When to Plant Celery in Cairns, Tropical Guide
What this month normally looks like in Tropical
In October the Tropical zone normally runs 34°C by day and 23°C overnight, with about 53 mm of rain over 5 or 6 wet days. Averages 1991 to 2026, 37 postcodes, SILO.
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This Celery guide is written for the Tropical zone, which takes in Cairns, Townsville and Darwin. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Brisbane Sydney Melbourne Canberra Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
- Planting window
- Apr to Jul
- 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 Tropical
- Jan -
- Feb -
- Mar -
- Apr S
- May T
- Jun T
- Jul T
- Aug -
- Sep -
- Oct -
- Nov -
- Dec -
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 Tropical 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.
Tropical Growing Tips for Celery
Recommended Varieties
- Golden Boy
- Tall Utah
Key Challenges
- Heat and humidity
- Keeping the water even
- Fungal leaf spots in wet weather
Pro Tips
- Give afternoon shade
- Mulch well
- Plant on time, because late plantings go stringy
Pests and problems for Celery in Tropical
- 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
- Fungal leaf spots Fungal leaf spots in wet weather 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 Cairns?
No. In the Tropical zone the planting months are Apr to Jul. Outside that window it either bolts, sulks or gets cut down by the weather.
When should I plant Celery in Cairns?
Celery likes cool, even conditions, so grow it in the dry season only. Start seed in trays in April and plant out from May to July. Heat and dry spells make the stalks stringy and bitter, and celery needs a lot of water.
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 Cairns?
Recommended varieties for the Tropical 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 Tropical zone, Cairns is its reference city.