Harvest guide
When to harvest celery
How to harvest celery
Hold the stalk low and pull with a slight twist so it comes away cleanly at the base — do not cut, which leaves a stub to rot. Take no more than half the stalks from one plant at a time. Cut the leaf blade off at once and compost it; it is not food.
Storing your harvest
Trimmed stalks keep a week or more in the fridge. They freeze well chopped, with no blanching needed.
The mistake to avoid
Eating or cooking the leaves. Rhubarb leaf is toxic — the stalk is the crop, the leaf is the waste.
More celery care
Harvesting celery — FAQ
When is celery ready to harvest?
Stalks thick, firm and well coloured — usually from mid-spring. Stop by midsummer. Celery is harvested for its stalks — the leaf stems — and ONLY the stalks. The leaf blades are not edible: in rhubarb they carry oxalic acid at levels that make them poisonous, so cut them off and compost them rather than eating them. Start pulling once the stalks are thick and well coloured, and stop in midsummer so the crown can rebuild for next year.
How do you harvest celery?
Hold the stalk low and pull with a slight twist so it comes away cleanly at the base — do not cut, which leaves a stub to rot. Take no more than half the stalks from one plant at a time. Cut the leaf blade off at once and compost it; it is not food.
How do you store celery after harvesting?
Trimmed stalks keep a week or more in the fridge. They freeze well chopped, with no blanching needed.
What is the most common celery harvesting mistake?
Eating or cooking the leaves. Rhubarb leaf is toxic — the stalk is the crop, the leaf is the waste.