Celeriac Seed 'Prinz'

This root vegetable is not actually a root at all but a swollen stem!

Grown for its celery flavour, it is extremely versatile and can be grated and eaten raw in salads, cooked as a hot vegetable or used in soups. Our favourite use is as a pasta substitute - cut into thin slices and parboil before using as an alternative to sheets of pasta when making a lasagne. The leaves can also be used as an alternative to celery or as a garnish.

Vigorous in habit and very slow to bolt, this variety stores well too.

• Sow under protection in trays or pots mid February-April.
• Transplant into module trays or small pots when large enough to handle and grow on under protection.
• Plant out when fully hardened off and the risk of frost has passed; plant out 12" (30 cm) apart in rows 18" (45 cm) apart.
• At this stage the young plants are very sensitive to cold weather which can cause premature bolting so delay planting if necessary.
• Remove any sideshoots as they form.
• From midsummer onwards remove a few lower leaves to expose the crown.
• Can be lifted and eaten as soon as it reaches tennis ball size or left to grow on.
• In late September earth up the swollen stem to blanch it and keep the flesh white.
• Harvest from late September until early October. Can be lifted and stored in a cool dry place if you wish but is better left in the ground and harvested as required (unless your soil is particularly poorly drained).
• If overwintering in the ground cover with straw or compost to protect against frost.