Today, let’s talk about celery, that mildly spicy plant we used to throw away when it is already used. Funnily enough, you can also use this plant many times after you regrow it with the scraps you usually throw in the garbage bin.
Celery has two kinds of leaves you can use in cooking. The darker ones tend to be thick and very sturdy, and they have a flavor that is somewhat similar to flat-leaf parsley. The very dark ones could be way more bitter and grassy than the previous ones, but you can still use them to give some good taste to your dishes. Pale leaves have a more delicate taste and even a more delicate texture.
To be able to use celery, without having to go to the market every single time you throw out the garbage the scraps you may use, let’s find out how to regrow celery and if there are some other ideas and questions in the search for the answers.
How to cut celery for regrowing it?
You may be asking if we can regrow celery, how to cut celery for regrowing it? How to regrow celery? It is not difficult at all. What you do need to know is that the base is very important.
Starting with slicing it, you would need to do it around the root end of some celery, about two inches from that part. Similar to what you could do with other regrow-able plants, you can also insert 4 toothpicks to rise above the water (and to avoid completely submerging it). Using a shallow dish, bowl, or a jar, fill it with water until the root end is submerged around one and a half inches.
Following with lighting, caring, and maintenance, you would need to put it where it can get some natural light for many hours a day (like 10 to be exact). The water would need to be changed at least every couple of days to avoid rotting.
Timing is key, and you could see some small leaves starting to appear around a few days and some stalks and leaves coming from the center of the top of the celery in about a week. The roots would start popping out around the same time from the base.
The plant would get old very quickly when in the water though and that is okay. You could see this by looking at how the stalks you had before in the outer base would start to become brownish. As said before, this is normal and a clear indication that maybe it’s time to plant the celery on soil, if you want to keep doing it.
How to plant celery for regrowing?
As it says before, planting the celery in the soil is best to prevent the green thing from rotting and deteriorating. So, how to plant celery for regrowing? The best way to plant celery and how to regrow celery is to put it in good soil, rich in nutrients and not too much water.
You can start planting the celery in a pot or a prepared soil (that does not have pesticides in it and it is suitable for vegetables you would eat) when the new roots are about an inch long.
To do so, make a deep hole that is wide enough to accommodate the root end and the part you cut before. Try not to leave any spaces below it that could generate air pockets in the root part of the plant and set it there. You would want to make sure the celery cut end and the little emerging stalks and leaves are visible while adding the soil.
Watering is important too, but too much would do damage to the little veggie. The soil should be moist and damp, but not making puddles for the plant to thrive. And about the weather, temperature, and other features from the ambient, you should know that celery is okay in cool weather, with a rich in nutrients’ soil. Some shade may also help to keep it green when the sun and temps are too high during the day.
In which ways can you use the celery leaves?
After knowing how to regrow celery you may be wondering: What can I do with it? In which ways can I use the celery leaves?There are so many examples and instances where replacing some ingredient with celery leaves gives it a new, spicy flavor, or it can complement the already good flavor of some of the most diverse plates. In any case, the sky is the limit for the kind of things you may and could try with the celery leaves and the entire plant in general.
If you combine a handful of dried celery leaves with kosher salt, you can make homemade celery salt for seasoning salt. A good idea for drying celery leaves is by put in the microwave or oven. Using darker leaves of celery can give a strong taste.
Also, you can make the pesto by changing peppery arugula leaves with dark celery leaves in this classic pesto variation. Spread some celery pesto on sandwiches and pizza, add to pasta, mash it with cheese to use as a dip.
You can also use celery for a variety of salads and, speaking of soups and stew, any soup and stew can contain celery. The ones that do can also hold celery leaves.
Conclusion
We already established that celery can be regrown, but how to regrow celery? Is it so difficult? In reality, no. It is not that difficult to regrow celery, even if you are in an apartment building.
The first thing you need to know is to cut the bottom part around 2 inches from the base. You could also use toothpicks to raise it over a cup of water, barely touching it. In a few days, that normally scrapped part of the plant would make some roots and would start to grow leaves. Take care of the water by changing it every couple of days.
When the celery reaches a point where the roots are about an inch long, it is time to change it to a rich in nutrients soil. It should not be any air pockets when you are planting the celery into the soil, try to keep the soil moist but not wet and give it some shade in the hottest part of the day.
