How to grow your own celery

If you’re more of a traditionalist, standard celery (Apium graveolens) might be the variety best suited to you. Sow about 6 seeds into a punnet, and place the punnet in a container of shallow water. This helps replicate the marshland environment where Celery occurs naturally, and the seedlings will appear in no time. Once the seedlings have appeared, take the punnet out of the water to prevent the roots rotting, and in about five to six weeks, the young celery will be ready to plant out.

Celery needs a deep, fertile soil, and a position in the full sun to thrive. Dig out a couple of trenches, and plant your celery seedlings in said trenches, about 20cm apart, ensuring the crowns are kept above the surface of the soil. The best time for planting celery is early spring and early autumn, to avoid the extreme heat and cold. Ready to eat in about 14 weeks, celery are a great “cut and come again” addition to your patch, meaning you can harvest the stalks you need without removing the whole plant. And, being a biennial plant, they will often crop for 12 months before they run to seed.

The quicker the celery grows, the sweeter it will be, and Tino applies a liquid seaweed or fish emulsion feed every fortnight to keep them powering along.

For something a little different, Tino recommends Celery “Peppermint Stick” (Apium graveolens cv.) which has a gorgeous red stem and is less inclined to bolt in hot weather. He is also trialling Chinese Celery (Apium graveolens cv.), a perennial celery with a delicious strong flavour and a shorter growing habit.


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