Rules for growing root celery and some care features

The cultivation of root celery is now rarely practiced by gardeners, but in vain. Caring for him has features, but it is not difficult and does not take much time. The correct choice of seeds and selection of varieties will ensure good germination. Compliance with planting dates will allow the root crop to gain weight and ripen. With regular care, the fruits will be juicy, tasty and free from defects.

Seed selection

When choosing seeds, you should give preference to early and large-fruited varieties. The seeds must be fresh.

Root celery has a long growing season. From sowing seeds to harvesting, it takes 4 to 5 months. This must be taken into account when choosing a variety. If in the southern regions spring begins early and any variety has time to ripen, then in the middle lane only early ripening varieties are suitable for growing.

Advice

It is advisable to opt for large-fruited varieties. The celery root crop has irregularities on the surface, and when cleaning it, you have to cut off a thick layer of the skin. On large fruits, this is not noticeable, and on small ones, after cleansing, almost no pulp remains.

Root celery seeds quickly lose their germination and have a short shelf life. When buying, select the seed only from last year's harvest. It is unlikely that old seeds will sprout and planting time will be missed.

Sowing timing and seed preparation

In the middle lane, celery is grown only by the seedling method. Sowing seeds in open ground will not lead to success.

The term for planting seeds for seedlings is from the second decade of February to mid-March. With an earlier planting, the seedlings will stretch, and the development of the root crop will be delayed. With a later sowing, celery will not have time to gain weight by autumn.

Due to the content in the shell of celery seeds of a large amount of essential oils, their germination is difficult. You need to take a little more seed than it is planned to collect root crops.

There are two ways to speed up the germination of celery.

1. The seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth and placed in a warm place. Care must be taken to ensure that the fabric does not dry out. Dried seeds are not suitable for planting. When white sprouts hatch, they are planted in the ground, in a small tray.
2. The planting material is washed in very warm water. The temperature should be between 35 and 40 ° C. For this procedure, the seeds are wrapped in a cotton cloth and placed in a container with water. When the water starts to cool down, it is changed to a new one. Washing time is 2 hours. Before planting, the seeds are slightly dried to a crumbly state.

Sowing seedlings

For planting, you will need a small tray, soil and cover film.

Celery has two soil requirements:

• the soil should not be sour;
• clay, heavy earth is not suitable.

The soil can be bought in the store, universal is suitable for seedlings. You can take nutritious soil from the garden. Before planting, the soil is moistened with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Seedling planting rules

• It is recommended to plant in a 2x2 cm pattern. To easily place seeds on the soil surface, you can use a toothpick or a match. Its tip is moistened with water, and the seed easily sticks to it.
• Seeding depth - maximum 0.5 cm.
• The soil must be moist, it must not be allowed to dry out.
• To facilitate the care and maintenance of a humid microclimate, a film is pulled from above.
• Place the tray in a warm, dark place. Celery grows best in the dark.

Advice

If there is a lot of planting material, then the seeds can be scattered over the soil involuntarily. After the emergence of shoots, the excess is removed.

The method of sowing on snow has proven itself well. To do this, grooves are made in the seedling tray 0.5 cm deep, and they are covered with a layer of snow. The seeds are placed on the surface. The snow gradually melts, and the seeds are at the right depth. When using this method, drainage holes are made at the bottom of the tray to drain excess moisture.

Seedling care

As soon as shoots have appeared, it is necessary to remove the film. The tray with seedlings is moved to a bright, cool place. The recommended temperature is 15-18 °. In such conditions, the seedlings will turn out to be strong, the seedlings will not stretch.

Caring for celery seedlings consists in keeping the soil moist. Celery seedlings are very thin and weak at first. In order not to damage them, it is better to replace watering with spraying from a spray bottle. The water should be at room temperature.

When the seedlings grow up and two real leaves appear on them, a pick is carried out. To do this, you can use peat cups, disposable dishes with a volume of 200 or 300 ml, deep food containers.

When transplanting, the celery root must be shortened (pinched) by 1/3. This will give an impetus to the beginning of the formation of the root crop.

Seedlings must be planted deep in the ground, up to the cotyledon leaves.

Important!

In celery, the leaves grow in a bunch, therefore, when diving, it is impossible to deepen and sprinkle the growth point with earth.

Caring for the chopped celery is simple:

• the place should remain cool and sunny;
• the soil should not dry out;
• if there is still a lot of time before planting in open ground, then the seedlings need to be fed with complex mineral fertilizer.

A good seedling is one that has formed 3-4 strong leaves 15-17 cm high.

Transplanting

Term planting seedlings in open ground it should be chosen so that warm weather is established, and the return of night frosts is unlikely. Usually, planting celery in the garden is carried out in mid-May.

It is advisable to prepare the garden bed in the fall: weeds are removed, rotted manure is introduced, the soil is dug up. When planting celery, it is necessary to select the roots of perennial weeds from the soil.

When choosing a place for celery, consider the following:

• celery grows poorly on acidic soils;
• in frequently flooded areas, root crops are susceptible to fungal and bacterial diseases;
• if the soil is heavy, a drainage layer on the bed is required;
• fresh manure does not like celery.

The best time to plant is a cloudy day. On a sunny day, it is advisable to plant in the evening, when the sun stops baking.

The distance between plants should be:

• 40 cm - for large-fruited varieties;
• 25 cm - for medium height.

The seedlings are deepened into the ground to the same height as they grew in the cups.

Caring for newly planted celery is to protect it from night frost. In the case when the weather forecast promises a drop in temperature, the bed must be covered with agrofibre. If in autumn celery easily tolerates a weak frost, then low temperature has an adverse effect on young plants: instead of growing the root crop, celery releases a peduncle on which seeds are tied.

Important!

Shelter from the night spring frosts for young celery is imperative so that flower stalks do not form.

Caring for celery in the garden

Summer celery care includes:

• weeding;
• loosening;
• keeping the soil slightly moist;
• fertilization;
• removal of extreme leaves;
• shoveling off the soil from the root crop;
• removal of lateral roots.

Weeding and loosening are carried out in the first half of summer. After the celery leaves have grown and closed, the growth of the weeds stops.

Watering is carried out as the soil dries up. In order for the roots to be juicy and tasty, the soil must be constantly moist.An important condition: it is necessary to water at the root. Facilitates drip irrigation care.

If the celery bed was filled with fertilizer in the fall, then organic matter can be dispensed with. It is enough to add boric acid during the formation of root crops, and in the second half of summer - complex mineral fertilizer.

If the soil is depleted, then organic matter is introduced in the first half of summer. It can be an infusion of mullein, bird droppings, ash. Celery responds well to infusion of nettle or any other herb.

Growing root celery is slightly different from growing other root crops. To get a full, large, flawless fruit, special care is required.

• The soil around the celery is raked away so that the top of the fruit is above the ground.
• The side roots growing on the top are cut off with a sharp, clean knife.
• The outer leaves, the base of the stem of which cracked and began to dry out, must be removed. Delicate leaves from the cut stems are cut off. They can be used for food or prepared for the winter. They have a spicy taste.

Such care must be carried out every 7-10 days. If, after watering or rain, the root crop is again covered with earth, then the dulling will have to be carried out more often. By autumn, almost all of the fruit should be above the soil level.

Only this kind of care allows you to get large, even fruits. With regular watering, their flesh will be firm, juicy and tasty, and the bitterness content will be minimal.

Harvesting and storage

Root crops are harvested in October, when the night temperature drops to minus 3 °. Such fruits have a long shelf life and contain the greatest amount of nutrients.

In order not to damage the roots, they are dug up with a pitchfork. They are left to dry in the fresh air for several hours. Then they carry out pruning:

• the roots are removed almost completely, leaving several large roots;
• the leaves are cut, leaving petioles 5 cm long.

The best place to store celery is in the basement. Clean wet sand is poured into the boxes. The root crop is deepened into it by 1/4. As it dries, the sand must be moistened.

A quick guide to growing celery

• Early large-fruited varieties should be preferred.
• Seeds for seedlings are sown in February or early March.
• They are planted in the garden when the threat of frost has passed. At first, it is advisable to cover at night.
• The soil must be constantly moist.
• Watering is carried out at the root.
• Once a week, they shake off the soil around the root crops.
• All upper side roots are trimmed.
• Extreme yellowed, drying out or very large leaves are removed.
• Top dressing is carried out 2-3 times per summer.
• Root crops are removed from the garden when the night temperature begins to drop below zero.

By following these recommendations, you can grow a full crop.