Celery From Garbage

Celery from Garbage

By Joseph Parish

One of the simplest and most enjoyable growing experiments involves growing celery from the bottom of a store-bought stalk of celery. This is an especially fun project to do with children. The celery seems to grow within a matter of only a couple of days. Celery sprouts stunningly fast, and other than the initial cutting a young child can complete the entire project. Most kids will enjoy watching it grow. This is an excellent activity to develop a child’s science skills.

There are two ways to do this, one is by using only water while the second is by planting the celery in a container of soil. Let us start with the water method first. Keep in mind this process may produce more leaves than stalk however, it will still produce a good conversation piece. Do not expect your celery to obtain the same size as the store-bought version but the leaves can be employed in your daily cooking.

Items needed:

· Store bought celery

· A sharp knife

· A plastic container

· Tap water

When purchasing your celery, buy a bunch which is firm to the touch and has tightly packed together stalks. The leaves should be green and not have yellow on them. Using a sharp knife cut the bottom portion of the celery off. Leave about two inches of flesh on the base. The base will serve to grow your new celery.

In the case of water, fill a small container with about a half inch of water and place the celery in it. Put the container in a sunny location with direct sunlight. Nothing more is necessary other than to change the water every Day or so and never allow it to dry out. If you plan to grow your celery in a container of soil you will need the following items also:

· Pot for soil with drainage holes

· Potting soil

· Slow release fertilizer

Celery is a fast grower and it should begin to sprout within a day or two. You will be amazed at how fast it will grow.

If you would like to see your celery grow larger and be able to plant it outside, consider transferring it to a pot. To complete this project, you will need:

The sprouted celery bottom from the water experiment above

· Flower pot with a hole in the bottom

· Potting soil

· Slow release fertilizer

· A coffee filter for the bottom of the flower pot

· Water

Place the coffee filter over the hole in the flower pot to prevent soil loss. This will prevent the loss of soil while still allowing the water to get in. Fill the pot will potting soil until it is about two inches from the top. Mix a little of the in a slow-release fertilizer with the soil. Follow the recommended instructions for the fertilizer used. Pat the soil down slightly and gently add water gently the soil is damp, but not soaked. Place the bottom of your sprouted celery on top of the soil and add another inch of potting mix. The soil should now surround the celery. Move the pot to a partially sunny location. Keep the soil moist but not soaked.

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