Seeding

Automated celery seeding and the early stages of growth.

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From Seed to Seedling: The Start of Celery Growth

Turning tiny celery seeds into healthy plants is a surprisingly intricate process. It begins with numerous seed flats and a sophisticated seeding machine. Each flat contains hundreds of small cells, maximizing space and efficiency. Flats are stacked within reach for workers, who place them on a slow-moving conveyor belt. As the flats move along, a separate conveyor fills them with dry, fluffy soil. Rotating brushes sweep away excess soil into a connected bin, ensuring each square is evenly filled. The flats then pass under a roller compactor that gently presses the soil down, creating room for the seeds.

Next, the flats move beneath a wide funnel, which carefully drops a single seed into each square. Using sensors or cameras, the machine precisely controls seed placement as each flat passes below. After seeding, the flats continue under another, larger funnel filled with vermiculite. This lightweight mineral aids in aerating the soil while retaining water and nutrients, making it ideal for seed propagation. The full seed flats are lifted and stacked by an employee. The flats are transported to a greenhouse to be unstacked and laid out. After this they are watered and left to grow. After about twelve weeks of watering, trimming and general maintenance, they are ready to be planted.

Celery Seed Fun Facts

  • Celery seeds are extremely small—about 2,500 seeds fit into a single gram!

  • Celery has been cultivated for over 3,000 years, and today’s seeding methods—like conveyor belts and automated seeders—are a world away from ancient hand-planting techniques!

  • When stored properly, celery seeds can remain viable for up to 5 years, which gives farmers flexibility to use them over multiple planting seasons.

Related Links

  1. Gardenerd

    Blog on growing celery seeds

  2. The Seed Collection

    Saving your own celery seeds

  3. r/gardening

    Public forum on growing celery from a seed

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Celery Seeds

You may have never wondered where the celery in your soup comes from—or thought about the tiny seed that grew that stalk. But here, you’ll discover answers to questions you didn’t even know you had.

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Vermiculite

What makes vermiculite so good at germinating seeds? Vermiculite is more than just an ordinary mineral. It plays a very important role it the seeding process, and seedling growth.



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Seedlings

There are many small-scale processes that must happen between seeding and planting to ensure your crop is stronger and healthier. Here we get into the small but important methods to reap a good crop.

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