![]() ![]() This is important, because a sudden cold snap can encourage plants to bolt (flower prematurely) before they’re ready to harvest. Plant them after your last expected frost date. To do this, simply leave your plants outside for progressively longer each day, taking care to bring them back under cover if frost threatens. Wild celery grows in boggy ground, so you’ll need to ensure consistent moisture for this thirsty vegetable, while a sunny spot should ensure good, even growth.īegin acclimatizing celery to the outdoors two weeks before planting. Plant celery in moisture retentive soil and keep it well watered How to Plant CeleryĬelery loves a nutritious soil that has been enriched with plenty of compost or well-rotted manure. ![]() Once they’re big enough to handle transplant them into plug trays or, to buy you a little more time, move them into their own pots. Germination is slow and can take up to three weeks, so you’ll need to be patient. ![]() If it’s still cold you can pop them into a propagator set to about 60✯ (15✬), though an indoor windowsill works just fine. Water from below then remove pots once you can see moisture at the top.Ĭelery seeds need gentle warmth to germinate. This will help to trap moisture around the seeds to prevent them from drying out. The seeds need light to germinate, so cover them with just the very finest layer of potting soil or vermiculite. Once you’re done, firm the seeds into place. Ideally you want them to fall about an inch (2cm) apart. The easiest way to sow the seeds is to carefully tap the packet above the surface of the potting mix and watch carefully as the seeds fall. Start by filling pots or seed flats with a good-quality seed starting mix then gently firm it level. The seeds are tiny, so you’ll need to sow with care and a keen eye. Sow celery under cover from early spring. This makes it a lot easier to grow, and the stems are just as tasty! Sow tiny celery seeds carefully and lightly cover them over How to Sow Celery The alternative is to grow self-blanching celery, which requires none of these extra steps. To make this easier trenching celery is typically planted into trenches, hence the name, but some gardeners aid this blanching process using cardboard tubes, pipes or collars. Trenching celery needs soil mounded up against the stems as they grow to produce crisp, pale stems. To harvest, simply lift plants as required using a hand fork, taking care not to damage neighbouring plants.There are two types of celery. Celery will be ready for picking from August until the first frosts.Plants can be given a boost by feeding with a balanced liquid fertiliser about a month after planting.Keep celery well-watered and the area around them free from weeds.Plants will grow better if they're arranged in a grid pattern, rather than planted in long rows.For perfect plants with lots of well-branched sticks, plant celery seedlings (there are lots of suppliers) about 27cm apart ensuring the crown of the plant is at ground level.Toughen them up first by placing in a cold frame or sheltered, but shaded place outdoors.Plants will be ready to go outside about five weeks later, when they're 8cm tall. Use 7.5cm pots filled with multi-purpose compost and keep well-watered.They're ready to be given pots of their own when the first proper leaves have formed. Take the seedlings out of the propagator when they've germinated.Water daily to ensure the compost doesn't dry out. Finish by covering with a thin layer of vermiculite and putting in a heated propagator on a windowsill or in a greenhouse.It can be removed once the water has been drawn to the surface. Watering from the top is likely to disturb the seed, so fill a bowl with water and put in the pot. Celery seed is tiny, so take a pinch and lightly sow across the surface of the soil.To do this, fill a small pot or seed tray - what you use depends on how many plants you want - with fine seed compost, level and tap to settle. If you have time, plants can be started off by sowing seeds during March and April.A week or so before planting, rake a general purpose granular fertiliser (90g per square metre) into the surface layer of the bed.Dig the soil in the spring before planting, removing big stones, weeds and incorporating plenty of garden compost or well-rotted manure. ![]()
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