Celery is packed with vitamins and minerals that help fuel your body. With vitamins A, K, and C paired with minerals like potassium and folate, this low-calorie vegetable is one of the best foods for your health. Learning how to grow celery in your garden is easier than most people assume.
A common misconception is that only experienced gardeners produce homegrown celery. However, with the straightforward DIY steps we provide, growing celery from seed in your vegetable garden is manageable.
Although celery is relatively simple to grow, you must follow the correct procedures to care for your celery seeds in your garden bed. Understanding how to grow celery from seed is virtually effortless when you care for the plant the right way.
If you have already bought celery from the grocery store, you can regrow celery from the stalk’s bottom root. Regrowth is just one of the many gains that planting celery brings to the table.
Advantages of Growing Celery in Your Garden
Growing celery, scientifically referred to as Apium graveolens, in your backyard comes with several benefits. Harvesting veggies improves your overall health, saves you money at the grocery store, and influences you to consume more natural foods in your diet. There are many ways to make celery last longer after harvesting so you always have fresh celery.
Additionally, gardening reduces your overall environmental footprint. When you buy celery at the store, growers often use chemicals to speed up the germination process. Planting your celery reduces your consumption of harmful pesticides.
It’s also possible to grow celery in a pot or container, whether indoors or out, as long as you give it enough water and sunlight.
Different Kinds of Celery Stalks
There are two popular types of celery to grow in your garden. The first celery variety is trenching celery. Trenching celery calls for soil to be mounded against the stem as they develop their branches, which are crisp and pale.
Typically, growers take care of planting celery of this type in trenches, hence the name. Regardless of the type of celery you choose to produce, we suggest you start celery seedlings indoors so they receive the proper nutrients.
The other type of celery is self-blanching. Self-blanching celery is an heirloom variety that grows thick, solid stalks that blanch easily and grow aggressively compared to other veggies and celery varieties.
Self-blanching celery requires less effort to raise because it does not require extra steps to blanch the produce. Before learning how to grow celery, you must first decide what kind of celery stalk you want to grow.
How to Grow Celery in the Right Location
Before you plant celery, correctly preparing for celery needs is vital to harvesting the crispiest vegetable. Choose an area that receives full sun, like a windowsill or well-lit location in your garden.
Celery thrives when it is exposed to at least eight hours of direct sunlight. If you do not have a place that receives that much light, try utilizing grow lights.
A vital aspect of growing celery from seed is to nourish the plant with suitable potting soil. In its natural environment, celery grows in boggy ground.
Use rich soil that does not drain too quickly with a pH level between 5.8 and 6.8. These stringy veggies demand many nutrients, and the ideal potting soil helps the plant turn sunlight into organic matter for even growth.
Growing Celery from Seed Indoors
While you can grow celery from seed, know that celery seeds take a long time to sprout, so it makes the most sense to start planting in the early winter or ten weeks before the last frost. Before you grow celery indoors, soak the celery seeds in water overnight to speed up germination.
When you grow celery in a pot, space the seeds out about one inch apart and gently press them into the soil. Celery leaves usually start sprouting in the early spring, and the vegetable is ready to harvest by the late summer.
Celery plants are biennial, meaning you can harvest celery for two years before the plant dies. Even though the plant dies, regrowing a celery base is possible, so you do not have to purchase more seeds.
Before you discover how to grow celery from seed, you must know how long the growing season is.
How to Grow Celery from Seed and When to Transplant
Transplanting celery must be done gradually to protect the seedling, just like when you replant ginger roots or other veggies. Moving the plant outside too quickly kills the plant. As the celery begins to sprout, place a grow light three inches above them for 16 hours a day.
Maintain a temperature between 70 and 75℉ during the day and between 60 and 65℉ at night. Celery cannot thrive in cool weather. When the seedlings are two inches tall, transplant each stalk into individual peat pots with fresh soil.
If you move the stalks into a deep flat, be sure to space the seedlings at least two inches apart. To acclimate the celery to the outdoors, start by placing them outside for two hours a day and working up to around six to eight hours a day.
When you begin celery seeds indoors, they grow more evenly and have a better chance of survival after being placed outdoors.
How to Transplant Celery Outdoors
As you familiarize your celery seedlings with the outdoor climate and conditions, they grow stronger each day. When the soil temperatures climb to at least 50℉, and the nighttime temperatures stay above 40℉, it is time to transplant your celery outside.
Cold weather damages a celery plant and sometimes causes the stalk to die. Dig a ½ inch hole for each celery seedling, and be sure to space each stalk six to ten inches apart.
When planting multiple rows of celery, space the rows two feet apart. If you have vegetables in your garden, celery is a great companion plant alongside cabbage, onions, and spinach. Grow tomatoes next to celery to drive off unwanted insects.
Correctly Watering Your Celery Plants
Ensuring your celery plants receive plenty of water is critical when finding out how to grow celery from seed. Celery varieties, like Tall Utah celery, demand a lot more water than most plants.
When celery does not receive enough water, the stalks are dry and small. Two inches of water each week are required for celery plants. Celery has a very shallow root system, so the soil must be soaked when watering.
Water travels up the celery plant’s main stem and helps guide nutrients from the ground into the plant. Growing celery from seed demands plenty of hydration for the plant to survive.
Extra Tips for Growing the Best Celery
Using mulch and compost are a fantastic way to lock in moisture for your celery plants. Many things act as an all-natural mulch to help your celery grow. Whatever mulch you decide to use, sprinkle lightly on top of the potting soil.
After harvesting celery, store celery in the right spot. Immediately after harvesting, place your celery in the fridge so the vegetable does not get limp.
If you want to blanch your celery, it is not difficult. Blanching celery involves setting your celery stalks in boiling water for two to five minutes, then immediately dropping them in a bowl of ice cubes.
It’s easy to preserve your celery to eat later. Storing celery root in the fridge or freezer is the best way to have fresh celery whenever you want it.
Store celery in freezer after blanching by putting it in an airtight container or zipper seal bag.
Finding out how to grow celery from seed is a tedious gardening project. However, homegrown celery offers an excellent opportunity to plant your own seeds and include all-natural food into your diet.
Correctly caring for your celery plants includes adequate water, seed spacing, and vigorously attending to the seedlings.
If you discovered how to grow celery, share this article about growing celery from seed with your neighbors and friends on your Facebook or Pinterest accounts.