Set the seedlings 15 to 20 centimetres (six to eight inches) apart in rows at least 60 centimetres (25 inches) apart, and water them in well with a compost tea solution. Prepare the soil at least two weeks before setting out your plants. Transplant on a cloudy day. Enrich the soil with plenty of compost or well-rotted manure.If you decide to use this method, dig a trench 35 centimetres (14 inches) wide and 25 centimetres (10 inches) deep, fertilizing, and filling with topsoil to a depth of 12 centimetres (five inches).Trenching offers advantages even though blanching is not necessary: it protects late crops against frost, makes fertilizing easier, and eliminates the need for weeding."Self-blanching" varieties, with yellowish stalks, have also been developed. Most gardeners now plant celery in ordinary furrows. In recent times, however, celery strains have been developed whose sun-greened stalks remain tender and are also more nutritious than blanched stalks.The earth helped conserve soil moisture and blanched the celery - that is, kept the stems white and tender by protecting them from the sun's rays.For years the classical method of planting celery was to dig a trench, set the seedlings at the bottom, and then heap earth around the stems as they grew.Because celery grows best in cool temperatures, much of that growing time should be in spring, when the weather is moderate.Count on at least 120 days of outdoor growing time for homegrown seedlings, 115 days for nursery plants. Set out the seedlings when all danger of frost is past, or the plants may bolt.Transplant your celery seedlings 6 to 10 inches apart. I like to harden off my celery seedlings by taking them outside a few hours a day for at least a few days to get them used to the outdoor conditions. Once your last frost passes and nights remain above 50☏ (10☌), seedlings that are a few inches tall with a few sets of true leaves can be transplanted. Water them well after you transplant to reduce transplant shock. the leaves after the first two seed leaves), you can either thin them out to one plant per cell, or if you sprinkled them all in one pot, you can very carefully tease them out and transplant them into their own small pots. You can use a fluorescent, compact fluorescent, or LED grow light, but celery seedlings are very heat sensitive and will wilt if they are too close to the light – yes, I’m speaking from experience.Īfter your celery seedlings grow their first true leaves (i.e. Once they sprout, take off the plastic cover (if you’ve used one) and mist daily as the sprouts get established. One trick I’ve used is to use a clear plastic cover over them to keep them from drying out. Keep them warm and moist under lights until they germinate, which could take up to two weeks. I like to use a small 3-inch pot, but you can sprinkle them in seed-starting cells. Sprinkle them on the surface of moist potting mix and mist them with water. Planting Celery: From Seed to TransplantĬelery is one of the few vegetables whose seeds are surface sown. Transplant seedlings when they are a couple inches tall and after your last frost, when night temperatures stay above 50☏ (10☌). However, you can plant them up to your last frost date if you have a long enough growing season and still get a harvest. Because of this, you should plant your celery seeds indoors 8 to 12 weeks before your average last frost date. Celery takes anywhere from 80 to 110 days to mature. When to Plant Celery Seeds and Transplant Seedlingsįor a vegetable that doesn’t produce fruit, it’s surprisingly slow-growing. And you can also eat the leaves! They’re great in salads or used in soups. Just keep in mind that homegrown celery stalks usually aren’t as thick as those in the grocery store, but their flavor is much more intense. You also get a chance to grow many different varieties you can’t find at the nursery, like Giant Red celery or Tango celery – both super flavorful varieties. You really haven’t tasted celery until you’ve tasted it homegrown. Growing celery from seed, aside from being highly fulfilling, is a way to get great tasting organic celery harvested a few steps from your door.
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