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Crisp green celery stalks with leaves

Oregon · Washington · Idaho

When to plant celery

Plant in the garden: Portland and Seattle May 15 – Jun 19; Spokane May 20 – Jun 24; Boise May 1 – Jun 5; Bend Jun 9 – Jul 14.

Celery is a carrot-family plant grown for its crunchy leaf stalks, eaten raw or cooked as part of the base for soups, stews and stuffing along with onion and carrot. Homegrown celery is usually greener, thinner and stronger-flavored than store celery. Celeriac is a close relative grown for its knobby root instead of its stalks.

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Puts celery on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.

Difficulty
Tricky here
Sun
Full sun; light afternoon shade east of the Cascades
Spacing
10 to 12 inches apart
Planting depth
Plant starts at the depth they grew in the pot
Frost
Handles light frost
First harvest
About 100 days after planting

Wait until nights stay above about 50°F before planting out: a week or two of cold nights makes young celery bolt. Then it needs steady water all summer, which suits cool west-side gardens.

Celery planting dates

TownsStart seeds indoorsPlant in the garden
Portland, OR, Seattle and Tacoma, WAMar 6–20May 15 – Jun 19
Spokane, WA, Astoria, ORMar 11–25May 20 – Jun 24
Boise and Meridian, IDFeb 20 – Mar 6May 1 – Jun 5
Bend and Redmond, ORMar 31 – Apr 14Jun 9 – Jul 14

Dates for six main cities. For any of the other 80 towns, type it in the box at the top of the page or browse all towns.

Celery year at a glance

TaskJFMAMJJASOND
Start indoorsMar
PlantMayJun
HarvestAugSepOct

Around Portland. Colder towns, especially east of the Cascades, run a few weeks later; the table above has your town's planting dates.

How to grow celery

  1. Start seeds indoors on your city's dates in trays or small pots under a grow light or in your sunniest window. Or skip this step and buy young plants (starts) at a garden center.
  2. Harden off the young plants: about a week before planting, set them outside for a few hours a day, a little longer each day.
  3. Plant them in the garden on your city's dates, 10 to 12 inches apart. Plant starts at the depth they grew in the pot.
  4. Water deeply once or twice a week rather than a little every day, and mulch once the soil is warm.
  5. Harvest: Cut outer stalks as you need them, or cut the whole plant at soil level once the stalks are full-sized, usually from late summer into fall.

Growing celery in your part of the Northwest

The same plant behaves differently on the wet west side, the foggy coast and the dry, colder east side.

West-side valleys

Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, southern Oregon

Celery needs steady water all summer, which means regular irrigation from July onward. Young plants exposed to a long cold spell can bolt, so set them out after spring warms a bit.

Coast

Oregon and Washington coast

Cool summers suit celery as long as plants get steady water.

East of the Cascades

Columbia Basin, Yakima, Boise, Spokane, north Idaho

Celery is thirsty in hot, dry summers. Give it rich soil, steady irrigation and some afternoon shade.

High desert and mountain towns

Central Oregon, high eastern Oregon valleys, McCall, Salmon

Celery is hard in the short season and cold nights. Start early indoors and protect young plants from cold snaps.

More celery varieties

More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.

Tango

Green, smooth stalks · 85 days from transplant

Tender, smooth, light-green stalks with little stringiness and good bolt resistance. One of the easiest celeries for home gardens.

Both sides

Utah 52-70

Classic tall green · 100 days from transplant

The standard dark-green celery with thick, crisp stalks. It needs steady water all summer but rewards you with full-sized heads.

Both sides

Ventura

Tall green, vigorous · 80 days from transplant

Tall, upright plants with smooth, crisp stalks and good tolerance of cool weather, which suits west-side gardens.

West side

Golden Self-Blanching

Pale yellow-green · 85 days from transplant

Naturally pale, mild stalks with no wrapping needed. Plants are shorter and earlier than green types, which helps in shorter seasons.

West side

How much to grow

How many to plant

For a family of four, about 6 to 12 plants.

What to expect

One full-size head of stalks per plant, or many cut stalks over the season.

Storing the harvest

Wrap in foil and keep in the fridge for two to four weeks.

What to plant after celery

Around Portland, the celery harvest wraps up around October. These crops can still go into the same bed, and they come from a different plant family, which helps with rotation.

Portland dates. Pick your town at the top of the page for yours.

Key numbers

Top care tip: Water deeply every week, about 1 to 2 inches, because dry spells make stalks stringy and bitter.

Growing notes

What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.

Starting celery from seed

Celery seed is tiny and slow. Sow it indoors 10 to 12 weeks before planting time, pressing it onto the surface of the mix without covering it, since it needs light to sprout. Keep it at about 70°F; it can take two to three weeks to come up. Seedlings grow slowly at first, so be patient. Buying starts is a good shortcut.

Why timing matters

Celery is a biennial: it normally makes leaves one year and flowers the next. A week or more of nights below about 50°F convinces a young plant it has been through winter, and it bolts to seed in summer instead of making stalks. That's why the planting dates here wait for warmer nights than other cool-season crops.

Harden seedlings off gradually, and if a cold snap comes after planting, cover them with row cover.

Water, food and blanching

Celery has shallow roots and comes from marshy ground, so it needs water every week of summer. Dry soil gives you stringy, bitter, hollow stalks. Mulch the bed and use a soaker hose. Feed with compost at planting and a balanced fertilizer once a month.

Blanching (wrapping stalks in paper or cardboard for the last two weeks) makes them paler and milder, but it's optional. Many gardeners prefer the darker, stronger-flavored green stalks for cooking.

Good neighbors and crop rotation

Good neighbors

  • Leeks. Similar long season, steady water and timing.
  • Lettuce. Grows between young celery plants.

Carrot family: Carrots, parsnips, celery, parsley, dill and cilantro share pests. Carrot rust fly pupae overwinter in the soil where last year's carrots grew, so plant the next crop as far away as your garden allows and rotate on a three-year cycle.

Pests and problems

What most often goes wrong with celery in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.

Bolting

Signs: Plants send up flower stalks early.

What to do: Don't plant out until nights stay above about 50°F.

Stringy, bitter stalks

Signs: Tough, hollow stalks.

What to do: Water deeply every week and mulch; celery needs constant moisture.

Slugs and leaf miners

Signs: Holes and pale trails on the leaves.

What to do: Slug bait, and pick off mined leaves.

Common questions about growing celery

When should I plant celery in Oregon, Washington and Idaho?

Plant in the garden: May 15 – Jun 19 in Portland and Seattle, May 20 – Jun 24 in Spokane, May 1 – Jun 5 in Boise and Jun 9 – Jul 14 in Bend. Pick your town at the top of the page for your own dates.

Why is my celery bitter and stringy?

Usually not enough water or heat stress. Celery needs steady moisture all season; mulch and water deeply every week.

Why did my celery flower in its first summer?

It got too many cold nights while young. Wait until nights stay above about 50°F before planting out.

Can I regrow celery from the base?

A store-bought base will sprout leaves in water or soil, but it rarely makes full stalks. It's a fun project, not a crop.

Also on these lists:

See what else to plant in March, May or June.

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