How to organize the cultivation and care of stalked celery. Root, petiole and leaf celery: growing and nursing in the open field

The usefulness of celery is unlikely to be disputed by anyone. This is the main product healthy eating, an inexhaustible storehouse of useful microelements and vitamins, a nutritious product and a complete replacement of herbs on the table. In order to get a good healthy harvest in your garden, it is recommended to practice growing petiole seedlings from seeds.

A seedless method simply does not exist, since the long growing season - 3-5 months - excludes the possibility of sowing in open ground even in the south. How to grow stalked celery, how to properly sow, care for, dive and plant in the beds - in our article.

Celery varieties

The cultivation of stalked celery has not yet reached a large-scale level in our country. This is due to the complexity of the plant's agricultural technology, and to the peculiarities of planting and care, and the bleaching of rhizomes for further consumption.

Difficulties arise even at the stage of seed selection. It is not enough just to buy the first package that comes along, but carefully choose among different varieties, sizes, ripening times and even tastes.

Sowing table of stalked celery through seedlings:

Name	Vegetation period, days	Description of the variety
Name	Vegetation period, days	Non-self-bleaching
		Petioles of medium thickness, height 42-45 cm
		Petioles short up to 25 cm, thick fleshy
Male prowess		Thick fleshy petioles up to 50 cm long.Very juicy
		Medium height (30-38 cm), resistant to short-term frost
		Medium height, curved shape, good storage
		Self-bleaching
		Thin curved half-meter stems
		Most early ripening variety with short but very tight petioles
		Belong to the most appetizing and fleshy types. The stem is tall, fleshy, tight, tolerates storage well

Non-self-cleaning varieties require certain bleaching manipulations, otherwise the petioles will be very tough, fibrous and practically unsuitable for food. But at the same time, the bleached heart is surprisingly tasty, moderately crunchy, tender and very nutritious.

Self-cleaning varieties are more convenient to grow, but they are worse stored, more susceptible to diseases, and should be eaten as soon as they are harvested.

Features of seed germination

This deciduous crop is considered to be the most difficult to penetrate, due to the high concentration essential oils in a seed. IN agriculture on an industrial scale, they are etched with a solution of hydrochloric acid, and at home to obtain seedlings of stalked celery in hot water (up to 60 ° C) the seeds are soaked in advance until the water cools down, after which they are washed with warm water and dried to a crumbly state.
Dry grains should never be sown, this will postpone the germination time by more than a month. Before sowing, they are washed, checked for germination (see below), wrapped in toilet paper, moistened abundantly, wrapped in a bag and sent to a warm place, preferably on a battery, but away from sunlight or artificial light.

The seeds should be completely submerged in water, not lightly damp.

You can use another, simpler way of growing petiole celery seedlings - pour sawdust into a jar, pour water over them heavily, cover with a piece of gauze on top and lay out the seeds. Sawdust should just stick in water, then each seed will swell well. This container is also exposed to a battery or other warm place, but so that the sun's rays can reach the can.

VIDEO: Preparation of planting material for sowing

What should be the soil

It is advisable to use self-prepared soil, for which the following components are mixed:

peat - 3 parts;
sod land - 3 parts;
humus - 1 part;
sand - 0.5 parts;
wood ash - 0.5 parts.

All this is mixed, calcined in the oven for an hour at a temperature of 180-200 ° C, stirring occasionally. You can douse with boiling water or a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Disinfection of the land is carried out without fail before planting seeds for growing seedlings.

After the soil has been disinfected, it is left for one and a half to two weeks to revive a favorable microflora. it necessary condition further growth of seedlings.

If it is not possible to prepare the soil on your own, you can buy a universal soil in any agricultural store, which no longer needs preparatory measures.

It is advisable to choose the one that is intended for growing cabbage.

Sowing

Sowing seeds for petiole celery seedlings begins in the second decade of February and ends in mid-March, depending on the growing season of each variety.

There are 2 basic methods of sowing seeds:

in a container - a box, pots, cassettes, peat cups or tablets, etc.;
in a container with snow;
in diapers - in polyethylene or a pad, rolled into a roll.

In a container

A 5-10 cm layer of earth is poured into prepared containers and lightly watered with water. They make small paths with a pencil and spread the seeds at a distance of 2 cm from each other, between the grooves - 5 cm. It is not necessary to deepen the seeds, just sprinkle them with earth and sprinkle them abundantly from the spray bottle.

In a container with snow

Everything is done in the same way as in the first case, but a layer of snow is laid on top, and seeds are placed on it. Melting, the snow will "take" them away, while saturating them with moisture.

In diapers

Highly convenient way, in which plant roots remain intact. With such an organization, it is convenient to pick and transplant into beds or open ground.

For this you will need:

meter strips of the substrate under the laminate 40 cm wide;
soil - prepared or purchased;
seed material;
gum;
deep plastic containers or buckets.

Work order:

Spread a substrate on the table and spread a layer of earth 3-4 cm thick on it.
Spread out, retreating from the edge of 3 cm, the first grain, make the first turn of the roll, lay out the second - second turn, etc. You should get a roll of earth with seeds.
Fix it on three sides with an elastic band so that the structure does not fall apart.
They are installed vertically in containers (do not confuse where is the top, where is the bottom).
Water is poured into the bottom of the container, and sprayed from above with a spray bottle.

This method saves space, facilitates maintenance and allows you to handle plants without the risk of injury to the root antennae.

Seedling care at home

The main care is timely watering and lighting.

You need to water from the pallet or by spraying. The second way is preferable.
When the first loops of sprouts appear (usually after 30 days), the seedlings are rearranged under phytolamps or daylight.
In the third week, the seedlings should be fed with liquid organic matter.
After the appearance of the 3rd full-fledged leaf, picking into separate cups is allowed.

2 weeks before transferring to the beds or greenhouse, the seedlings are hardened, taking them out into the street for half an hour, and every day increasing by another quarter of an hour.
Before transplanting, watered abundantly and the next day you can start the process itself.

Transfer to open beds

The recommended time for replanting grown petiole celery seedlings is the second decade of May, when the soil is already fully warmed up. Small furrows are made with a chopper at a distance of 50 cm from each other, sprouts are laid out and sprinkled with earth.

Be sure to water it carefully so as not to blur the roots, and mulch with hay, straw or mulch. The main thing is that the composition must retain moisture well.

A plant that has received less watering during the growing season is unfit for food.

In the future, the sprouts are looked after in the same way as other crops - timely watering, top dressing with ready-made fertilizers, loosening and weeding from weeds.

Top dressing - required condition harmonious growth of petiole celery seedlings. The first fertilizer is applied 15 days after planting, the second - with an abundance of green mass, the third - after 40 days, when the root begins to develop.

Non-self-cleaning varieties are planted in deeper trenches, into which soil is constantly poured while the culture grows. At this time, the process of cleansing the roots takes place, as a result of which an unusually juicy and tender core is obtained.

It is imperative that lateral root shoots are pinched 2-4 times during the growth process. This will form the root crop and get a good harvest.

The ground should always be moist, for which the soil must be mulched. It does not need to be raked in order to water, it is enough to pour water from above so that it penetrates into the root zone.

If frost is approaching, the seedlings must be covered with acrylic, spunbond or cellophane. In autumn, when the temperature drops to -5 ° C at night, bushes are also covered.

Harvesting and storage

Harvested for the first time in mid-August in an attempt to determine the level of maturity. It is not necessary to harvest the entire crop at once, if we are talking about personal farming. Self-cleaning varieties are eaten immediately, while unpeeled varieties can be stored for up to a month.

For freezing, you can peel the roots or cut the foliage, rinse, dry and put them in dry bags, then send everything to the freezer.

VIDEO: Growing root and stalk celery for seedlings

Choice spicy herbs on the table is a matter of taste. One thing can be said for sure: many people prefer not only parsley, dill and cilantro, but also stalked celery. Caring for it does not differ from caring for other plants in the garden, but the cultivation technology in open ground from seeds has features. Therefore, in order to get an excellent harvest, it is worth getting to know the best varieties - and as a result, get the stalks as in the photo in the magazines on agriculture!

Briefly about the important, or the absolute benefits of stalked celery

Delicate and languid, slightly sweet, spicy and aromatic, in some varieties a little spicy - this is the taste of celery for those who first tried it. But what is true acquaintance with such valuable plant? This is not only green twigs similar to parsley and cilantro in salads, pies and stews, not only tubers baked in sour cream with your favorite sauce or pickled root vegetable for meat, but also its middle part, petioles. They are like bleached false stalk of leeks - delicious and as healthy as possible! Therefore, if you haven't tried stalked celery yet, it's time to start.

Celery stalks (as well as leaves and roots) can relieve everyone of:

extra kg. This is possible due to the high content of dietary fiber, which is not absorbed by the body, but helps to establish the functioning of the digestive tract, liver and kidneys, normalize metabolism, strengthen immunity;
frequent colds, with which a whole vitamin complex will help in the fight - vitamins of groups C, A, E, B;
ailments of the nervous and cardiovascular systems, since it contains the necessary micro-, macro-elements.

In short, there is an obvious benefit of celery in any of its variations. Therefore, attention is paid to the features of sowing in open ground, competent cultivation to technical ripeness and care!

Attention! Celery is not a panacea for disease! Drinking juices and salads with it should be carefully for those who have an ulcer, colitis, kidney stones or gall bladder. The best option - consultation of a therapist.

Sowing crops in open ground: stages

Celery stalks give wonderful harvests on nutrient soils, in slightly shaded (under a tree) places. He tolerates open sun areas well, but excessive sun can affect the height of the petiole stem and taste (for example, juiciness). He is not afraid of frost on the ground, so sowing of late varieties can be started already at the end of March in order to harvest by the end of summer and beginning of autumn excellent harvest. Optimum temperature growing in the open field + 20C, however, it easily transfers "deviations" from performance indicators in one direction or another.

An important feature is soil preparation before sowing seeds in open ground. In depleted areas, the petioles will not be dense and uniform, they will lose their juiciness and aroma characteristic of celery. But every soil can be prepared for sowing. The best time for this is autumn, the period of the first frost. But if you did not know in the fall that you will grow stalked celery - no problem. You can do this in the spring as soon as the ground warms up and you can dig up the desired area.

So, the stages of soil preparation for sowing. It is necessary:

Select a site with specific requirements.
Dig furrows (width - 30-40 cm, depth - 25 cm, on a shovel bayonet). Good decision - 2 furrows side by side - passage - 2 furrows side by side and so on. This arrangement will make it easy to care for the celery and just harvest.
Fill the furrows with compost, or add peat + sand + humus (1: 1: 0.5), or add superphosphate, mix, sprinkle with earth.
Before sowing seeds, it is necessary to loosen the soil, get rid of weeds, walk with a rake, and moisten.
Sow the seeds in the furrows evenly, in one line. The easiest way to do this is by mixing the seeds with sand to distribute them more evenly and see the planting line and density.
Sprinkle the seeds with earth, tamp a little.
Drizzle, cover with spunbond or plastic wrap to create an optimal humidity microclimate.

After that, it is worth watching the shoots that appear on the 5-10th day. The film can be removed to harden the plants; the sprouts under the spunbond can be looked after through the canvas. At the stage of 2-3 natural celery leaves, it is worth thinning out, leaving a distance of 15-20 cm between the plants. Thinned plants can be dived.

When an adult plant reaches a height of 25-30 cm, the rosette of leaves should be tied in order to get even and dense petioles. This is not required for self-bleaching varieties.

Care and features of growing celery stalks, or on the way to large yields

We can say that celery is a culture that is undemanding to grow. Even if you devote a minimum amount of time to grooming, celery will give petioles. Only their height, taste and aroma will be poor. Therefore, a little concern - and everyone will have the opportunity to get a good result!

In caring for stalked celery, it is important:

watering. The plant does not tolerate drought well, so it is worth watering moderately and regularly. Stagnation of water in the garden is not allowed, however, it is better that the root is moistened almost all the time. The upper airing of the soil is allowed up to 7 cm;
feeding with nitrogen fertilizers up to 4 times per season. In this regard, celery is "gluttonous", responds well to feeding and pleases with the result;
loosening the soil and removing weeds.

Attention! Growing stalked celery requires hilling! This is necessary so that the petioles are bleached (you can use grandfather's method - wrap with paper) and have the maximum height.

The average ripening period for petioled celery is 120-150 days. At the end of the formation of the plant, it can be periodically dug up and eaten. For the winter, the plants need to be dug out together with the root, the root must be slightly peeled, laid horizontally in heating, used as needed.

The best varieties of stalked celery: descriptions

Petiole celery is a culture for the elite, those who bake it, use it in freshand also loves cocktails. For such gardeners, breeders have developed varieties that delight good harvests, simple care, frost resistance. Among all the varieties can be distinguished:

Tango late (180 days). It is characterized by a flat vertical rosette of leaves, powerful bluish-green petioles. Yieldy, transportable, fragrant;
Triumph, medium late (130 days). Rosette height of leaves - 65 cm, petioles - 30 cm, color - dark emerald;
Malachite, early (80 days). The height of the petioles is 20-25 cm, bleached, fleshy and juicy, without veins.

The best option for novice gardeners is to choose seeds of several varieties, sow, grow petioles and notice the difference. And on next year give preference best grade... There are no particular difficulties in growing stalked celery. The main thing is the choice of the variety, the preparation of the soil mixture, the hilling. And a great harvest will not keep you waiting!

A personal plot is needed not so much to generate income, but to get the most useful and fresh harvest, so when planning a spring planting, remember that there is petiolate celery in nature. Growing and caring for it is not a big deal. You can also grow leafy celery. These two types will help diversify the menu and enrich the diet with vitamins.

Preparing the garden

First you need to decide on a place for planting celery. It should be well lit, but slight shading is allowed. Prolonged heat and constant drying out of the soil is difficult for the plant.

The soil should be loose, fertilized, if it is clay, then rotted sawdust or compost is added. Like many other crops, celery prefers neutral acidity. It is advisable to prepare a site for planting a plant in the fall, adding 5 kg of humus to each m2.

Celery grows well after pumpkins, zucchini, watermelons, cabbage, tomatoes. In areas where carrots, parsley, parsnips or other umbrella plants were planted in the previous year, it is better not to plant it. Otherwise, diseases may spread, poor harvest.

Variety selection

Effective cultivation of stalked celery from seeds is impossible without choosing a variety and buying seed. The early varieties Zolotoy and Malachite are popular. Many people like the long, thick petioles of the late Tango variety, appreciated for its pleasant smell and long shelf life. There are also varieties of Pascal, Triumph, Golden Pen and others. Each of them is characterized by its own ripening period, stem size, resistance to high and low temperatures... The taste and aroma of the petioles may vary slightly.

There are much more varieties of leaf celery. They differ in the length of the growing season, leaf shape, aroma intensity, and drought resistance. The most famous varieties include Samurai, Gentle, Parus, Kartuli, Vodrost.

When buying seed, pay attention to the expiration dates on the packaging. Small celery seeds are stored for a maximum of 2 years. The longer they lie, the more they lose germination.

How to grow seedlings

Cultivated celery (fragrant) - herbaceous biennial plant... All species and varieties easily tolerate frost -6 ° C, they can winter under the snow. The seeds are very small, germinate for a long time, therefore, seedlings are first grown, and then the plant is transplanted to permanent place to the garden or greenhouse.

Sowing begins at the end of February or in the first days of March. You should pay attention to the recommendations for the cultivation of this or that variety, since leaf celery usually emerges faster than petiole. Only the timing is different, but otherwise the cultivation of seedlings is similar.

Celery seeds are soaked for 2-3 days in lukewarm clean water, it is convenient to use a tissue or paper napkin for this.
In a tray 7 cm deep, soil is poured for growing seedlings, loosened, leveled and watered from a watering can or spray bottle to upper layer was well hydrated.
The seeds are slightly dried so that they do not stick to the hands, and are evenly scattered over the ground.
You can sprinkle on top with a thin layer of soil or cover with plastic wrap. This is to prevent moisture from evaporating.
Seeds will germinate in 2, maximum 3 weeks at + 20 ° C.
When 2 permanent leaves appear, the seedlings are dived or thinned out. The distance between the bushes should be 5-6 cm.

Counting 70 days from the day of planting, you will get the approximate time for planting celery in the open-air garden or greenhouse. To increase seed germination, they can be stratified. Stratification is performed in the following way:

The seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth and kept for 5 days at room (+22 ° C) temperature, wetting from time to time.
For 10 days, a cloth with seed is placed in the refrigerator.

After cold treatment, growing of seedlings is faster and better. If you purchased seeds that are granular or inlaid (covered with a special shell), then you do not need to soak them, otherwise the agricultural technology is the same as for ordinary seeds.

Transplanting and caring for stalked celery

Planting into the ground begins in May, when the soil warms up enough. Rows are dug every 40 cm, and the bushes are planted at a distance of 20-25 cm from each other. You can select a separate area or plant celery between the ridges of other vegetable crops (tomato, onion, cabbage, etc.).

For planting, furrows or separate holes are made about 10 cm deep. It is important not to cover the place where the stem begins to branch, so that the petiole can develop quickly.

Top dressing begins only after the celery is rooted. Liquid infusion is preferable for feeding cow dung or chicken droppings... If there is no manure, then it is replaced with nitrogen fertilizers. Petiole celery improves growth with potassium salt.

To retain moisture, the soil around the rooted plants is mulched. In this case, you cannot fill up the place in which the root passes into the stem.

When the thickening of the stem is noticeable, hilling is carried out. Diligent loosening of the soil, pulling out weeds, discourages slugs from stalks and contributes to the formation of a juicy petiole. When hilling, try not to cover the root collar.

Petiole whitening

Celery, which is 25-30 cm long, has thick green stems with a specific bitter taste. There are several ways to whiten them and take away the bitterness.

About a month before harvesting, carry out high hilling. The earth will not give sunlight penetrate to the petioles, and they will gradually become light green, almost white.
The leaves are loosely tied with a soft twine, and the stem is covered with cardboard to the ground.
Instead of cardboard, you can use newspaper, pipe cuttings, dark plastic bottles, straw.

When light access to the petioles is limited, they lose excess essential oils, the vegetable will acquire a more delicate pleasant taste and become white.

When using packaging material, it should be remembered that it should not smell like anything, because celery strongly absorbs ambient odors.

If there is no desire to engage in hilling, strapping and fencing, then they buy self-bleaching varieties. But some of them do not tolerate cold and do not store for long.

How to Get Large Yields of Leafy Celery

Leaf celery is popular in salads and seasonings; productive cultivation from the seeds of this species has some peculiarities.

In leaf celery, seeds germinate a little faster than in petiole, leaves develop more intensively. This allows the plant to be cultivated in northern regions... Sowing of seeds begins in the first half of March. And at the end of the first summer month, you can already cut the greens, adding them to salads, soups, sauces.

Every year the popularity of celery grows more and more, which was grown in Europe in the 18th century as ornamental plant... Today this vegetable crop is used for making salads, smoothies, soups. The popularity of the vegetable is due to its useful properties, because roots and leaves contain a large amount of various microelements and vitamins, amino acids, valuable for humans, essential oils, nicotinic acid, carotene and fiber. The growing season for celery is long, so they are grown seedling method... When to plant celery for seedlings by Lunar calendar and how to properly grow a vegetable crop you can learn from our article.

The growing season for celery lasts four to five and a half months, so useful plant should be grown through seedlings. Sowing seeds should be done about 70 days before planting celery seedlings in open ground, having previously selected suitable dates according to the lunar calendar.

Celery planting calendar for seedlings in 2019:

Seeds can be sown throughout February and at the beginning of March, so that the seedlings grow up by the onset of heat, and it can be planted in the garden in April in warm regions, and in May or June in Siberia, the Urals and other more northern regions.

Types and varieties of celery

Three types of celery are grown in culture:

petiolate;
sheet;
root.

Stalked celery varieties

The petiolate form of root crops does not form. Its nutritional and beneficial value in fleshy stalks. The most popular varieties:

Triumph is a plant with dark green petioles up to 30 cm long, medium late variety;
Tango - ripening in about 170 days, the variety is distinguished by bluish-green petioles that grow long, curved and do not have coarse fibers;
Golden - ripening in 150 days, the variety has excellent taste;
Malachite - a variety with dark green fleshy and juicy petioles ripens in just 80 days.

Leaf celery varieties

In order to consume vitamin greens throughout the summer, a leafy species can be grown in the beds in the garden vegetable crops... Popular varieties:

Spartan - the variety ripens in 80-85 days and has fragrant dark green large leaves;
Samurai - ripening in about two and a half months, the variety looks like parsley with its corrugated leaves;
Vigor - resistant to low temperatures and droughts, the variety ripens a little over two months and is distinguished by fragrant and glossy leaves, which are heavily dissected;
Zakhar - giving large yields of greenery mid-season variety has fragrant and delicate leaves;
Sail - ripening for about three months, the variety is distinguished by fragrant leaves with good taste;
Delicate - the leaves of this variety can be used both fresh and dried, they ripen 105-110 days after germination.

Root celery - varieties

The plant is grown for the sake of obtaining root crops, the benefits of which are compared with healing properties ginseng roots. Root crops can weigh from five hundred to nine hundred grams. Root celery is divided into mid-early, mid-season and late varieties, among which are:

Gribovsky is a mid-early variety with roots weighing from 60 to 130 grams, the light flesh of which has yellow spots and pleasant aroma, you can eat root vegetables fresh and dried;
The Prague giant matures in 120 days, has large turnip-like roots, which have a fragrant and tender pulp that tastes good;
Strongman - mid-season variety has yellowish roots weighing about 400 grams with sweet, white flesh, ripens in about 170 days;
Albin - the variety that ripens in 120 days is different high yield, rounded roots and juicy white pulp;
Maxim is a late-ripening variety with roots weighing about 0.5 kg and creamy pulp with a spicy delicate taste, roots ripen for about 200 days;
Anita - productive variety ripens for about 160 days, has oval or rounded light beige roots weighing about 0.4 kg and snow-white pulp.

Growing celery from seeds

Celery seed processing

In February or March, it is necessary to start processing the planting material. Such treatment is necessary in order for the seeds to germinate faster. Otherwise, seedlings may appear only after a month, since in planting material vegetable crops contain essential oils that inhibit seed germination.

Processing procedure:

hold the seeds in water for a day;
soak for 45 minutes in 1% potassium manganese solution;
rinse and dry;
spread out on a damp cloth and keep at a temperature of about +20 degrees until they bite.

Planting celery seeds

For crops, seedling boxes are prepared, which are filled with soil for seedlings from a store or soil prepared by yourself. The soil mixture is mixed from the following components:

humus - 1 part;
low-lying peat - 3 parts;
sod land - 1 part.

Coarse sand is added to the finished soil, a glass wood ash and a teaspoon of urea.

The hatched seeds are mixed with sand and sown in grooves, the distance between which should be three or four centimeters. Sprinkle the crops on top with wet sand, cover with cling film or glass and place in a warm place (you can put it near the battery).

Every day, the crops are aired, and when dry, the topsoil is sprayed with warm water from a spray bottle.

Celery seedling care

If the seeds have been processed, the first seedlings will begin to appear within a week. They will immediately need to be rearranged to a well-lit, cool place where there is no direct sunlight, and the air temperature is within +16 degrees.

In the seedling period, caring for root celery is no different from caring for and growing petiole and leaf celery. Seedlings must be watered, fed and dived in a timely manner.

Picking has the following features:

Leaf and petiole celery you can simply thin out, leaving a distance of 4-5 cm between the plants.If the container is small, then the seedlings are transplanted into a more spacious box, seating them at a distance of 5 cm from each other.
Root celery it is necessary to dive, using for this peat pots... Before planting in a new container central root the seedling is pinched one third of the length. In the soil, the plants must be covered up to the cotyledon leaves.

The seedlings planted in new containers are kept in the shade for the first three days. It should be grown after a pick at a temperature of about +15 degrees, I lower the temperature at night to +12 degrees.

Top dressing of seedlings

The seedlings are fertilized for the first time 7-10 days after the pick. To do this, use Nitrofoska, a teaspoon of which is diluted in a bucket of water. For one bush, you will need two or three tablespoons of top dressing.

Planting celery outdoors

When the soil warms up in the garden, and the seedlings grow to about 12-15 cm and have four or five leaves, the celery is planted in the garden bed. 10-14 days before, the seedlings begin to harden and gradually accustom them to fresh air on the balcony or plot.

You can plant celery after cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, legumes... You cannot make a bed for celery after carrots, parsnips, parsley, dill.

Soil for celery should be slightly alkaline or neutral, fertile and loose. Vegetables should be grown in a well-lit, open place.

compost or humus - 3-4 kg;
double superphosphate - 20 g;
in spring - 40 g of mineral complex fertilizer.

How to plant celery

Landing different types vegetable crop is slightly different:

leaf and petiole celery planted at a distance between plants of 15-20 cm, and between rows - 30 cm;
landing pattern root celery - 40X50 cm.

When planting, the seedlings are buried to the cotyledonous leaves, and covered with a soil mixture, which is pre-mixed with a handful of ash and humus. The plantings are well watered and shaded for several days with newspaper or paper from the sun's rays.

Growing celery root, petiole and leaf in the open field

Watering

Watering the planting beds should be regular and abundant, since celery loves moisture. For one square meter of a land plot, 20-25 liters of water will be needed. The soil should always be moist, therefore, in hot weather without rain, watering is done daily.

Top dressing

The first time they feed the seedlings, as described above in the article.
The second feeding should be done a week after planting in the garden. Herbal infusion can be used as fertilizer.
Infusion of chicken manure or mullein plants are fertilized two weeks after the second feeding.
At the end of July for everyone square meter the beds are made 30 grams of superphosphate.

Preparing to harvest

So that the root crop grows well plants, in the middle of summer near root celery, the leaves are pressed to the ground and cut off the lateral roots, after removing the top layer of soil.

At harvest time, the root and petiole celery is dug up completely. In leafy species, you can only cut off the leaves or dig out bushes, plant in pots and grow them on a windowsill.

The valuable vegetable celery today is increasingly grown also because when it is eaten, calories are not collected, but burned. Eating leaves, roots and root vegetables will improve your well-being, reduce fatigue and relieve stress.

Growing stalked celery with excellent qualities is not a very simple matter, and caring for it has its own characteristics. Due to the fact that celery seeds sprout for a long time, and the stem slowly increases in volume,. It is necessary to take care of the plant regularly, without violating the technology, - only then the stem will turn out juicy, crunchy and without a bitter aftertaste.

Growing celery seedlings

It is impossible to be late with the term of growing celery seedlings. The later the seeds sprout, the later the seedlings are planted in open ground, the thinner the cuttings will be for celery. They will not have time to increase the volume until the autumn frosts, because the ripening period for celery is long - from 90 to 150 days, depending on the variety. Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out from late February to mid-March. In warm regions best time sowing - February, in colder - March.

Due to the high content of essential oils, the seeds sprout slowly and not amicably. Germination can be accelerated if, before sowing, they are soaked in very warm water, the temperature of which is + 55-60 ° C. The water is changed several times - after it has cooled to room temperature... After the last soak, the seeds are washed in cool water.

Germination can be increased if the seeds are germinated. There are two ways to do this.

Place a damp cloth on the bottom of the container. Seeds are laid out in a thin layer. To create the desired microclimate, the container is covered with glass or cling film. The place for germination should be warm, + 25 ° С. Airing is carried out regularly. The fabric is often moistened and should not be allowed to dry out.
Well-moistened sawdust mixed with clean sand is poured into a shallow container. The seeds are scattered over the sawdust surface. Then, just as in the first method, cover with glass, put in a warm place, periodically ventilate and moisten.

The soil for seedlings is chosen as nutritious and loose. It is poured into boxes and grooves are made 0.5 cm deep at a distance of 3 cm from each other. The seeds are laid out on the bottom of the grooves, slightly pressing them to the soil. You can not sprinkle the earth on top. Sprouted seeds must be sown carefully, trying not to damage the sprout.

It is convenient to use a match to place the sprouted seeds in the seed boxes. Its end is moistened and the seeds adhere easily to the wet part. This makes sowing easier and prevents the seedlings from breaking off.

The soil must be constantly moistened, this must be monitored. Until the first leaves appear, the seedlings must be covered with cling film. After their appearance, the film is removed, and after a week the box is transferred to a cool, bright place. The optimum air temperature is + 15 ° С. Under such conditions, celery seedlings will grow strong and will not stretch out.

When 3-4 true leaves appear, the seedlings dive. It is best to place them in separate containers, and if this is not possible, then in a box bigger size at a distance of 4x4 cm from each other. Watering the seedlings is abundant, regular, but excess water must be drained through the drainage holes.

A week before planting in open ground, the seedlings begin to harden, taking them outside under the sun.

You can plant stalked celery in an open field in mid-May. The bed is prepared in 10 days: all weeds with roots are removed, well-rotted manure is introduced, dug up and leveled.

On the day of planting, grooves are prepared with a depth of 10 cm at a distance of 30-40 cm from one another. The soil in containers with celery should be moist, this will prevent it from crumbling during transplanting. If the soil does not lag behind the walls of the cups, you can draw a thin knife between the walls and a lump of earth. Planting should be done a little deeper than the seedlings were in the container, but the point of growth of the leaves should not be deepened. In one row, there should be a distance of 15 cm between plants.

Celery is planted densely so that as little light as possible falls on the base of the stem - this increases its nutritional value and improves taste. Leaves, on the contrary, should be in bright light, through them the process of photosynthesis will take place.

It is good to plant stalk celery next to cabbage, it prevents the appearance of such pests as cabbage white on it. Celery is also a desirable neighbor for tomatoes.

Care

Until the celery has grown, it is necessary to prevent the growth of weeds. Celery grows slowly for the first month, and weeds can drown it out. After the stems begin to thicken, hilling must be carried out. If the plantings are thickened, then the soil for hilling should not be taken from the same beds, so as not to damage the plants growing nearby. It is better to cover the base of the stem with turf or compost. When hilling, it remains white color stem.

Before hilling, small petioles that will no longer have time to gain weight are removed. The rest are tied at the level of the leaves so that they do not break when they are covered with earth.

Watering should be constantly monitored. The soil should not dry out, but it should not block the base of the celery either.

Excessive dryness of the soil will lead to the fact that the stem changes its characteristics:

will cease to be juicy and elastic,
will crack
will acquire bitterness;
the structure of the stem will be fibrous;
the plant will release a peduncle arrow and begin to set seeds.

With excessive moisture, the stems can begin to rot, and the likelihood of fungal diseases increases.

Top dressing is important for celery. The first time is fed two to three weeks after planting. Prepare a solution of mullein (1 part of fertilizer to 10 parts of water) or bird droppings (1 part of fertilizer to 20 parts of water). The second time is fed three weeks later with a complex mineral fertilizer, but the percentage of nitrogen should be minimal. With an excess of nitrogen in the soil, the petioles can crack in the same way as with a lack of watering.

At the end of July, in order to protect the celery from greening, the stems must be wrapped in thick paper. You can use corrugated cardboard, paper wallpaper, craft paper. It is undesirable for the paper to contain inscriptions made with typographic ink. For wrapping, you can use agrofibre of both white and black colors of maximum density. The main thing is that air passes through the material used for wrapping.

The entire stem must be protected from sunlight up to the point where foliage begins to grow. The paper is wrapped so that there is a small gap, but at the same time it does not dangle from the wind. The protection is not removed until the harvest itself.

Leaves can be selectively harvested from each plant during the season for use as food. They can be eaten fresh or dried for the winter.

If necessary, the petioles can be harvested at the end of summer. At the same time, the largest ones are broken off, but no more than 5 pieces from one plant. The main harvest begins in September. Dig out the most large plants, the rest can ripen until October.

If the dug out celery is placed in the basement, having dug the roots into wet sand, then it can be stored for up to two months. Excess stalk celery can be frozen. After defrosting, they are stewed, baked and used for the first courses.

Trench method of growing celery

If there is enough space on the site, then celery can be grown by the trench method. The cultivation is carried out in stages.

Trenches 30 cm deep and 20 cm wide are being prepared. There should be a distance of at least 70 cm between the trenches for convenience.
When digging, all the soil is folded into a mound along the trench, on the north side. It will serve as protection from cold weather in spring and early summer.
A mixture of earth with humus is poured at the bottom.
Planting seedlings is carried out in the center of the trench, at a distance of 15-20 cm between plants.
At first, care is carried out in the same way as with a normal planting.
After the stem begins to thicken, the first filling of the trench is carried out. The soil is taken from a mound and covered with celery to the foliage.
Hilling is carried out several times, until all the soil dug out of the trench is used up.
In autumn, harvesting is carried out carefully so as not to damage the stems.

When grown in this way, the stem is white, juicy, and there is no bitterness. In addition, it is not necessary to wrap the stems with this method.

Self-bleaching varieties

The stems of common varieties require bleaching or they become unusable. Currently, varieties have been bred that do not require such care - they are juicy, crunchy without much effort.

Despite this advantage, these varieties have a significant disadvantage:

they are afraid of even light frost;
have a short shelf life.

It is necessary to harvest the crop immediately, without waiting for the onset of cold weather. If the weather forecast promises a drop in temperature already at the beginning of September, then all the celery should be harvested, even if the stems have not yet grown the required volume of all the plants. The collected self-bleaching celery petioles are not stored for a long time. If they are wrapped in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator, then the maximum shelf life is two weeks.

Output

Growing quality stalked celery requires constant care. Top dressing and watering should be carried out regularly, and without bleaching the petioles lose quality and taste. If it is impossible to spend a lot of time caring for celery, self-bleaching varieties can be grown. because of short term storage is not necessary to plant it a lot. It is enough to plant a few bushes so that you can use them within two to three weeks.