Takes a light frost. Start indoors 10 to 12 weeks before your last frost; plant out up to 2 weeks before your last frost. First harvest 70 to 89 days from planting.
Put in your ZIP code to see when to start, plant and harvest celery where you live, from your own frost dates.
Open my planting calendarOpen the planting calendarAdd this crop to the calendar saved on this device
From seed to harvest
SowSeed goes inWeek 0
SproutFirst shoots showWeek 2–3
True leavesFirst real leavesWeek 4–6
Thin or plant outGive each plant roomWeek 8–12
Leaf growthLeaves fill outWeek 12–16
HarvestReady to pickWeek 18–25
How to plant and grow
Start seeds early
Sow seed indoors 10 to 12 weeks before your last frost. The seed is tiny and slow, taking 1 to 3 weeks to sprout, so keep it evenly moist.
Keep seedlings warm
Hold seedlings above 55 °F. Ten days or more below about 40 °F can make young plants bolt to seed later in the season.
Set out near last frost
Plant out from about 2 weeks before your last frost to just after it. Cover young plants if a hard frost threatens.
Space the plants
Set plants 6 to 12 inches apart, or up to 24 inches for large plants, in rows about 18 to 24 inches apart.
Water often
Give 1 to 2 inches of water a week, more in hot spells. Celery roots are shallow, and dry soil makes stalks tough and stringy.
Harvest stalks
Cut outer stalks once they are about a foot long, or cut the whole plant at the base once it is about 3 inches across.
Common problems
Photo: “Aphids on Kale leaf” by Sanjay Acharya, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.
AphidsPest
What you'll see: Clusters of small, soft-bodied green, black or gray insects on new shoots and under leaves. Leaves curl, and a sticky film may coat them.
Prevent
Check leaf undersides each week; a few aphids do little harm.
Pull nearby weeds, such as wild mustards, that feed aphids.
Grow flowers for lady beetles, lacewings and hover flies, and avoid broad sprays that kill them.
Organic options
Knock aphids off with a strong spray of water.
Insecticidal soap or horticultural oil on leaf undersides, repeated as the label allows.
Neem oil, or OMRI Listed pyrethrins (without piperonyl butoxide).
Conventional options
Malathion or permethrin, if the crop is on the label. These also kill the insects that eat aphids.
Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.
Avoid broad insecticides; they kill mite predators and can start an outbreak.
Organic options
Hose leaf undersides hard, often.
Insecticidal soap or horticultural oil on leaf undersides, repeated as the label allows.
Release predatory mites once pest mites are present.
Conventional options
Same as organic. Broad insecticides often make mites worse.
Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.
Photo: “Powdery mildew 9” by Dmitry Brant, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.
Powdery mildewDisease
What you'll see: White, powdery patches on the tops of leaves and on stems. Leaves yellow and dry, and fruit may ripen poorly.
Prevent
Grow resistant varieties.
Give plants sun and space for air flow.
Remove badly infected leaves, and clear debris after harvest.
Organic options
Sulfur or potassium bicarbonate, from the first spots. Sulfur can burn some vine crops in heat, and never use it near an oil spray.
Neem oil. Look for OMRI Listed products.
Conventional options
Myclobutanil or propiconazole, if the crop is on the label.
Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.
Read and follow the product label: it is the law. It sets the rate, the crops it is for, and the days between spraying and picking. Products registered vary by state; for organic growing, look for products allowed under the USDA National Organic Program (OMRI Listed). We name active ingredients, not brands or rates.
The link opens this growing guide, so anyone can read it and look up their own planting dates.
FacebookShare this link on Facebook.XShare this link on X.LinkedInShare this link on LinkedIn.RedditShare this link on Reddit.PinterestShare this link on Pinterest.EmailEmail this link.Open your device's share menu.Copy the link to your clipboard.
Growing more than you can eat? Sell it at a farm stand. TallyTill takes cards and keeps count of what sells, and the Stand plan is free.
Sow
Sprout
True leaves
Thin or plant out
Leaf growth
Harvest
.jpg){kind=link}
