Growing Celery

Celery can be grown in home gardens in most parts of the country at some time during the year. It is a cool-weather crop and adapted to winter culture in the South. In the North it may be grown either as an early-Spring or as a late-fall crop. Farther north in certain favored locations it can be grown throughout the summer.

Celery is a vegetable that is popular with the health conscious. It is almost absent of calories, yet contains important vitamins and minerals. Celery has negative calories. Being almost absent of calories, the process of eating consumes calories, netting you a negative calorie meal or snack!

Growing Celery requires a longer growing season, lots of water, and prefers cooler temperatures. Without the proper care and conditions, Celery stalks can be very dry and stringy.

Rich, moist but well-drained, deeply prepared, mellow soil is essential for celery. Soil varying from sand to clay loam and to peat may be used as long as these requirements are met. Unless the ground is very fertile, plenty of organic material, supplemented by liberal applications of commercial fertilizer, is necessary.

For a 25-foot (8 m) row of celery, 1 pound (.5 kg) of a high-grade complete fertilizer thoroughly mixed with the soil are none too much. Prepare the celery row a week or two before setting the plants.

The most common mistake with celery is failure to allow enough time for growing the plants. About 10 weeks are needed to grow good celery plants. Celery seed is small and germinates slowly. A good method is to place the seeds in a muslin bag and soak them overnight, then mix them with dry sand, distribute them in shallow trenches in the seed flats or seedbed, and cover them with leafmold or similar material to a depth of not more than 1/2 inch (1 cm).

Keep the bed covered with moist burlap sacks. Celery plants are very delicate and must be kept free from weeds. They are made more stocky by being transplanted once before they are set in the garden, but this practice retards their growth. When they are to be transplanted before being set in the ground, the rows in the seed box or seedbed may be only a few inches (7 to 10 cm) apart.

When they are to remain in the box until transplanted to the garden, however, the plants should be about 2 inches (5 cm) apart each way. In beds, the rows should be 10 to 12 (25 to 30 cm) inches apart, with seedlings 1 to 1 1/2 inches (3 to 5 cm) apart in the row.

For hand culture celery plants are set in rows 18 to 24 inches (40 to 60 cm) apart. Set celery on a cool or cloudy day, if possible; and if the soil is at all dry, water the plants thoroughly.  Celery plants should be grown in full sun.

 Celery is a heavy feeder . It also requires lots of water. Make sure to provide plenty of water during the entire growing season, especially during hot, dry weather. If celery does not get enough water, the stalks will be dry, and small.

If the plants are large, it is best to pinch off the outer leaves 3 or 4 inches (8 to 10 cm) from the base before setting. In bright weather it is well also to shade the plants for a day or two after they are set. Small branches bearing green leaves, stuck in the ground, protect the plants from intense sun without excluding air. Celery will mature in 120 to 140 days.

As soon as the plants attain some size, gradually work the soil around them to keep them upright. Be careful to get no soil into the hearts of the plants. Early celery is blanched by excluding the light with boards, paper, drain tiles, or other devices. Late celery may be blanched also by banking with earth or by storing in the dark. Banking celery with soil in warm weather causes it to decay.

Harvest after the stalks have reached a foot or more. The outside stalks may be discarded or used in soups if undamaged by slug and other insects. The inner stalks are more tender and taste best uncooked.

Celery is susceptible to both spring and fall frost. Set plants outdoors after the last frost date for your area. Because they require a long growing period, be prepared to cover your crop in the early fall to protect them against frost just prior to the maturing of the plant. If frost does damage the plant, the inner stalks should still be good.

Late celery may be kept for early-winter use by banking with earth and covering the tops with leaves or straw to keep them from freezing, or it may be dug and stored in a cellar or a coldframe, with the roots well embedded in moist soil. While in storage it must be kept as cool as possible without freezing.