'Golden Pascal' Celery

Apium graveolens

Origin: France

Improvement status: Cultivar

Seeds per packet: ~200

Germination tested 11/2023: 75%

Life cycle: Biennial

This old French heirloom is considered one of the best celery varieties for fall or winter use. Stalks grow 18-20” tall, with ribs getting almost round at the top but flattening out at the bottom. Leaves provide a bushy canopy (good for weed suppression). To achieve the classic "golden" yellow color of this variety, plants must be "blanched" starting a few weeks before harvest. Plants are tied up and wrapped in newspaper, or soil is mounded up around base of tied-up plants. Some people grow celery in trenches to make this process easier. The resulting celery is said to be sweeter and less bitter. Both stem and heart are tender and delicious, with little to no strings.

The 1913 Livingston Seed Co. catalog says about Giant Pascal Celery, "The best of this class. Forms solid, crisp stalks of incomparable flavor. Of strong growth, producing perfectly blanched stalks when hilled up properly. Of rich, nutty flavor. Blanches very easily and is very brittle. A fine keeper, an excellent shipper, retaining color and fresh appearance a long time. A favorite with Southern growers. For mid-winter and early spring use it is excellent." Also known as Giant Pascal Celery, Winter King and Pascal Giant celery.

Our seed comes from the great folks at Restoration Seeds in Southern Oregon.