Home gardeners rarely grow celery (Apium graveolens) because the young plants can die easily, or the stems can get stringy. However, growing celery can be very rewarding.

If you’re growing celery for leaves and stalks, you usually won't get the seeds. Celery needs a long (120+ days) growing season. It grows best in areas with moderate summers or winters - it doesn't like extremes of heat or cold. For some widely adapted varieties of celery, try ‘Ventura’, ‘Utah 52-70 Improved’, and ‘Giant Pascal’. For a unique, semiself-blanching type, try ‘Golden Self-Blanching’ or ‘Stokes Golden Plume’. These varieties produce golden-yellow colored stalks that are naturally semiblanched. The flavor is milder than unblanched varieties, but it isn’t as mild as fully blanched varieties. Harvest your celery stalks, either by pulling up the entire plant or just selecting outer stalks.

White stalks of celery are blanched. Home-grown, unblanched celery has a stronger flavor and better nutritional value than store-bought types, but if you like the white stalks, you can certainly blanch your celery. To blanch, place an empty metal can or milk carton with the ends removed over the stalks ten days before harvesting. You don’t need to cover the leaves.