How to Regrow Celery from a Celery Base

Start with a full bunched head of celery, either from the store or pulled from your garden. Loose individual stalks won't work here. You need the bunched base because that is where the root collar lives, and the root collar is what regrows.

Make your cut about 2 to 3 inches up from the very bottom. Anywhere in that range is fine. Use a real knife with some heft to it, not the tiniest blade in the drawer, so you get one clean cut straight through. Set the tall stalks aside for snacking and keep the base.

This part is optional, but worth doing. The outermost stalks are the oldest, and they are going to rot in the water anyway, so pull them off before they cause trouble.

Work your way around the base and remove the outer three or four. They peel away naturally with a gentle tug, so you don't need a knife. Don't strip it down too far. You just want to clear off the tired outside layers and leave a firm, clean base standing.

Set the trimmed celery base cut-side up in a shallow dish. Add enough water to cover at least the bottom inch of the base. A wide, low dish works better than a tall glass because it keeps the base upright and the growing tip in the air.

That's the whole setup. Put it somewhere with a bit of light and go do other things for a couple of days. The base handles the rest on its own.

Clean water is the one thing that makes or breaks this. Every three days, pour out the old water and refill the dish with fresh. It takes ten seconds and it keeps the base from getting slimy or funky-smelling.

Give the dish a quick rinse when you refill it. Keeping the water clean this way is the difference between a base that rots and one that pushes out healthy new growth.

Around the one-week mark, look at the center of the base. A tiny, fully formed celery plant grows right out of the middle of the old one. It is pale green and small at first, and it is genuinely fun to watch it appear.

Over the next several days that center foliage takes off. By roughly two weeks from your first cut the top is exploding with new leaves. This is the payoff moment that makes the whole project worth it.

Once a few roots have formed at the sides, it is time to plant. A one-gallon pot is plenty. Celery is shallow rooted, so you don't need to go any bigger than that.

Fill the pot right to the top with a light, airy organic potting mix that is rich in compost. Then press the soil down about 20 percent so it settles and holds together. Before you plant, soak the whole pot for about an hour. Those roots have only known water, so wet soil eases the move and helps them avoid transplant shock.

Set the rooted celery on top of the soaked soil and hold it in place. Add more of the same potting mix around the base until the plant sits about an inch deep. Then press the soil down firmly all around so the little guy is snug.

You can push down harder than you think. Without a big root system to anchor it yet, that firm packing is what keeps the plant standing upright. If the pot is going outside, keep an eye on it until the roots grab hold. From here it grows on, ready to harvest at whatever length you like.