Medwyn Williams is hoping for lovely bright stalks on his show celery
I’m trying to get lovely bright stalks on my crops to stage at this year’s shows
My celery for Chelsea Flower Show has just been potted up into 2-litre pots, 17cm (6.5in) diameter, using Canna Coco Professional. My intention is to grow as many vegetables as possible in coco fibre, thereby reducing the usage of peat that the RHS is attempting to achieve. I started using Canna Coco Professional about two years ago and
I’ve had some marvellous results with a range of different vegetables.
I’ll be growing at least
12 each of ‘Evening Star’ and ‘Starburst’ in 30-litre pots and these will be regularly liquid fed using Canna
A and B. The pots are currently in my glasshouse and will be moved shortly to the polytunnel. My concern here is the temperature during the summer months as celery doesn’t like it to be too hot. Ideally, I need to grow it outdoors, but the problem is I can’t have it exposed to the rain as that would completely change the concentration of nutrients.
My thinking is to leave it in the tunnel until around the middle of this month and then plant it in buckets outdoors. I’m going to build a temporary structure with a roof covered in polythene to prevent the rain coming in. Why I am keen to grow it this way is to copy the vivid and beautiful colours that
I had on the stalks during trials conducted by Canna last year.
We conducted the trial using Canna Coco Professional and running the plant at an EC (Electrical Conductivity) of 2.4 to 2.6, which is very high indeed, and using regular heavy supplements of Calmag. Calmag is a plant supplement designed to correct the inherent problem of calcium, magnesium and iron mineral deficiencies. The result was quite astonishing, with no heart rot at all. The striking thing was the incredible colours that the stalks, or petioles, developed. If I can grow it this year with those colourful stalks, the judges will surely be impressed! ■ Why not follow me on Twitter throughout the season as I grow vegetables for my show displays – @medwynsofangles.