If you've followed our Microgreens range, you might be ready for a challenge – and we have the perfect one! Celery microgreens are tough to grow, but their pungent taste is well worth it. With pinnate leaves and a healthy, refreshing taste, these mini vegetables are a fantastic addition to your micro-green garden.
Since these are microgreens, we harvest the sprouts and not fully grown celery stalks. However, the stems still have a bit of that famous celery crunch without the hard strings. It's easy to add chopped celery microgreens to your vegetable soup or salad. So stick with your peanut butter because these classic greens go with almost anything (someone Thai peanut curry?).
We don't just grow celery microgreens because of the intense celery taste – they are also very nutritious! These little greens are packed with vitamins A, B, C, and E as well as calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and even amino acids. So, by growing celery microgreens, you are investing in your health too.
In this article, we're going to fine-tune our microgreen growing skills with growing celery. If all goes well, we'll end up with an abundance of delicious micro-celery ready to eat!
Good products on Amazon for growing celery microgreens:
Celery microgreens short info
Celery microgreens are delicious and taste like regular celery.
| Taste: | Intense celery taste |
| Soaking: | Optional |
| Rinsing / emptying: | no |
| Germination: | 1-2 weeks |
| Ideal harvest: | 21-30 days |
Growing celery microgreens
As mentioned earlier, growing celery microgreens is just as difficult as growing celery stalks. To be successful, we have to watch every step closely.
materials
If you've tried your hand at growing microgreens, you probably already have most of these materials. Some are specific to celery microgreens, however, so let's get into the details. What you need:
- Microgreen Seeds: Choose high quality celery seeds such as the True Leaf Market varieties
- Containers: three shallow growing trays, one with drainage holes and two without, all trays are the same size (our instructions apply to 10 ″ x20 ″ trays)
- Growing medium: seed mix or coconut coconut
- Light: any grow light – we prefer the T5 grow light when growing microgreens
- Kitchen scissors for harvesting
- spray bottle
Our two top picks for celery microgreens from the True Leaf Market are hers Utah 52-70 celery seeds and your Celery microgreens seeds. We have been exceptionally lucky with all of your microgreen seeds and you will not be disappointed!
Celery sticks produce tiny brown seeds, so you'll need 1-2 tablespoons of seeds per bowl. It is recommended that you use either an organic celery seed or seeds specifically designed for growing microgreens, as other celery seeds can be treated to keep them colder in early spring. Use healthy, new seeds for a good germination rate.
The seed starter mix is great for growing celery microgreens, but celery seeds also excel in coconut coconut. The fibers are very absorbent without softening. In fact, coconut retains moisture so well that you may only need to water once!
For micro-celery, it is not enough that the soil is just sufficiently moist – they need a lot of light. Microgreens grow best under a grow light rather than natural sun. With a grow light, you can position it just above the tray so that the celery seedlings grow evenly. You can also make sure the celery microgreens are getting enough light each day.
soaking
Choose either organic celery seeds or one for microgreens.
Celery seeds don't need to be soaked to germinate. However, if you are having trouble getting them to germinate, you can try soaking the celery seeds in warm water for 24-48 hours. Whether you soak it or not, celery microgreens usually take at least a week to germinate.
When you soak your celery seeds, plant them immediately after taking them out of the bowl. If they dry up again, the whole process has been in vain.
plant
Now that you've gathered the supplies and the micro celery seeds are (maybe) soaked, let's plant micro green seeds. Start by grabbing the tray with the drainage holes (we'll use the rest later). Fill the tray to ¾ with the potting soil of your choice. Then water the soil well so that it is evenly moist, but not muddy. Flatten the surface of the earth as flat as possible and press down gently to remove any air pockets.
Celery microgreens prefer slightly acidic soil with a pH of around 5.5 – 6.0. An easy way to modify the soil is to soak it with water that has a balanced pH (the same as hydroponic). If you haven't already, here's a quick how-to video. If growing celery microgreens is already challenging enough for you, skip this step.
Next, sprinkle your microgreen celery seeds evenly over the potting soil. When we grow microgreens, we usually like to crowd the seeds together. However, celery green grows densely, so the older seedlings block the light for the younger ones. This can also block airflow to the celery microgreens, which encourages excess water moisture and bacterial growth. Place the seeds about ½ – 1 inch apart (write down their density later so you can change the spacing for the next time you grow celery microgreens).
Spray the seeds with water and place one of the solid seed trays directly on top of them. The blackout cover needs to be in place for a week or two, so put a weight on it so it doesn't shift. While most microgreens will thrive under heated mats, celery seeds will not thrive. Its maximum temperature is 70-75 ° F, so save the mat for another harvest.
Growing celery microgreens
We may sow a lot of microgreen celery seeds, but it's no use unless there is a high germination rate. Perhaps the most important microgreens maintenance you can do to keep these seeds sprouting is by watering them from the bottom. This method prevents the steaming off and other bacterial growth to which celery microgreens are susceptible. It also helps prevent the soil from becoming oversaturated.
To pour from below, take your third tray and fill it with a few inches of water. Then put the micro celery peel inside. The soil will absorb water through the drainage holes without a drop falling on the seedlings. Remove the watering tray when the plants have an adequate soil water supply.
Keep the blackout cover on the celery micro green husk during the entire germination period. Every few days, take a look inside the dark greenhouse to check for soil moisture and the microgreen growth of celery. In 1-2 weeks, you will find that the celery seeds you planted are now pale celery seedlings. You may also notice tiny root hairs emerging from the tap root of the sprouts. They are so fine in texture that these roots are often mistaken for mold! Over time, however, the hair will help anchor your sprouting celery microgreens to the ground.
When the micro-celery starts pushing the blackout peel up, it's time to remove it and finally add some light to the celery micro-greens. Position your grow light a few meters directly above the garden bowl and switch it on for 12-14 hours a day. The celery microgreens quickly turn light green and straight towards the light.
Some micro celery greens can wear the seed coat as a hat. It's cute, but you should remove the peels by gently stroking the tops of the plants with your palm.
harvest
Use your microgreens after harvest while they are fresh!
We usually harvest microgreens immediately, as the taste changes as they ripen. Celery microgreens keep their intense celery flavor much longer, so you don't have to be in a hurry. You have to harvest before the microgreens grow out of their tray (or transplant the sprouts into the garden as full stalks of celery!).
Harvest either when the celery cotyledons are fully open and green or when the first real leaves appear. At this point, the celery microgreens are 1 to 3 inches tall and quite luscious. Use clean kitchen scissors or a sharp knife to cut the celery stalks into bundles.
If you just cut off the top of each celery microgreen and leave a good amount of stalk behind, the celery microgreens can grow back. However, when you are done with this harvest, remove any old roots from the soil before reusing them (you can plant microgreen celery peels year round).
storage
Celery microgreens are delicate and therefore not very easy to store. It's best to eat them right after harvest. Add chopped celery microgreens to vegetable soup and salad, or use them as dressing for casseroles. The intense celery taste goes well with hearty dishes.
If you're too full for another sheet, carefully wrap the harvested, dry microgreens in paper towels and place them in a sealed container or plastic bag. Store the celery microgreens in the refrigerator where they will last a few days longer.
frequently asked Questions
Q: Can you eat celery microgreens?
A: Of course! Celery microgreens have an intense flavor and remarkable amounts of nutrients that you will love. You can add chopped celery microgreens to almost any dish (soups, casseroles, dressing, etc.).
Q: How long do celery microgreens take to grow?
A: The celery microgreen planting and growing is not for the impatient as it takes about a month to grow. If you are looking for a faster harvest time, try growing broccoli microgreens instead of micro celery.
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