Don’t you hate when you can’t grow a certain vegetable no matter how you try? And then one day, it magically grows? Well, welcome to my life with celery. Germination is a b*tch. Some years we had a great relationship and others years it was spotty. This on and off again relationship was haunting me. What had I done to deserve to be rebuked by celery? Well, this year I figured out. This is the year you will learn how to germinate celery seed. Let’s get growing.
How to Germinate Celery Seeds:
For many years, celery and I had a wonderful relationship.
Celery needs light to germinate. I happily gave it overhead grow lights. Plus despite the seed package instructions, I never barely cover the seeds. This method never worked for me.
I would sow the seeds on the top of the peat pods. (Note, the seeds are really small and it is really hard to only plant one in a pod.)
I lovely ever so gently tamp downed the seeds into the peat. (Tamp means to press lightly so the seeds makes contact with the substrate, which is the peat pod.)
Always keep the pod nice and moist. Be careful when watering that you don’t wash away the seeds. A heat mat helps as well.
In about 14 to 21 days, my celery seeds would germinate. Even though I often times planted more than one seed in a pod, they are so easy to tease apart and re-pot.
The Shoe Drops:
When other gardeners complained how hard it was to get celery to germinate, I simply smiled and nodded my head as if to say, “I got this.
I never had a problem…
Until…
Last year. I sowed a bunch of seed pods and only a few germinated. I figured I pushed my luck on the age of the seeds. Generally celery seed viability is about 5 years.
My seeds were probably older than 5 years.
This Year:
This year I bought completely different celery seeds. I sowed them using my usual method. Seed on top and keep them moist.
Nada.
I was stumped. Nada? That just can’t be. I didn’t want to join the celery germination failure club.
Not me. I have a reputation.
So I tried again. Twenty one days of keeping the pods moist, under a dome, and with a heat mat.
Nada.
This can’t be, as I shook my head. If I didn’t figure out something quick, I wouldn’t have celery this year.
Or my beloved celery leaves. (Read here how I use celery leaves.)
The Solution on How to Germinate Celery Seeds:
I decide to soak the seeds in a weak chamomile tea, and left them on my kitchen countertop. When the tea water almost evaporated, I simply added water.
Since I had to clean up my kitchen, I decided to put the soaking seeds in a cabinet.
So much for light germination.
Then I forgot about them for a week.
Or two. I lost count.
When I remember a couple of weeks later, thankfully, the water hadn’t evaporated.
And guess what I saw? Little tails coming out of several of the celery seeds. Maybe I had a 50% germination? (See the video above.)
Oh Happy Day!
Although I now had several germinated seeds, I was dumbfounded. How was I sowing those little seeds with their equally little germination tails into a soil medium?
Honestly, I didn’t think they would survive the transfer to soil. So, I grabbed a spoon and gently took some seeds with the water and sprinkled them on top of the soil.
I did this several times. See the picture above to see how they look now. There are quite a few bunched up together so I will try to save as many as I can. Honestly, as I mentioned above, I didn’t think any of them would survive.
Moral of the Story
If you seeds just don’t germinate, try soaking them for 24 to 48 hours. Just make sure they don’t dry out.
Join the Conversation:
What are your tips on how to germinate celery seeds?
Neil Kennedy says
Hi Anna I use a pencil with a good eraser to plant small seeds. I touch the wet soil with the eraser,
then touch one of the seeds, it sticks to the eraser, then when you touch the soil the seed
comes off. You have to keep the eraser moist by touching the soil again. Now the metal part
of the pencil that holds the eraser is a good depth to plant larger seeds. Or the eraser itself
is also a good depth to plant tomato and pepper seeds. I always pre soak my seeds as it
decreases germination time. Now beans shouldn’t be soaked for more than 5 minutes and
I use wide row planting which cuts down the weeds from growing.
Vanessa L Pruitt says
This seems like a really simple set of instructions to germinate celery seeds. Thank you!
Anna says
Thanks Vanessa!
linda spiker says
Come be my neighbor. You can grow, I can cook!
Anna says
Linda, I would be in heaven! Anna
Shannon says
Yes! I started soaking seeds before planting last year and I am sold. I don’t know why this isn’t more widely spoken of, especially for those of us who broadcast large numbers of seed directly into the soil. Thanks for the reminder!
Anna says
Shannon, it is becoming my new way of germinating seeds. Anna
Nadia | Body Unburdened says
Do you ever eat them as sprouts like with broccoli seeds?
Anna says
I don’t see why you can’t. They are pretty tiny. Anna
Lindsey Dietz says
Ha! I didn’t know there was a love/hate relationship because I’ve never grown celery! I have this sort of relationship with my sage right now! I planted it over a week ago, and it still hasn’t sprouted!
Anna says
Lindsey, if it doesn’t sprout, consider sowing seeds in a container and sticking in the bottom of your refrigerator. They may need cold treatment for 2 to four weeks. Or they just may need time. I put bottom heat on my herb seeds.
Emily @ Recipes to Nourish says
Wow! I would have never thought to let them soak up to 2 days! I’m so glad you had success with that.
Anna says
Emily, I never did either!
Megan Stevens says
What a fun idea; I need to do this!!
Anna says
Great idea Neil. I found it didn’t matter how I dropped the celery seeds into the pods. They just didn’t germinate.
Raia Todd says
I’ve never tried growing celery from seed before, only from the leftover stump. And then the swallowtails ate it all… 🙁
Anna says
Raia, it is really tricky! Anna
The Food Hunter says
We’ve had great success with our celery so far.
Anna says
The Food Hunter, what type of seeds are your growing? Mine was Utah.
Megan Stevens says
Yay for the soaking insight!!
Anna says
Megan, yeah it works for digestion too! Anna
Kelsey says
What a great tip! I never would have thought of that! But, it totally makes sense…I grow broccoli sprouts in a jar by keeping them moist…surely this method would work with more seeds! THANKS!
Anna says
Kelsey, same method. Anna
Allen says
Why Chamomile tea?
Anna says
Allen, I had read that the tannins in chamomile tea help to soften the seed coat and helps with dampen off.