Celery
Apium graveolens var. dulce
Apiaceae · carrot family
Origin · Mediterranean · Western Asia
- Matures
- 3–6 months
- Harvest
- Over a period · Annual
- Sun
- 4–8+ hrs
- Spacing
- 6–12 in
Planting window
When to sow, by microclimate — foggier blocks run a different calendar than sunnier ones.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foggy | ● | ● | ● | ● | ||
| Sunny | ● | ● | ● |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foggy | ● | ● | ||||
| Sunny | ● | ● |
Sunlight
How well it does at each level of direct sun per day.
Soil depth
Root room it needs — useful for sizing raised beds and containers.
Soil pH
The soil acidity it grows best in — most crops sit just below neutral, so this mostly matters for heavily amended or long-reused beds.
- Preferred range
- pH 6.0–6.5
Spacing
Room each plant needs — along the row and between rows — for sizing beds.
- In-row
- 6–12 in
- Between rows
- 24 in
Growth habit
The shape it makes in the bed and how tall it gets — what tells you whether to give it a trellis, a stake, or just room.
- Habit
- Upright
- Mature height
- 1.5–2 ft
Stands on its own; the tallest types appreciate a stake in wind.
Growing in containers
Whether it does well in a pot, planter, or window box — the SF balcony-and-deck question, weighing its footprint, form, and staying power, not just root depth.
Happy in a pot, planter, or window box — no garden bed required.
How to start it
Sow it where it grows, or raise it under cover and set it out — and how far ahead to start the seedlings if it's the latter.
- Usually
- Transplant
- Start indoors
- 8–10 weeks ahead
Started under cover, then set out as a seedling.
Getting started
How it goes in the ground — how deep to sow or set it, and the soil temperature it needs to wake up. The cold-soil floor is the real limiter for direct-sowing in a foggy SF spring.
- Started from
- From seed
- Ideal soil temp
- 60–70°F
- Sow depth
- 0.25 in
- Time to emerge
- 7–12 days
Germinates between 40–75°F; happiest around 60–70°F.
Watering & feeding
How thirsty and how hungry it is — the water it wants and how much feeding the bed needs to keep it producing. In the fog belt even a thirsty crop drinks less than it would inland.
- Water need
- High
- Feeding
- Heavy feeder
A thirsty crop — keep it consistently moist; dry spells cost it flavor, texture, and yield.
Hungry — enrich the bed well before planting and feed through the season to keep it going.
A thirsty crop with a small, shallow root system — soak the bed regularly and never let it dry, or the stalks turn stringy and strong-flavored. A heavy feeder that wants rich soil throughout.
Pests & diseases
What tends to trouble this crop — what it is, what you'll see, and what to do about it, least-toxic first.
Pests1
Aphids
- What it is
- Aphids have soft pear-shaped bodies with long legs and antennae and may be green, yellow, brown, red, or black depending on the species and the plants they feed on. A few species appear waxy or woolly due to the secretion of a waxy white or gray substance over their body surface.
- What you'll see
- Low to moderate numbers of leaf-feeding aphids aren't usually damaging in gardens or on trees. However, large populations can turn leaves yellow and stunt shoots; aphids can also produce large quantities of a sticky exudate known as honeydew, which often turns black with the growth of a sooty mold fungus.
- What to do
- Before planting vegetables, check surrounding areas for sources of aphids and remove these sources. On the other hand, these aphid-infested weeds can sometimes provide an early source of aphid natural enemies.
Diseases2
Powdery Mildew
- What you'll see
- Older leaves and leaf petioles of plants with powdery mildew may be covered with a white powdery growth. Young leaves develop small circular white powdery spots that slowly enlarge to cover the leaflets.
- What to do
- In most cases, planting resistant varieties or avoiding the most susceptible varieties and following good cultural practices will adequately control powdery mildew. Provide enough water and avoid excess fertilizer.
Black Heart
- What you'll see
- Black discoloration of leaves in the center of the plant. Affected tissue eventually dies. Injury occurs gradually and is not visible until later in the season. This nutrient imbalance is a localize deficiency of calcium which is essential for cell development.
- What to do
- Control black heart applying calcium rich fertilizers to the soil. Use bone meal, blood meal, or calcium sprays. Avoiding water stress is a good way to minimize this problem.
Harvest & storage
How to tell it's ready to pick, and how to keep it once it's in.
- Keeps
- WeeksHolds a week or two in the fridge.
- Ready to harvest
- Take outer stalks as you need them, or cut the whole plant in fall or winter before the stalks crack.
- Storing
- Refrigerate the stalks in the crisper; they keep a week or two, longer if wrapped to hold moisture.
Culinary use & nutrition
What it's for in the kitchen, and the nutrients a 100 g raw serving is a notable source of.
In the kitchen
- Raw
- Boiled / steamed
- Soups & stews
- Pickled / preserved
- Seasoning
Nutrition highlights
- Excellent source
- Vitamin K
Share of the Daily Value in a 100 g raw serving (USDA FoodData Central).
Pollinators & wildlife
What this crop offers the garden's wildlife once it flowers — often the payoff for letting a bolting plant stand.
- Beneficial insects
- Hoverflies, lady beetles, and parasitoid wasps that keep aphids and caterpillars down.
Celery is cut long before it blooms, but a plant overwintered or bolted early opens flat cream umbels that hoverflies and tiny wasps work steadily.
Sources
Growing data on this page is drawn from Kansas State University Extension, UC Master Gardeners, San Mateo–SF Counties, and the other references on our sources page.