Grow Tender Celery, Watering, Blanching & No Dig

Celery grows best where surface moisture is abundant, to grow crisp stems with less stringy fibres. Frequent watering is better than occasional soaks, and it's one vegetable that I never skimp on when watering, because the more you give it the lusher and crisper are the plants. Raise plants indoors: sow seed on the surface of compost in a seed tray and cover with glass to retain moisture. Water with a fine rose about once a week. Seedlings need two weeks to germinate, and you can prick them into 3cm (1") modules, after two to three weeks. Lay a mesh cover over new plantings, to keep aphids away and give faster growth. Celery tastes better for some blanching to reduce its bitterness. Self-blanching works by close planting to exclude light around stems, with a dense canopy of leaves above them. Blanching with ridges of soil is messy, time consuming, not no dig, and results in extra slug holes. In this video I share practical tips on growing tender celery in a no dig garden — from sowing seed and steady watering, to mesh protection and simple self-blanching methods for crisp, flavourful stems. 🎥 Filmed March to October 2025 Filmed by Carly Dutton-Edwards In Homeacres No Dig Garden, Somerset, UK 🎵 Music: Rory Dunwoodie, @rorydinwoodiemusic IG: rorydinwoodiemusic You can join this channel by paying a monthly fee, to support our work with helping gardeners grow better, and to receive monthly videos made only for members:    / @charlesdowding1nodig   #growyourown #celery #nodiggarden #vegetablegarden #growyourownfood #gardentips 00:00 Introduction - sowing seeds, Tango variety 03:07 After sowing, covering with glass and moving to conservatory 03:49 Sowing in summer - keeping seeds away from strong sunlight 04:32 Seedlings four weeks later - great germination 05:32 Filling module cell with compost - technique 06:26 Watering compost before sowing 07:18 Pricking out, true leaf 09:27 Burying the stem when pricking out 10:39 Moving seedlings from hotbed to bench, warmer nights 11:47 1st April - transplanting 12:30 23rd May - plants at different stages of growth 13:19 Leaf miner - some plants protected with cover 14:18 Bed prep after removing cabbage 14:43 Keeping surface compost moist 15:46 Spacing 16:11 Early harvesting then regrowth 17:20 6th June - harvesting timings and methods 19:17 Option of using feed, plants need for moisture 20:11 Storing harvested celery 20:51 Stringiness 21:52 Using leaves for stock 22:34 Another option for harvesting - side shoots 24:12 Juicing celery 24:36 Slugs and Septoria disease, using a cover