Carrot and relatives - The Manual of Seed Saving - page 92

brown bark-like crusts on the root bulb that are up to in. (2 mm) thick; these then dehisce (rupture).
This fungal disease is most likely to appear in damp years but is not particularly common in general.
Individual varieties are differentially susceptible to root rot. Late blight of celery, also caused by a
fungus ( Septoria apiicola ), appears as light brown to grayish brown spots with black dots on either
side of the leaves and dried tissue. Remedy: longer storage of seed before use, which weakens the
fungus; watering plants with warm water; spraying a horsetail compost tea in damp weather. The hot
water treatment is also recommended.
Celeriac in the field
COURTESY ISTOCKPHOTO/KCHODOROWSKI
CULTIVATION HISTORY Celery is a very old food, medicinal, and spice crop. It has been grown in
Egypt since at least 1325 BC , presumably domesticated from wild celery, which requires salty soils and
is frequent along sea coasts.
Leaf celery is the oldest domesticated form of celery, verifiably since the 2nd century BC in China.
The Romans, who rarely failed to include it in herb gardens around the Mediterranean, brought celery
north of the Alps and began selecting for whitened, elongated stalks, although modern cultivated vari-
eties can only be traced back to the late 16th century and came into being through selective breeding.
In the 18th century, celeriac cultivation declined in favor of the parsnip. Celeriac has since become one
of the most important vegetable crops in Europe, albeit much less known elsewhere. Many stalk celery
varieties originally come from England, where celery has been grown and bred since the 19th century.
PARSNIP
Pastinaca sativa
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
• 15 to 20 healthy roots
• overwintering strategy
• support polls and string
• gloves for harvesting seed