(DIY) Growing your own Celery at home [Updated: Jan. 29, 2013]

This is the progress as of Jan. 19th, 2013

So I decided to try a little winter gardening in my apartment room earlier this month. Having run across an idea showing how to grow celery from the root of a store bought plant. I decided to give it a try since I was just going to throw the thing away like everyone else. Plus this little project is cheap, so if you mess up you can get another stalk of celery for a few bucks.

These guys grow rather quickly, considering it's only been about two weeks since I started this project. I'm excited to use this plant again for a future recipe.

So here's what you need to get started:

• A stalk of Celery
• A cup or bowl (big enough for the base of the celery stalk to fit into)
• Sunny window (or) Plant light - I'm using a plant light since my window doesn't let in much light at this time of year.
• Potting Soil & Pot (I recycled a can from work for my pot)
• Squirt Bottle (Optional)

Steps:

• Start by cutting the stalk of celery leaving about 2-3 inches from the root. (Use the rest for your dinner)
• Rinse the celery base with water
• Place in your cup or bowl with water (I just happened to have a Tupperware the right size ling around the house).

• Leave in a well lit window, or use a plant light. For the plant light it's recommended that you have it about a foot away from your plant(s).

What you should have so far:

This is what's cooking in the crockpot (Vegetarian chili):

• All you have to do now is change the water once a day until the plant reaches a few inches, and shows sign of growth. After about 1 to 2 weeks, you should have a big enough plant to be ready to be re-potted in soil.

Jan. 11th, 2013

Jan. 13th, 2013

Jan. 15th, 2013

• Get your pot, if using a coffee can or something similar to me make sure you poke holes in the bottom for excess water to drain out. I also put a coffee filter in the bottom so the soil would not escape through the holes.

• Fill pot with soil and place the celery in so that the the soil is flush with your initial cut.
• Water the soil well, and what I've been doing everyday is using my squirt bottle to spray the center with water like you would see in the produce section of stores.

Updates may follow on my personnel progress, but this should get you on your way to becoming a self sufficient grower for your own food at home. This would be a great project for children as well, for those parents out there looking for a cheap affordable project.

[Update] 

January 29th, 2013

Well it seems I over watered the soil and the base of my celery began to rot, so I had to toss this little guy out, as well as my potting soil. :(  Luckily it was a cheap project, I'll have to try again in the future to see if I get better results next time. Possible just leaving it in the water bowl with occasional water changes appeared to show the best growth. Play around and see what works the best and let me know how yours turns out.