When to Plant Celery in Canberra, Cold / Highland Guide
What this month normally looks like in Cold / Highland
In October the Cold / Highland zone normally runs 20°C by day and 7°C overnight, with about 58 mm of rain over 7 or 8 wet days. The coldest October night on record across the zone was -6.4°C, so a late frost is not out of the question. Averages 1991 to 2026, 15 postcodes, SILO.
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This Celery guide is written for the Cold / Highland zone, which takes in Canberra, Cooma and Bright. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Cairns Brisbane Sydney Melbourne Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
- Planting window
- Oct to Jan
- Days to harvest
- about 17 weeks
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Spacing
- 30 cm apart
Celery is a slow, thirsty, cool season crop grown for its crisp stalks. It wants rich soil, steady moisture and shelter from wind.
Published · By GardenBuddy.au
Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Planting Calendar for Cold / Highland
- Jan T
- Feb -
- Mar -
- Apr -
- May -
- Jun -
- Jul -
- Aug -
- Sep -
- Oct S/T
- Nov S/T
- Dec T
S = Seed Tray T = Transplant D = Direct Sow
Want a nudge when it is sowing time?
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How to Grow Celery in Cold / Highland Australia
- Soil
- Rich, fertile soil that holds moisture but drains well, with plenty of organic matter (Yates, Better Homes and Gardens). The roots are shallow.
- Salt
- Moderately sensitive. Copes with a little salt, but the harvest drops on salty bore water.
- Sunlight
- Full sun to part shade, with shelter from wind (Yates, Better Homes and Gardens).
- Spacing
- 30cm apart, 40cm between rows
- Watering
- Water often and evenly. Dry spells give stringy stalks (Yates), and uneven growth can give hollow stems (Seeds of Plenty).
- Good companions
- Dwarf Beans, Cucumber, Tomato, Carrot, Cabbage
- Keep away from
- Lettuce (some allelopathic evidence), Parsnip (Listed under keep apart from celery. No reason is given.), Sweet Corn (Listed under keep apart from celery. No reason is given.)
- Grow before it
- Fruiting crops (Tomato, Capsicum, Zucchini)
- Grow after it
- Legumes (Beans - Dwarf, Peas, Broad Beans)
Give the bed 3 turns before root crops go back in. Roots fork and go leafy in fresh manure, so they take the bed after the heavy feeders have used it.
Cold / Highland Growing Tips for Celery
Recommended Varieties
- Golden Boy
- Tall Utah
Key Challenges
- Late frost on seedlings
- A short season
- Cold soil slowing growth
Pro Tips
- Start in trays under cover
- Plant out after the worst frosts
- Use cloches early on
Pests and problems for Celery in Cold / Highland
- Common Garden Snail Watch
- Slugs Watch
- Aphids Watch
- Septoria Leaf Spot Water at the base in the morning, space the plants for airflow, rotate the bed and do not save seed from infected plants. Watch
- Crown and root rot Grow in free draining soil, do not bury the crown when planting and do not overwater. Watch
Harvesting Celery
When ready: Stalks are crisp and thick, at the full height of the variety. Plants are ready about 4 months from sowing (Gardenate). If blanched, lift about 11 weeks after trenching (Gardenate).
How to harvest: Cut whole plants at the base, or pick the outer stalks as needed (Yates).
What celery costs in the shops right now, retailer by retailer, updated daily.
What members get
- Soil and weather from your nearest station
- An email when it's time to sow
- Your own garden plan, including planning from a photo
- Price history and price alerts
- Pest risk alerts for your area
- Full salt and canning detail
Common Questions About Celery
When do you plant celery in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): Apr to Jul
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Mar to Jun, Aug to Nov
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Jan, Aug to Dec
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Jan, Sep to Dec
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Jan, Oct to Dec
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): May to Aug
- Mediterranean (Perth): Jan, Aug to Dec
Can you grow celery all year round in Canberra?
No. In the Cold / Highland zone the planting months are Jan, Oct to Dec. Outside that window it either bolts, sulks or gets cut down by the weather.
When should I plant Celery in Canberra?
Gardenate gives one calendar for cool and mountain areas. We have dropped September so seedlings are not set out into the last hard frosts. Start seed in trays in October and November and plant out from October to January. Treat the dates as a starting point.
How do I know when Celery are ready to harvest?
Stalks are crisp and thick, at the full height of the variety. Plants are ready about 4 months from sowing (Gardenate). If blanched, lift about 11 weeks after trenching (Gardenate).
What are the best Celery varieties for Canberra?
Recommended varieties for the Cold / Highland zone include: Golden Boy, Tall Utah.
What grows well with Celery?
Good companion plants for Celery include: Dwarf Beans, Cucumber, Tomato, Carrot, Cabbage.
Are celery salt tolerant?
Only a little. Celery are moderately sensitive to salt, so the harvest drops on salty bore water. Mix salty water with rainwater, and mulch the bed.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box near the top of the page and it tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Cold / Highland zone, Canberra is its reference city.