as indeed is green celery. Hybrids are used to get bolt-resistance, vigour and uniformity. Greenhouse production was preferred in the UK to get speedy check-free growth but I think all production is Spanish now, outdoors with the use of driplines. The leading breeders are the UK firm of Tozers: https://www.tozerseeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Celery-Brochure-UK.pdf

 

[Devil's advocate]

Very interesting but why cannot we grow more here for a longer season?
Is it the Spanish have better soil for it? If so I have not seen anything other than poor thin stuff.

On average Spanish soils are poorer than UK soils but they have the climate.

The Po valley in Italy might be an interesting place to grow celery.

UK very lucky to have as much peat/moss soil as we do but climate we have a winter. Lancashire celery better than fenland of course.

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Trench celery is red or green stemmed (technically petioles), open pollinated and was grown mostly in dark fen soil which could be drawn over the stems to blanch them. Other soils fill the heads with grit or mud which very nasty. This is relatively labour intensive and the product does not look good in pre-packs, and in any cases has a limited season. Supermarkets sometimes offer it as speciality product. It is a pig to grow if you don't have fen soils with a high water table as it goes stringy and/or bolts with even a hint of drought. Fen celery is a protected name: https://assets.publishing.service.g...t_data/file/271302/pfn-fenland-celery-pgi.pdf

I presume commercial growers raise their own seeds as they are seldom offered except to gardeners.

Nowadays self-blanching celery of lesser quality is grown as indeed is green celery. Hybrids are used to get bolt-resistance, vigour and uniformity. Greenhouse production was preferred in the UK to get speedy check-free growth but I think all production is Spanish now, outdoors with the use of driplines. The leading breeders are the UK firm of Tozers: https://www.tozerseeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Celery-Brochure-UK.pdf

Many thanks for the extremely interesting answer.
So it looks as if I will have to keep eating the Spanish stuff with my Christmas Stilton!

Hope all those Spanish trucks got home to bring the next loads in.

 

[Av Gorritt]

many years ago , my grandmother would buy celery from the cart at the door . This had always been blanched by earthing up , and finally with a collar of corrugated paper round the stem . She would never eat the green bits , saying they were like the green bits on potatoes - poisonous . Can't see that process happening commercially now ! I've had some really nice Yorkshire grown celery lately , very crisp and tasty , but the last packet I had was "Murcia , Spain" grown , and wasn't in the same league as the Yorkshire grown - looked the same , but nothing like , so "Mr. Yorkshire grower" take a bow , I'll be looking out next time I buy .

 

[Princess Pooper]

Trench celery is red or green stemmed (technically petioles), open pollinated and was grown mostly in dark fen soil which could be drawn over the stems to blanch them. Other soils fill the heads with grit or mud which very nasty. This is relatively labour intensive and the product does not look good in pre-packs, and in any cases has a limited season. Supermarkets sometimes offer it as speciality product. It is a pig to grow if you don't have fen soils with a high water table as it goes stringy and/or bolts with even a hint of drought. Fen celery is a protected name: https://assets.publishing.service.g...t_data/file/271302/pfn-fenland-celery-pgi.pdf

I presume commercial growers raise their own seeds as they are seldom offered except to gardeners.

Nowadays self-blanching celery of lesser quality is grown as indeed is green celery. Hybrids are used to get bolt-resistance, vigour and uniformity. Greenhouse production was preferred in the UK to get speedy check-free growth but I think all production is Spanish now, outdoors with the use of driplines. The leading breeders are the UK firm of Tozers: https://www.tozerseeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Celery-Brochure-UK.pdf

'Dirty celery' which is what my father in law called Fen celery, is really tasty. Used to be able to get it at a market stall locally from a fen grower but not any more.

 

[yellowbelly]

The Isle of Axholme is the place to go and look for some - don't think there's any big growers left (Pollybell Farms maybe??) but there'll still be a few small growers.

 

[glasshouse]

Celery?
Tasteless

 

[Lili]

I bought some British celery (labelled Lincolnshire) a few months ago from Morrisons. The taste compared with the Spanish muck was amazing.

 

[A Trebor]

The Isle of Axholme is the place to go and look for some - don't think there's any big growers left (Pollybell Farms maybe??) but there'll still be a few small growers.

Think Polybell are all organic now but might grow celery.

 

[Bongodog]

Until 2 weeks ago our village farm shop was selling the genuine article, blanched white, fen soil all over it, and a flavour as my old dad used to say "as strong as a country sxxxhouse in summer" Usually its around for longer but the supply seemed to dry up quick this year. Its certainly around if you live on the edge of the Fens, haven't seen any being grown in any large quantity recently. Hasse named after Hasse fen in Soham used to be a big celery brand years back.

 

[HolzKopf]

Waitrose sells Fenland Celery http://www.fenlandcelery.com

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Waitrose sells Fenland Celery http://www.fenlandcelery.com

That must be why I can't find it any more!!!!

 

[Hindsight]

That must be why I can't find it any more!!!!

Premium Product. Retail it where folk have deep pockets and prepared to pay for privilege. I would be mortified to see it in ASDA or LILD where price be driven down.