Celery is not an easy vegetable to grow at the best of times but if you want a challenge we with give you the tips and advice on how to grow celery. If you do manage to successfully grow it, it will be the nicest celery you have ever tried.

Planting and Harvesting times for Celery

Sow	March to April
Plant	June to July
Harvest	August to October

Choosing the best site for Celery

The best site to choose to grow celery is an area that gets full sun, with a rich soil and holds the water well. Try adding organic matter to help. Light soils and clay soils are not suitable for growing celery in.

Sowing Celery

Celery needs a lot of time to grow, unfortunately it does not grow overnight. The celery seeds need to be started from early March. You need your greenhouse to be warm ideally. If you have not got a warm greenhouse start them off on a windowsill.

To sow celery fill a seed tray or modules up with compost half way. Distribute the seeds across the soil so they are not too close to one another. Cover with compost and gently water.

Once they are prepared cover with a propagator or cover with cling film to keep warm and moist.

Planting Celery

Once the seeds are large enough to handle they need separating out into separate pots to grow bigger and stronger.

Come the end of May and beginning of June they will be ready to plant out in the garden but first harden them off for a couple of weeks so they get used to the weather.

Self Blanching Celery – If you are growing this variety it can be planted straight into the ground. This is the option I would personally go for when growing celery. The plants need planting around 20cm apart so that light does not get between when growing. When they get taller put boards round the outside to stop the light this will help blanch them.

Trench Celery – if you are growing this variety this needs a trench digging out in the area that you will be planting. This trench needs to be dug out in February at a depth of a spade and half. The width needs to be 40cm. Put some well rotted manure or good quality compost in the bottom. Do not fill it back up fully yet leave about 10cm depth. Spread the remaining soil down the edges for now. The plants will be ready to put in the trench when they are 15cm tall in height. Plant around 23cm apart.

Looking after Celery

All types of Celery need looking after, this includes keeping them watered and weed free. Make sure they do not go dry. In the summer give them some liquid manure to help give them that extra push. If you can make soot water this will help by mixing 2 handfuls of soot with water. Plus slugs do not like it so win win.

To start earthing up the celery – this should begin in autumn or the end of August. You are best doing this on a dry day. Your first job is to remove any of the suckers which are at the base of the plants. Hold the stems firmly at the top of the plant with one hand, then pull the soil from outside the trench up against the stems – do this using a trowel. Cover the stems to about one third. Do this same process around 2-3 weeks later this time taking it to two thirds. Then finally in 2 more weeks cover to the top of the plants. When banking it up make sure the soil does not fall into the heart of the plant or this could rot them. One way to prevent this is to loosely tie them at the top.

You can find out more information on Celery here. You can also learn about growing other vegetables here. Why not try growing your own flowers with our tips here.