othing is more esteemed in a salad than crisp, well blanched Celery

Celery is a cool-weather crop that’s usually planted in early spring or late summer. Growing celery takes patience, as it takes about 70 days from seed to harvest. But the results are worth it, as home-grown celery tastes so much better than store-bought!

Here’s what you need to know to grow your own celery

Celery needs a long, cool growing season to develop its flavor. In warm weather, celery tends to bolt (flower and go to seed), which makes the stalks tough and stringy. In areas with short growing seasons, look for heat-tolerant varieties of celery such as ‘Golden Oklahoma’ or ‘Red Venture’. These varieties can handle temperatures up to 85°F without bolting.

In most parts of the country, celery can be planted as soon as the soil can be worked in Spring. If you want to get a jump on the growing season, you can start celery seeds indoors about 4 weeks before your planned planting date.

Celery grows best in full sun, but it will tolerate partial shade. The soil should be rich, loose, and well-drained. Celery is a heavy feeder, so before planting, amend the soil with compost or well-rotted manure.

Celery plant care

Celery requires a deep, rich, light, loamy, moist soil, and is not well suited by heavy or clayey land. The ground must be thoroughly trenched and if necessary, well enriched with good, well-rotted stable or cow manure.  Although Celery requires an abundance of moisture (it’s a marshland plant), it will not stand “wet feet,” and the soil must be well drained.

Celery is best grown in a single row in the middle of a trench, which should run North and South where possible. Make each trench 18 inches wide, and about the same in depth. Trenches may also be made to hold up to as many as four rows. The wider trenches are more economical in regard to water, but they cause more labor in making and earthing up for blanching and for the Home Gardener the single row trench, or at the most a double row trench, will be found more convenient.

Preparing a Celery trench

In digging out the trenches, place the soil on each side, but clear from the edges so that it will not fall back into the trench On the bottom of each trench place about 6 inches of good, well-rotted stable or cow manure, work it well into the subsoil and cover the whole with 2 or 3 inches of the soil which has been previously taken out. The ground is now ready and should the weather be dry, water thoroughly the day before transplanting out the young seedlings. A good practice is to select a piece of ground in a cool situation which has been exhausted with previous crops, and which requires trenching. Prepare as recommended above, being careful to manure heavily, then when the Celery is finally earthed up, a heavy dressing of manure· is given to the vacant ground between the trenches and after the crop has been removed, the soil is again levelled back. After a deep digging these rows will be well prepared for growing one of the root crops such as Beet, Carrot or Parsnip.

Good Celery can be grown without trenches, if the ground being deeply trenched, well broken up, and richly manured, and the plants are out in rows 18 inches apart, allowing 12 inches between the plants. With this method, earthing-up is difficult and laborious, and drain pipes, straw envelopes or brown paper should be used for blanching.

How to grow celery from seed – Raising the seedlings

Celery is usually started from seed. Sow seeds indoors about 4 weeks before your planned transplanting date. Use pots or trays that are at least 3 inches deep and sow the seeds thinly, covering them with 1/4 inch of fine garden sand or vermiculite. Keep the soil moist but not soggy until seedlings emerge in 10 to 14 days. Thin the seedlings so they’re spaced 4 to 6 inches apart and transplant them into the garden when they’re 4 to 6 inches tall and have their first true leaves.

Early sowings of Celery seed may be made in a seed box or seed pan, which must be placed in a hot bed or other warm situation to germinate the seed. Harden off the young celery seedlings when about 2 inches high and prick them out about 3 inches apart into a bed of rich soil about 6 inches deep on a bottom of boards or some other hard substance, which the roots cannot penetrate, so as to facilitate transplanting later on.

This bed must be shaded and well-watered. Successional sowings can be made in an outdoor seed bed. A long succession of Celery may be obtained from a single sowing, by successively picking out the largest seedlings for pricking out as they grow. For the outdoor seed beds for raising Celery seedlings, use light, but not too rich, soil. Sow the seed thinly and evenly over the surface and cover lightly with pulverized old cow manure or leaf mold. Keep the box or bed moist, but not wet. When the seedlings appear they must be kept regularly watered. Should the plants come up too thickly, thin out the weaker ones so as to leave plenty of room for those that remain to make sturdy growth.

If you don’t want to start celery from seed, you can also purchase transplants at your local garden center. When planting transplants outdoors, space them 12 inches apart in rows that are 2 1/2 feet apart.

Celery needs consistent moisture to grow properly; water plants deeply and evenly throughout the growing season. Mulch around plants with straw or shredded leaves to help retain moisture and keep down weeds. Celery is ready to harvest when stalks are 12 to 18 inches tall and have reached full size but are still tender enough to eat raw—usually about 70 days after planting from seed or 60 days after transplanting seedlings into the garden.

Transplanting celery

When the plants are large enough, cut the soil into squares with a plant in the centre of each, lift with ball of earth complete, and plant out in a permanent position in the trench.

Before finally planting out, every offset or side growth must be carefully removed from the plants. Set the plants out 12 inches apart in the trenches. Water the young plants regularly and keep them well shaded until thoroughly established. It is essential that the roots are not disturbed during transplanting, hence the ball of earth. As crisp Celery can only be obtained through abundance of moisture, should an unlimited quantity of water not be available, it is better not to attempt to raise early crops, but to make later outdoor sowings so as to have plants ready for moving with the first rains. Celery is a moisture-loving plant, and must be regularly watered; an occasional application of weak liquid manure will also prove beneficial during· the growing season. Should the plants be likely to suffer any check after transplanting, liquid manure is essential, otherwise they are likely to run to seed.

General Cultivation

During the growing season keep the ground between the trenches and between the plants well cultivated to destroy the weeds and two to three times during this period remove any suckers or decaying leaves, spreading an inch or so of soil (taken from the sides) over the surface of the roots. This is necessary after a liberal watering, but it is not advisable to place too much soil around the plants until a month before they are wanted for use, as thereby the growth is checked.

Methods of Blanching

Before finally earthing up, give the trenches a good flooding of water. Earthing up should be carried out only when the top soil is dry and the weather fine. This must be done very carefully, so that soil does not fall into the heart of the plant. In earthing up, first tie the leaves together with raffia and then throw the soil in in layers and pack it closely around the plants by hand. Bring the earth nearly up to the tops of the plants, leaving only the green out. Another effective method of blanching, and a great saving in labour and time, is to place a drainpipe over each plant. Where possible in the Home Garden, dispense with the earthing up method of blanching. Straw envelopes used for covering bottles are useful for blanching, and brown paper may also be used for the same purpose. The sticks of Celery are tied and the envelopes slipped over, leaving only the green tops showing.

Celery Varieties

The best varieties of Celery for the Home Gardener are Cole’s Crystal White, Golden Self-Blanching, White Plume, White Paschal and Turner’s Incomparable White. Of these, White Plume is the earliest and quickest growing, and it is also easily blanched, but is rather strong in flavour. Golden Self­ Blanching is not quite as early as White Plume, but is of much superior, easy to earth up and blanches very readily.

Harvesting Celery

To harvest celery, cut stalks at ground level with a sharp knife or scissors. You can also pull up the entire plant and then trim off individual stalks as needed for use in recipes. Store harvested celeries in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up 7 to 10 days.

With its crisp texture and refreshing flavor, home-grown celery is a real treat! Growing your own isn’t difficult, but it does take patience since it takes about 70 days from seed to harvest time. But if you start seeds indoors 4 weeks before transplanting them outdoors (or purchase transplants), you’ll be enjoying delicious home-grown celery all season long!