Growing Celery - 2 Questions

[shivvy]

Question 1 - I planted celery seeds a few months ago but I forgot to transplant them into larger pots after they germinated. I now have a lot of plants that look more like coriander or parsley than celery ie they have long (approx 2-3inches) of very fine stem with a celery leaf at the end! Will these still grow on into plants when repotted or have they bolted/shot/run/other and will not recover?
Question 2 - I have seen online how it is possible to grow celery from the stump of a shop bought celery. I have done it successfully up to a point but then it fails. I put the stump into water until leaves and sometimes stalks start to pop up and then I transfer it into soil. But it tends to fail after that. Any idea why? I have stuck scallion and leek stumps into soil and they grow brilliantly!
Thanks

[alavahalf]

Dabbling in growing old vegetables is one thing and also takes time .. I pay 99p for any of the packets of seeds I buy. To improve your chances I would buy fresh seeds.
If you are trying to grow celery now .. it is the wrong time. It is a cooler months veg, best suited to early spring or after August.
Once you see cooler temperetures on the weather forecast it will be time to go.
Sew them in a flat tray, dampen the soil, sew the seed and cover with a fine sprinkle of compost or coarse sand. I would stretch a bit of cling film over to stop the soil drying out. Do not put the tray on the window sill and avoid strong direct sunlight. Keep it indoors in about 70f.
Two to three weeks you should have more seedlings than you know what to do with. Transplant out when they are big enough to handle !

[shivvy]

Thanks for all that info alavahalf.
Any ideas about what I should do with the plants I currently have?

[alavahalf]

Like I said.. You will struggle in the hottest months. It took me a few attempts to get my head around Celery, Parsley, Basil and Coriander. I am growing all of them at the moment. All in the shade. Behind a shed, under an apple tree and in a shaded greenhouse.

[shivvy]

Oh parsley, basil and coriander have all been fine for me. What has your problem been with them?
I did a bit of reading here (https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/vegetables/celery) and I am wondering if you are talking about 'trench' celery alavahalf? The packet of seeds that I have used are called Golden Self Blanching and it says to sow in March/April, plant out in May/June and harvest in Aug/Sept/Oct.