Celery

Growing Conditions

Growing Zones

Thrives in USDA Zones 3 - 10

Companion Planting

When to Plant

• Start Indoors

  10 - 12 weeks before last frost

• Transplant

  2 weeks before last frost

• Harvest

  100 - 120 days from transplant; blanch stems by mounding soil for milder flavour

Organic Growing Tips

• Blanch stems by wrapping with cardboard or mounding earth around them 2 - 3 weeks before harvest.

• Water consistently and deeply - irregular watering causes hollow stalks and bitter flavour.

• Use compost tea as a foliar feed monthly to support celery's heavy nitrogen demands.

• Grow under partial shade in hot climates to prevent bolting and maintain tender stalks.

Common Pests

• Carrot Fly
• Celery Leaf Miner
• Aphids
• Early Blight
• Slugs

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Family

Carrot family (Apiaceae)

Genus

Apium

Species

Apium graveolens

Natural History

Celery was domesticated from wild celery (Apium graveolens var. graveolens), a strongly aromatic plant of salty marshes, coastal meadows, and disturbed wet ground native to the Mediterranean and western Asia. The wild form is pungent enough that the Romans used it primarily as a flavoring and medicinal plant rather than a vegetable in the modern sense. In ancient Greek and Roman culture, celery carried a specific association with death and the underworld: wild celery garlands were placed on tombs, and winners of the Nemean and Isthmian Games were crowned with wild celery rather than the laurel used at Olympia. The thick-stalked form grown today was developed in Italian kitchen gardens around the 17th century - a relatively recent domestication compared with most common vegetables. Before that, celery was grown for its leaves (cutting celery) and seeds. The root form, celeriac (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum), was selected separately and became the preferred form in northern and central European cooking, where its winter storage quality suited local food traditions. The seeds, ground with salt, produce celery salt - one of the most distinctive spice blends in European and American cooking.

Traditional Use

Celery's traditional history runs in distinct phases: an ancient phase as a strongly aromatic flavoring, medicinal, and ritual plant; a medieval phase as a leaf herb and seed spice; and a modern phase as a mild stalk vegetable developed in 17th-century Italy. The vegetable most people recognize today represents only the final stage of a long domestication process.

• Ancient Greek and Roman Traditions - Leaves and aerial parts

  Wild celery had a funerary association in ancient Greece and Rome: garlands were placed on tombs, and athletes victorious at the Nemean and Isthmian Games received wild celery crowns. The Romans used the strongly aromatic leaves and seeds as flavoring and in preparations noted by Dioscorides and other classical medical writers. This ancient tradition is quite distinct from the mild stalk vegetable developed centuries later.

• Medieval and Renaissance Leaf Celery Traditions - Leaves and seeds

  Through the medieval period, celery was grown primarily as a cutting herb - the leaf form still called "cutting celery" or "smallage" - used to flavor soups, stews, and broths. The seeds were used as a spice and appeared in herbal preparations. This form of celery was much closer to the aromatic wild plant than to modern stalk celery.

• Italian Stalk Celery and French Adoption - Stalks

  Thick-stalked celery appears to have been developed in Italian gardens in the 17th century, representing a significant step toward the milder, fleshy form we know today. The Italian tradition of eating raw celery with salt or braised as a vegetable course developed alongside this improved form. French cuisine adopted it enthusiastically in the 18th century, and blanched celery - grown in earthed-up trenches to produce pale, mild stalks - became a refined kitchen garden crop.

• Celeriac and Northern European Traditions - Root

  Celeriac (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum), selected for its swollen aromatic root, became the preferred celery form in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia, where its winter storage quality and strong flavor suited regional cooking. French rémoulade de céleri-rave - raw celeriac dressed with mustardy mayonnaise - is one of its most enduring preparations and remains a standard French bistro dish.

Celery is one of the 14 major allergens recognized in EU food labeling law and can cause severe reactions in affected individuals. Both raw and cooked celery can trigger responses. Celery seeds contain higher concentrations of the relevant compounds than stalks and should be treated with particular caution by those with suspected sensitivity.

This information is provided for historical and educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making decisions related to your health.

Morphology (Plant Structure & Identification)

• Root System

  Shallow fibrous roots that need constant moisture and rich soil. Plants wilt quickly when the root zone dries out.

• Stem

  The edible stalks are thick leaf petioles clustered tightly around a central crown, not true stems. Blanching reduces color and strong flavor in some types.

• Leaves

  Glossy divided leaves with a strong celery scent. Leaf color and vigor show moisture stress quickly.

• Flowers

  Second-year plants send up branched umbels of small white flowers typical of the carrot family. Bolting makes stalks tough and bitter.

• Fruit

  Produces tiny aromatic seeds after flowering. The harvested crop is the crisp stalk and leafy top.

Known Varieties

Common cultivars worth knowing

• Tango

  Reliable green celery with good flavor and improved tolerance of garden stress.

  Best for: home gardens

• Utah 52-70

  Classic tall green celery with crisp stalks.

  Best for: traditional stalk celery

• Conquistador

  Earlier variety with better performance under less-than-perfect conditions.

  Best for: shorter seasons

• Golden Self-Blanching

  Pale celery type selected for milder blanched stalks.

  Best for: mild flavor

• Redventure

  Red-stalked celery with strong color and old-fashioned flavor.

  Best for: specialty gardens