Pascal Celery
Tendercrisp Celery is a compact, open-pollinated variety that produces dark green stalks reaching about 12 inches long, nestled in a plant that tops out around 26 inches at maturity. Ready to harvest in 100-109 days, this non-GMO celery delivers the crisp, crunchy texture you'd want for everything from fresh snacking to soups and salads. It's the kind of variety that rewards patient gardeners with reliable harvests and genuine flavor, grown from seed that stays true to type year after year.
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The entire plant grows compact and upright, making it surprisingly manageable for gardeners working with limited space. Those dark green stalks are genuinely tender and snappy, and you'll find yourself reaching for them raw as often as you cook with them. The leaves pull double duty too, adding depth to stocks and broths once you've harvested the main stalks. This is open-pollinated celery, meaning you can save seed from your best plants and grow the same variety again next year.
Tendercrisp excels in salads where you want that satisfying crunch, but it's equally at home in soups where the stalks soften into the broth while lending flavor. Fresh eating is where this variety shines, whether sliced for raw vegetable platters with dip or eaten straight from the garden as a snack. The leafy tops aren't wasted either; save them to flavor stocks and broths, giving you the full plant's worth of use.
Start seeds indoors when you can maintain soil temperatures between 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit. Tendercrisp takes patience; seedlings develop slowly, so start them 8-10 weeks before your last spring frost. Keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged until germination occurs.
Once seedlings have developed true leaves and outdoor soil temperatures remain above 50 degrees, harden them off by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7-10 days. Transplant to full sun locations spaced 12 inches apart with 3 inches between rows. Celery is frost-tolerant, so you can plant earlier in spring than heat-loving crops.
Tendercrisp reaches harvest maturity in 100-109 days from transplanting. Harvest individual stalks from the outside of the plant once they reach full size, working inward toward the center, or wait until the entire head firms up and cut the whole plant at soil level. The stalks should feel crisp and snap cleanly when bent. Leaves can be harvested anytime once the plant is established, allowing you to gather them for stocks without sacrificing the main harvest.
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