How To Plant and Grow Celery at Home | Important Tips

If you love gardening then for a wide range of health benefits you can grow celery at home.

There is a simple method for how to grow celery at home for eating purposes that don’t need high professional skills. Growing celery has many benefits as it can be used either as a vegetable or a herb. Growing celery plant at home has another advantage that it tastes better than the one purchased from the store. You can grow celery either from seeds or the seedlings that are available at nurseries or greenhouses. Read on to find out more about how to grow celery at home in easy steps.

What is a Celery Plant?

For those who are unaware of the celery plant and why growing celery at home is beneficial- It is a herbaceous plant that belongs to the Apiaceous family that can be eaten in various forms. You can grow celery for medicinal or eating purposes. Celery seed extracts have proven to be beneficial to health while consuming the celery fulfills the demand for fiber in the body.

Celery plant extracts may help in preventing many health issues such as asthma, fever, vomiting, gout, and liver disease.

What does Celery Look Like?

If you haven’t seen a celery plant and wonder what does a celery plant looks like or which part of celery is eaten then you can imagine it as a rosette of stalks with leaves. You can grow celery for its leaves, seeds, or stalks as all these parts can be consumed. It is easy to plant celery to observe what does celery look like growing and how beneficial this plant is.

How To Grow Celery

Before looking for how to plant celery, note that it is a cool-weather crop that requires about four months to mature enough for harvesting. To grow celery at home all you need to have is compost-rich soil with good moisture retention and proper drainage. Since celery is best grown in cold temperatures, avoid temperatures above 21 degrees Celsius for planting celery.

There are several varieties of celery that takes different time to mature. For example, The Golden self-blanching celery is ready to harvest in 80-118 days while Red Celery matures in 120 days. Other varieties include the Ventura, Starlet, Utah, Summer Pascal, and Green Giant.

When To Plant Celery

Before planting celery make sure the growing season has at least sixteen weeks of cold weather. Cloudy locations with a temperature range between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit are recommended for a quality yield. Growing celery from seed or seedlings, it takes about four months of cool weather to mature.

How to Grow Celery at Home?

You can grow celery at home by seeding it indoors either in water or in potting soil. If you are growing celery from its base, then chances are there will be more leaves as compared to stalks.

For growing celery at home, all you need is a knife, freshwater, a bunch of celery, potting soil, and fertilizer. Start the process of growing celery by cutting off the bottom from the store-bought celery bunch. Make sure you cut it about two inches above the base.

Now you can keep the celery base in a small container and fill the container with water (about an inch only). Don’t forget to keep the container in light but avoid direct sunlight. Now sit back and watch how does celery grows. If you want a better yield then you can place the celery in a pot instead of a container.

Some celery Growing Tips for a Healthy Yield

For better yield and healthy celery plant there are some tips discussed below:

• Since celery plants take longer to mature, you need to start growing celery indoors for the first few weeks.
• Mix the celery seeds with sand and then cover them with a thin layer of soil as the celery plant starts growing out of the seed from a shallow depth.
• Celery is temperature-sensitive therefore make sure the outdoor temperature is above 10 degrees Celsius before growing celery in the garden.
• Blanching celery to make it tender can reduce the vitamin content of the plant.
• There should be about six hours of sun for celery growth but the celery tree or celery plant should not face direct sunlight.
• You’ll have to be very cautious while planting celery seeds as they are very tiny.

How to Grow Celery From Seed

When looking for how to grow celery from seed, make sure you start with a good quality of seeds. The seeds are very tiny so mix them with fertile soil and sow them about an inch apart in the pot.

Like other seeds, celery seeds also require proper light for germination. Don’t forget to water the pot timely to prevent drying. With a gentle warmth and proper moisture, the celery seed will germinate at the right time. Note that the germination of celery seed is a slow process and may take a few weeks. When the seed starts sprouting, you will have to carefully transplant them into pots.

How long does it Take to Grow Celery

Celery growing is a long process and requires a lot of patience and care. If the soil is rich in nutrients and there is enough supply of water and light, it will be ready to harvest in sixteen weeks. Add nutrient-rich fertilizer, or lay a mulch of organic matter to keep the roots cool and sufficient in nutrients. How long does it take celery to grow depends upon the care and favorable conditions provided to grow celery from seed.

From seed or stalk how do you grow celery, doesn’t matter if you take proper care of the plant you will get a good result.

How much Water does Celery Need

For proper growth and healthy yield, the celery plant requires regular watering. If you water the celery plant about one and a half-inch per week, it will get its moisture requirement for growth.

Where does Celery Grow

We have already discussed the temperature and other requirements to grow celery. Any location where there is the availability of four months of cold weather is ideal to grow celery. How celery grows depends upon the care provided to the plant in terms of watering, soil moisture, light, and fertilizer applications. The celery growing season in India is Rabi i.e. September-October.

How to Harvest Celery

Instead of harvesting the celery plant by completely cutting it, you can pick stems to keep the plant producing more yield for a longer time. You can start the harvesting after four to five months of planting the celery seedling. If you want to harvest celery seeds, then wait for them to turn light brown. Harvesting of celery is followed by trimming and packaging. The final product is then transported to cold storage till they are sold to customers. Leaves and seeds of the celery can also be used as herbs.

Uses of Celery

There are many health benefits of consuming celery in various forms. It falls in the category of low diet food. Celery is rich in antioxidants that are crucial to protect blood vessels, body cells, and other organs. Adding celery to your diet will improve your digestion and help in curing various issues like arthritis. It has a low glycemic index and is high in A, C, K vitamins. Start adding celery to your diet in any form like soup or salad.