Reflecting on the failed restarted celery experiment

As I mentioned recently, The Transplanted Celery met its untimely demise last week.

Setting up the restarted carrot experiment, I thought a bit about things I may have done wrong when I tried restarting celery.  Not saying that it should have worked, but I may have not set it up for the best chance at success.

• I should have suspended the celery in the water. 
  
  • I didn't do this.  In letting the celery rest on the bottom of the glass, roots only had a chance to grow from the sides of the lettuce heel. 
• I should have let the roots rest before planting in soil.
•  The gentleman next to us at the garden plot commonly restarts scallions in his plot.  He lays them out to rest for a few hours before transplanting them.  I don't know exactly why that is, but perhaps he's been keeping them going in water prior to transplanting and by letting them rest, they're toughening up for going in soil.
• I should have kept it away from cat-friendly areas.
• The cats got to the celery twice before I moved it back into the kitchen.  I don't know that that's what killed it off, but it surely didn't help it survive.
• I should have researched optimal temperatures.
• When I moved it outside under the raised box cover, I thought that celery is a good spring crop.  I don't know that for certain, but I recalled it may be the case.
• I was wrong.  After doing research for this blog post, celery is both tough to grow and also prefers temps between 55 and 70.  The plant was on its way out before I took it outside, but the temps were between 25 and 50 outside.  All I did was hasten its death by putting it outside.

I will try restarting celery again soon.  No idea if I'll have success with it, but at least I've learned a few lessons to give it a better shot at survival.