Celery (Apium graveolens)

Plant Specifications

CARING FOR CELERY

Watering and Feeding 

Keep celery well-watered during all phases of growth. Lack of water will slow growth, cause stalks to become stringy, and encourage plants to send up flower stalks. Celery is a heavy feeder. Add aged-compost to planting beds before planting and side-dress plants with compost at midseason.

Care

Keep celery pot weed-free to avoid competition for moisture and nutrients. Keep cultivation shallow so as not to damage roots. Blanch celery to enhance its sweet flavor and whiten stalks. Celery that is not blanched can be bitter tasting. Blanching is achieved by covering the stalks with soil, straw, or paper cylinders rolled up to the top of the stalks to protect them from the sun, which encourages them to produce chlorophyll and turn green. Blanch celery up to 10 to 14 days before harvesting. Celery that sits too long after blanching will become pithy and may rot.

Pests

Celery usually encounters no serious pest problems but can be attacked by celery leaf miner and slugs (during blanching).

Diseases

Pink rot, black heart, and blight can attack celery. Make sure there are adequate magnesium and calcium in the soil to discourage these diseases.

Harvest

Time from planting to harvest is 100 to 130 days from transplants about 20 days longer from seed. A 10-foot row should yield about 20 heads of celery. Start harvesting before the first hard frost when the head is about two to three inches in diameter at the base. Cut off the head at or slightly below the soil level.

Storage and Preservation 

Celery will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Leaves cut for use as an herb will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week. Celery can be dried, canned, and frozen. Seeds can be used as an herb.