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How to Grow Celery: Planting, Growing & Harvesting Crisp Celery Stalks

bunch of celery on the table, a stalk of celery
Photo Credit
Alfredo Maiquez/Shutterstock
Botanical Name
Apium graveolens
Plant Type
Vegetables
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Part Sun
Soil pH
Neutral

Grow crisp, flavorful celery with this guide to planting, care, and harvest

Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Celery might have a reputation for being a diva in the garden, but with a little patience and know-how, you’ll be harvesting crisp, flavorful stalks that grocery store bunches can only dream of. Whether you’re adding crunch to your soups or flavor to your stews, growing celery at home is totally worth it. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know—from seed to soup spoon!

About Celery

Celery needs a long, relatively cool growing season to grow nice and tall 12- to 18-inch stalks, requiring up to 140 days to come to harvest; however, some short-season varieties are available. In cooler regions, it does best planted in the early spring. In warmer areas, plan to plant in mid- to late summer.

Although celery has a reputation for being fussy to grow at home, celery always has a place in our gardens because it’s so useful in the kitchen—for stews, stir-fries, soups, and salads. Celery is considered a hardy biennial, but it’s typically grown as an annual. It’s best to start celery from seed indoors (transplants are hard to find and do not always succeed), and the plant is prone to bolting in cold weather, so it requires a little extra care, but you can succeed armed with this knowledge!

There are two main types of celery available:

  1. Trenching celery needs soil mounded up against the stems as they grow to produce crisp, pale stems. To make this easier, trenching celery is typically planted into trenches, hence the name, but some gardeners aid this blanching process using cardboard tubes, pipes, or collars.
  2. Self-blanching celery requires none of these extra steps. This makes it much easier to grow, and the stems are just as tasty!

Enjoy our video all about growing celery, and then follow the planting, growing, and harvesting instructions below.

Read Next

Planting

Select a planting site that receives full sun (at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day). Celery needs nutrient-rich soil. Loosen the soil to a depth of 12 to 15 inches with a garden fork or tiller, then mix 2 to 4 inches of aged manure and/or compost into the soil, or work in some 5-10-10 fertilizer. Celery prefers soil with a pH between 5.8 and 6.8. Get a soil test if you’re not sure of your soil pH.

It’s important for celery to grow in moisture-retentive soil that doesn’t drain too quickly. Wild celery grows in boggy ground, so you’ll need to ensure consistent moisture for this thirsty vegetable, while a sunny spot should ensure good, even growth.

When to Plant Celery

  • Due to its need for a long growing season, it’s best to start celery seed indoors.
    • For a spring crop, start seeds 10 to 12 weeks before your last spring frost date.
    • For a fall crop, start seeds in time to transplant seedlings 10 to 12 weeks before the first fall frost date.

How to Plant Celery

Starting Seeds

  • Before sowing, soak seeds in warm water overnight. This will speed germination. The seeds are tiny, so handle them with care and a keen eye!
  • Fill seed flats or pots with good-quality seed-starting mix, then gently firm it level.
  • Press soaked seeds into seed-starting soil; to get good germination, do not cover with soil. The easiest way to sow the seeds is to carefully tap the packet above the surface of the potting mix and watch carefully as the seeds fall. Ideally, you want them to fall about an inch apart. Once you’re done, firm the seeds into place.
  • Cover starter trays/pots with plastic wrap to retain moisture. Germination should occur in about a week, but it can take up to 3 weeks; be patient.
  • Soon after seedlings appear, place a fluorescent grow light 3 inches above them for 16 hours a day (plants need dark hours, too).
  • Maintain an ambient temperature of 70° to 75°F (21° to 24°C) during the day and 60° to 65°F (15° to 18°C) at night.
  • Mist regularly.
  • When seedlings are 2 inches tall, transplant them to individual peat pots or to deeper flats with new potting soil. In flats, set the plants at least 2 inches apart.
  • Harden off seedlings before transplanting by reducing water slightly and putting them outdoors (in a sheltered spot protected from the sun) for a couple of hours each day.

Transplanting Outdoors

  • Plant celery outdoors when the soil temperature reaches at least 50°F (10°C) and nighttime temperatures don’t dip down below 40°F (4°C). (Cold weather after planting can cause bolting.)
  • Plant seedlings 8 to 10 inches apart.
  • Water thoroughly. 

Growing

To grow well, celery has three critical needs:

  1. Cool weather; celery won’t tolerate high temperatures.
  2. Constant water; stalks will be small, stringy, tough, and/or hollow if it goes without water.
  3. Soil that’s rich in organic matter and—because its roots are shallow (just a few inches deep)—fertilizer applied on top of the soil.
  • Make sure to provide plenty of water during the entire growing season, especially during hot, dry weather.
  • Use row covers for the first 4 to 5 weeks in order to protect from pests.
  • When plants are 6 inches tall, mulch around them to keep the soil moist and roots cool.
  • Side-dress with compost. Comfrey pellets are great, as are coffee grounds, tickled into the soil between plants.
  • In the second and third months of growth, side-dress with 1 tablespoon of a 5-10-10 fertilizer 3 to 4 inches from each plant.
  • Keep celery weed-free, but be careful when weeding, as celery has shallow roots that could easily get disturbed.
  • Tie growing celery stalks together to keep them from sprawling.
  • Start earthing up trenching varieties once the stems reach about a foot tall, banking the soil up by about 3 inches (8cm) each time until you can hill up no more.
  • Blanch (wrap or cover) stalks to eliminate any bitter taste and produce pale green stalks. Use anything that will keep out light: brown bag paper or cardboard (secure with old nylon stockings, string, vegetable wires), half-gallon milk cartons (cut-out tops and bottoms), or the like. Do not cover the celery’s leaves.
celery growing in the garden
Photo credit: Yuris/Shutterstock.

Types

  • ‘Afina’ produces tall, slender stalks (up to 30 inches in height) and is a dark green, hardy, quick-growing variety (60 days to maturity).
  • ‘Conquistador’ is tolerant of higher temps, water shortages, and average soil fertility.
  • ‘Golden Self Blanching’ is an heirloom dwarf with stringless stalks. It’s a good choice for smaller gardens.
  • ‘Utah 52-70R Improved’ is good for gardeners with limited space. It will only reach 18 inches tall and is disease resistant.

Harvesting

  • Harvest celery from summer through the autumn until the first hard frosts stop growth. As a biennial, celery may overwinter in milder climates, producing occasional stems throughout the coldest months and picking up again in spring before finally stretching to flower.
  • You can harvest plants whole, but cutting or picking individual stems as required will keep plants producing over a longer period.
  • The parts of celery that are harvested are mainly the stalks, which are above ground.
  • Pick the stalks whenever you want. Young celery is as good as the mature product.
  • Harvest stalks from the outside in. You may begin harvesting when stalks are about 8 inches tall.
  • Celery can be kept in the garden for up to a month if the soil is built up around it to maintain an ideal temperature. Celery will tolerate a light frost, but not consecutive frosts.
  • Tip: The darker the stalks become, the more nutrients they will contain. Texture changes with color; dark green stalks will be tougher.

How to Store Celery

  • Keep celery in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Celery stores really well; you can keep it for many weeks with no trouble.
  • Celery stalks can be frozen. Cut the stalks into half-inch pieces and store them in freezer-grade bags.

Gardening Products

Pests/Diseases

Celery is relatively trouble-free. To control pests early on, cover the plants with garden fabric (row covers) during the first 4 to 6 weeks of the growing season

Celery Pests and Diseases
Pest/DiseaseTypeSymptomsControl/Prevention
Carrot rust fliesInsectWilted/stunted plants; tunnels with rust-color excrement in roots of carrot-family crops; root rotMonitor adults with yellow sticky traps; use row covers; add native plants to invite beneficial insects; destroy crop residue; rotate crops
Cucumber mosaic virusVirusVaries, but may include stunting, mottled green/yellow/white pattern or ringed spots on leaves; distorted leaf growthDestroy infected plants; choose resistant varieties and certified virus-free seed; use row covers; disinfect tools; weed; control aphids (virus carriers); use mulch
EarwigsInsectMany small holes in leaves/stalksTrap in tuna can filled with 1/2 inch of fish oil and sunk in soil such that edge is slightly above ground level; remove plant debris and other nearby hiding places
Flea beetlesInsectNumerous tiny holes in leaves (looks like leaves were hit by a shotgun)Use row covers; mulch heavily; add native plants to invite beneficial insects
Slugs/snailsMolluskIrregular holes in leaves; slimy secretion on plants/soil; seedlings “disappear”Handpick; avoid thick bark mulch; use copper plant collars; avoid overhead watering; lay boards on soil in evening, and in morning dispose of “hiding” pests in hot, soapy water; drown in deep container filled with 1/2 inch of beer, or sugar water and yeast, and sunk so that top edge is slightly above ground; apply 1-inch-wide strip of food-grade diatomaceous earth as barrier

Wit and Wisdom

  • Keep in mind that grocery store celery is lighter in color and bigger than homegrown celery because the commercial varieties are grown in greenhouses and/or protected from the sun; they may carry a lot of pesticides, too.
  • Nibbling on celery after a meal helps to clean your teeth and mouth.
  • To crisp limp celery, soak it in cold water with a few slices of potato.
  • The ancient Romans believed that celery had healing powers, especially when it came to headaches. It’s also been thought to cure a hangover, toothache, or arthritis, and serve as an aphrodisiac.
  • Bland or boring? You may be delighted to discover that celery has many benefits. See why celery is heathy and happening.

Recipes
Summer Corn Chowder
Chicken-Stuffed Tomatoes
Autumn Garden Soup
Chicken Parmesan Potpie
Vegetables
About The Author
Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann is the Executive Digital Editor of Almanac.com, the website companion of The Old Farmer's Almanac. She covers gardening, plants, pest control, soil composition, seasonal and moon c...
Read More from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 06/23/2014 - 09:26

Celery can be challenging to grow. Hollow celery is often due to lack of water, dry spells, age, or lack of nutrients. You can still eat it--or add to stews and soups.  If you bought transplants instead of growing from seed, the issues may have happened at this stage; you can always try growing from seed.

 <span>Lyndi</span> Sat, 06/14/2014 - 18:20
can you eat the celery seed if they are green,like in a soup?
<span>Leeigh</span> Mon, 05/19/2014 - 16:13
My celery also grew a big tube, with a few stalks around the outside. It was a start of Utah celery. I ate the few outside stalks and pulled up the tubular middle and threw it in my compost. It was weird!! I am in Phoenix but this was planted in February.
<span>Peter Krzywicki</span> Sun, 05/18/2014 - 14:40
When we harvest the celery we save the leaves and put them in a plastic bag (vacuum) and freeze them. They are great to add to a chicken broth. The flavor is out of this world. You can't get the same results with store bought celery.
<span>Adri</span> Mon, 08/04/2014 - 14:06
The celery leaves are also very good in salads. The bring a lot of flavor to a salad.
<span>Jeanne Tessmer</span> Mon, 10/27/2014 - 15:15
I sort and clean my celery leaves. Then cut them up and put then on a cookie sheet. I turn them from time to time and when they are dry, I crush them, put them in a jar and use them in soups and other things.
<span>Rosalind</span> Tue, 05/13/2014 - 15:40
I live in NW Mississippi and successfully grew celery for two straight years from the same plant. I mixed the stalks and leaf tops into a number of foods such as tuna salad, pasta, dressing, and soups. I planted it in a composted fertile location that receives only morning sun. The nearby tansy helps keep pests away. Now I can't remembered where I found the bedding plant and have failed to locate any locally. I don't know if it was a heat tolerant variety or even if it was started from seed. Perhaps it was a highjacker from another bedding plant. I also grew, parsley, lettuce, and Swiss Chard successfully in that same bed.
<span>Rebecca Quigley</span> Tue, 05/13/2014 - 15:37
This is our first time growing celery and they are about 18" tall and really only have one main "round" stock with a few other small "limbs" coming out. It looks nothing like the celery stocks we purchase at the store. Meaning it doesn't have that crescent shape to it, it's solid and round. Did we do something wrong?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 05/14/2014 - 12:35

Hi, Rebecca: Without more info, it's tough for Inspector Celery to tell what is going on here. Since you already have this long-season grower once this year, you may be in a climate where you can try again. Make sure your celery gets lots of water and that you follow the seed packet directions exactly. Get a couple of different types. Plant in a couple of different areas if you can -- not much, but enough to test. Most likely you didn't do anything wrong, but perhaps just didn't do everything exactly right. Keep us "posted"! We'll get the peanut butter.

 <span>Melaine</span> Mon, 05/12/2014 - 04:31
Hi, I wanted to know how long it takes for celery to grow? It is spring now so do you know how long it takes?