Vegetable cultures of the umbrella family, which includes celery, cultivation in European latitudes are tolerated well, that's why they are very popular with truck farmers. In nature there are more than 20 of its species, but not all of them are suitable for planting in the suburban area.
Types of celery
Umbrellas can be biennials or perennials, but only the first ones are suitable for cultivation in a temperate climate. Cultivation and care of celery in the open ground helps to get juicy green leaves, which can be phased out over a period of almost a year. There are only three types of vegetables, among them:
- Cornflower. It is used, as a rule, for the preparation of salads. Petioles grow to 4 cm in thickness and contain many mineral salts and vitamins. The main disadvantage of varieties of this type is low frost resistance.
- Root. When growing celery, this variety produces large fleshy roots with a bright aroma, which is enhanced by heat treatment.
- Sheet. Its seeds are used to make seasoning - celery salt. Celery leaf does not have root crops and fleshy petioles.
Planting celery
The harvest from this culture can only be achieved in the second year. In the first, it forms a rosette of dark green leaves, which is sometimes combined with petioles - depending on the chosen variety. Planting and caring for celery in the open ground for the second year gives the shoots, from which forms a stem, whose height is about 30-100 cm, and umbellate inflorescences. You can grow it in two ways:
- through seedlings;
- planting seeds in the ground.
Planting celery sprouts
Seeds, the shelf life of which ends no earlier than the next year, pre-washed under a stream of hot water and tied in cheesecloth to soak three days. After soaking the seeds, you need to dry it a little on paper and you can proceed to seeding, which consists of several stages:
- Preparation of boxes with loose earth from the garden, mixed with sand or humus.
- Watering the soil with boiling water with potassium permanganate for a couple of days before sowing: growing celery seedlings will then be protected from pathogens.
- Moistening of the soil immediately before sowing and grooving in the depth of a centimeter.
- Sowing seeds with an interval of up to 5 cm.
- Sprinkling seeds with a very thin layer of earth, so that they sprout faster.
- Moistening the soil with water from a spray gun, so that the celery, which is grown at home, can be covered with a film to create a mini-greenhouse effect. The first sprouts above the ground should appear in five days.
- After the first real leaf, the celery is dived into the pots. Seedlings are transplanted to a bed of fertile land in dry warm weather at a distance of at least 30 cm from each other.
Celery - planting seeds in the ground
Growing under the condition of direct sowing into the soil can only leaf varieties of this vegetable. The choice of seeds is very important, because it largely determines the final result - the size and number of leaves, their quality and maturity. Therefore, it is important to choose the seeds of imported selection and early ripeness. Cultivation of celery from seeds follows the following principle:
- To accelerate the appearance of the first shoots, they are treated with growth stimulants and disinfectants by soaking.
- After soaking the seeds are picked to immediately get rid of small and damaged grains - you can not expect a harvest from them.
- The top layer of the bed should be covered with a layer of light soil mixture, so that the celery, the cultivation of which involves regular fertilization, could take root on it. The composition of the mixture is low peat, leaf earth, humus and sand.
- Seeds are laid in the soil in rows to a depth of not more than 1.5 cm. After the sowing is completed, it is recommended to pour the earth with warm water.
Celery planting time
This vegetable culture of the umbrella family ripens very long, so you need to pay special attention to the observance of the timing of sowing. It is produced as soon as possible, but taking into account the fact that after landing for at least a week, the weather should remain warm. Celery planting in autumn is also possible only under conditions of a greenhouse or under a film. Experienced gardener advise to listen to another pair of tips:
- Sowing in the ground is made in early April, if the celery planted in a non-seedlent way and closer to the end of the same month, subject to planting through seedlings.
- Before planting, the seeds are hardened by placing them on a saucer with a damp cloth and placing it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
- If the seedlings are transported to the open ground from the greenhouse, then this procedure can be carried out in early May.
Celery Growing Conditions
The relative cold resistance of the vegetable culture allows it to transfer without any problems possible temperature changes in early spring and late autumn. Adult plants are able to fully winter, even under the protective shelter of a small thickness. Features of growing celery are as follows:
- the correct watering frequency;
- regular feeding;
- pest control.
Watering celery
Umbrella vegetables love water, because otherwise they have a bitter taste. You can not tolerate the appearance of a peel on the kidney, as the technology of growing celery involves frequent loosening, useful for the root system. The irrigation system differs depending on the stage of growth of the vegetable:
- Before emergence, the soil should be moistened as the upper layer dries with water - warm and pre-settled.
- When the aboveground part of the celery begins to grow, it is watered at least 2 times a week.
Cultivation of celery - top dressing
For the period from planting to harvesting, it is required to carry out all two top dressings. The first is carried out after the first shoots were formed. For it fit organic fertilizers - biod, mullein or bird droppings. A mixture based on fermented grass is also suitable for this role - this is one of the secrets of growing celery leaf or petiolate varieties. The second fertilizer application is carried out after 3 weeks with one of the mineral fertilizers:
- phosphoric-potassium mass;
- phosphorite flour;
- superphosphate;
- potassium nitrate.
Celery - care
The main need of the plant is intensive hilling, so it is carried out at least 2-3 times during the period from planting to harvesting. It helps whiten the petioles and leaves and reduce the amount of strong-smelling essential oils. In growing outdoors and caring for celery, many gardeners especially distinguish mulching , because it gives a chance to cut labor costs by half. A layer of mulch covering the shoots helps to save on warm shelter, to refuse from loosening and weeding. As a material for it you can use:
- sawdust;
- bark;
- hay;
- cut paper.