Seed Saving from Celery
Celery is insect-pollinated so, if growing from seed, you need to take precautions to prevent cross pollination from nearby gardens.
All kinds ofcelery can cross with each other. They can also cross with wild celery found in coastal areas. On rare occasions they can cross with parsley. To avoid cross-pollination, two different varieties of celery should be grown about one kilometer apart. This distance can be reduced to 500 meters if a natural barrier such as a hedge exists between the varieties.
In practice, most gardeners grow the plant for the stems and the plants are picked and eaten long before they can set seed.
Celery flowers every other year, so you won’t be able to save seeds until the second year from sowing. You can eat the rest of the plant in the meantime, just don’t take the central stalk which is where the flower will form.
In the second year, the central stalk will thicken and an umbrella shaped flower head, will appear, formed from tiny florets on short stems.
When the flower head is dry and the individual seeds are hard and dark coloured, cut the flower head carefully and shake the seed into a bag. Pick out any flower debris and make sure seeds are dry before packing them into a container.
Celery seeds can be stored in a cool, dark location and will keep for up to 5 years.
