countrykat
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Celery

I have tried to grow a few times with different types of seeds with no luck. Not sure what I am doing wrong. Planted 1/4" deep in moist seedling soil with light about 24" above. Heat mat was set on 75 deg. Any ideas?

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PunkRotten
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I've had them germinate once but they died later. I think they take awhile to germinate too. How long do you typically wait before you decide they aren't coming up? I think they may be more trouble than they are worth. This year I may take a cut bottom of a grocery store bought celery and try planting that. I've set one of those bottoms before in a dish with water and it did sprout some small stalks.

countrykat
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I have waited 3 - 4 weeks every time. I do have to agree, it seems to be more trouble than it's worth. I know there is a way to do it though because there are thousands in the grocery stores every year.

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applestar
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Pretty sure 1/4" is way too deep for indoor starting. I don't think I covered at all or barely sprinkled white sand alongside the seeds to help keep them from washing away, the firmly pressed for good soil contact.

Let me see if I posted anything last year....

I mentioned them in this thread but no details on how I sowed them:
:arrow: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 03#p288503

countrykat
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If a 1/4" is to deep that is most likely my problem because that is what I have done every time per package instructions.

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applestar
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You need to plant them deeper outside (usually what the instructions are for) because soil dries out quicker and there is some wind erosion as well. Indoors, especially with humidity cover on -- I think I was using the basic instructions for starting seeds in soil blocks here -- cover directly on the soil blocks with plastic (dark or clear depending on seeds needing light to germinate -- I think I used clear for celery) and add water to top of the wrap for added weight and close soil contact. CHECK TWICE DAILY and remove wrap at first sign of germination.

According to this post
:arrow: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 10#p289610
celery microblocks map is in the third image down and were sown on 2/16 and started sprouting on 2/23. I remember they sprouted all at once rather uniformly, and I wondered if they were hybrids rather than OP/ Heirlooms -- I remember checking the seed source website descriptions again and even emailing them.

I believe celery loses germination viability rather quickly, so make sure you are using fresh seeds.

...photos of celery seedlings with true leaves in this post
:arrow: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 63#p290963

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rainbowgardener
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My celery has all sprouted; it came up on the 14th day after planting. I do not have mine on a heat mat. Celery is a cool weather crop, it does not need that much heat. And definitely burying it 1/4" was too deep. I don't bury celery or any small seed like that at all, just lightly press it so that it is in good contact with the soil and then scatter a very tiny amount of soil over the top, to barely cover. Then you just have to keep it moistened until it sprouts.

People say celery is difficult to grow, but it has been a great and easy crop for me, tolerates part shade and low maintenance. This will be my third year in a row of growing it from seed.

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applestar
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Which variety are you growing rainbowgardener?

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rainbowgardener
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golden self-blanching, same as last year, because it is from my bulk seed order.

My experience was that in its low maintenance situation, with not as much water, sun, fertility as it really should have had, the stalks were pretty narrow compared to the grocery store ones and the celery taste was very strong. Some people like that and some don't. It was in my away from home plot and didn't get much care. In a better situation, it might be different.

imafan26
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I cannot grow regular celery because it isn't cold enough. I do grow cutting celery since it is more warm tolerant and I can just go out and cut a stalk anytime I need it. It can be used as a celery substitute for flavoring but it is too bitter to eat as celery sticks. It has a stronger celery flavor and the seeds are what is sold as celery seed on the spice shelf. For soups and flavoring you only need one or two stalks. The celery in the store has a lot of water and not much in the way of flavor.

It is a more ancient form of the modern supermarket version.

I plant more or less the way rainbow does. I make sure the media is thoroughly moistened before I plant the seeds. I sprinkle the seeds on top of the media. Sometimes it helps to speed germination if you soak the seeds, but I have to use a pencil to transfer them to the media that way and it is more work so I sometimes will put a paper towel on top of the seeds and keep the paper towel moist. I will do this when it is very windy to keep the seeds from drying out. After about 10 days or so, I will gently lift the paper towel to check for sprouts. Once the seeds start sprouting the paper towel can be taken off. Bottom watering helps.

https://www.growveg.com/growblogpost.aspx?id=290

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applestar
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You reminded me that there was some discussion about soaking celery and other hard to germinate seeds last year. :D

FYI I found a post in which I described my experiment (not celery but parsley, etc. seeds)
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 38#p294138



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