2024 Celery getting ready for seed collecting. My celery patch self seeds itself every year. I’m in zone 10 Arizona and I started the original seed 3 years ago. There are four varieties growing together, all heirlooms and all organic. There are two varieties of green, a red and a pink. The pink seems to do the best and is the most fragrant for cooking. Excellent flavor to use for soups, stews and salads.
2024 was the first year to share with this seed group.
Who recieved seeds? Did you plant? What state and growing zones are you planting in?
Ask me any questions about soil or growing. This mix has performed really well for me and I’m happy to share with the group.
Scratching my head on my direct sowing this year. Normally I have good luck and as you say once established celery is almost like a weed as it self seeds readily. This was the only direct sowing I had no germination sign from in the garden. 8a/8b late April-March. We did end up with a late freeze/false spring and anything on the early planting dates would have had the pill bugs to deal with as they discovered fresh vegetation growth to munch on. I’ll have to see if I reserved any seed and try starts in trays and transplant next time.
Probably too cold yet. Mine didnt sprout until it warmed up to 75 degrees daytime temp and high 50’s overnight. I should have checked the soil temp when they first germinated.
Dont write them off yet, you may still get sprouts as your temperature warms up. My seed falls to the ground and gets watered, and dried out multiple times, then grows a lush and dense carpet of celery. So thick I have to start harvesting when its 6 inches tall so as to thin the plants a bit. The celery cooks up in terrific soups, leaves and all.
An early April salad from the garden with everything else
As of today, the celery is bolting and the flowers are barely opening. I looked at the date on the photo, the celery came up January 21, but we didnt have a frost this spring.
@Kimzy Those celery look wonderful! I’m excited to be growing them.
I recently started them in pots on a heat mat. Maybe I shouldn’t be coddling it, but I’ve always failed with celery before, and wanted to plant it carefully this first year. Not only is spring weather wacky here, but my heavy clay makes it very hard to cover small seeds.
There are little sprouts coming up; I’m excited to see how they do!
I also planted a celery Grex from Buffalo Seeds to add even more genetics to the mix.
Last year, I planted several standard varieties, which grew slowly over the summer. They managed to stay alive through most of the winter with the protection of some mulch, but then succumbed to the on-again-off-again spring weather. Does anyone from a colder climate have any advice on that?
Nice! Im happily surprised every year this celery grows since the seed lies on the ground all summer…getting watered and drying out again, many times. Hoping you get some tasty celery and are able to save seeds too. Definitely post some photos of your planting area and share how they grow. I dehydrated a bunch of the celery grown and then powderized as it is great in soups.
Maybe let some if yours go without mulch to force them to bolt and produce seed.
But if it grows as a perennial thats a bonus.
So for you, celery sprouts early spring/late winter, bolts at the beginning of summer, and then scatters seed that lies dormant until next spring? It doesn’t sprout in the fall? Is that because it is unirrigated, and would it sprout in the fall if it was watered?
…I continue to grow in the same space…squash follows the celery, with corn and beans. There is nearly always something growing in the same space. The celery sprouts in late January to early February. I hadnt paid much attention since it came back annually. I haven’t noticed it sprouting in the fall, the space does get watered. Im not sure how the seed stays viable being on the ground. Its a happy mistake at best. Last year the space went three months with no water and 107 degree days or hotter. I was worried the earthworms had also perished but when I started watering again the red wiggler worms could be observed.
From the left: Row 1 is Tango, Row 2 is D’Elne, Rows 3 and 4 are GTS.
So far, in general, D’Elne is most vigorous, then Tango, then GTS is less vigorous, generally.
GTS is showing some interesting variations in color etc. and I’m excited to see how they grow!
This is the first time that I’ve successfully grown celery from seed to this stage. I’ve planted purchased transplants before, but my previous attempts to grow celery from seed always failed. This year I started earlier (indoors) and gave the seedlings more time and patience–whereas in prior years I think I gave up too soon, or started the seed too late, or a little of both.
They look good, happy new leaves sprouting. The GTS mix will be smaller stalks but full if flavor. They will benifit from just one fertilizer application, I have used chicken poop tea or Dr. Earth organic 4-4-4 but usually I just add composted wood chips including shredded leaves. We get landscaping waste, shredded and by the truck load. Have fun growing and eating them, hope you get some seeds too.
@Rachel I usually apply fertilizer by the time its up about 4 inches. Its more so because I haven’t amended the growing area with an animal manure like horse or chicken manure, at the time of direct sowing seeds.
But…when the celery self seeds, I throw handfulls of compost, worm castings or dry manure all over the growing beds after I’ve fully harvested all that I’m eating. All of this soil building goodness, literally sits on the ground over the summer.
Chicken manure is used sparingly because its so high in nitrogen so I usually opt to use it as a tea, one cup to five gallons of water, sits overnight, used the next day…but only if there is a good 2-4 inch layer if composted wood chips on the ground. Sometimes if I amend the compost late, i literally have to place it by the handfulls, carefully around the plants. I never use fresh manure on any leafy greens or stalks…like celery or chard, so as not to develop bad microbes.
I always add freshly harvested worm castings too, by the base of the plants.
Do you grow with compost? Sometimes my compost isn’t fully broken down and is still chunky and it needs the extra boost of nitrogen. I have not tilled the soil and just add to the top of the soil.
Hi,
Glad the celery is growing and curious to see if it seeds for you even if its next year. Will you mulch around the plants or cover for the winter? What color celery is growing? The pink likes heat and the soil I have is really alkaline. We have had record high temps this year, sadly not much seed matured before the plants died…I have a little saved seed for next spring. Its very humbling. There was a mix of red, pink and green types in the seed mix.
It seems like most of the pink types didn’t make it; most of the plants are green. I’ve also got a celery grex from The Buffalo Seed Company mixed in, so I’m not sure which are which.
Yes, I will mulch the plants for overwintering. Last year, I got some standard celery plants through the winter, and they started growing in the spring, but the erratic spring weather killed them off; they just got frozen back too many times. This year, if anything makes it, I will try to cover them through cold snaps.
Sounds like a good plan, hoping you get surviving stems. Darn, the pink must like the heat and trend towards tropical weather…thats kinda like my growing area for the summer, hot and humid.
My celery is looking healthy and robust so far. Planning to overwinter it and harvest the seed next year. However, my stalks are all thin (good for soup)–nothing like the fat juicy stalks at the grocery. Is there some technique to this that I’m missing?
Glad to hear its growing for you, what color are the stalks? The pink and white are very fragrant but thin…the green and red are thicker. Celery likes heavy compost and composted manure to get thick stalks. One year I provided compost, then I didnt. I use the leaves and stalks for dehydrating, soups, and chicken salad. Commercial celery is heavily fertilized so it produces heavy stalks. Grow the celery the way you like it.
