Leaf celery - growing from seeds

Which of us would not like to improve our health and improve our appearance without much trouble? And although many will certainly decide that this is a utopia, you can achieve good results only by introducing into your diet one useful plant in every respect, the name of which is celery. Vitamins and trace elements, in large quantities contained in celery, not only have a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin and hair, but can also improve metabolism, lower blood pressure and improve blood flow. As you know, celery is of three types: root, petiolate and leaf. And if with the breeding of the first two you will have to tinker a lot, then with the cultivation of leaf celery, you can even cope with the absolute beginner in garden business.

How to plant leaf celery with seeds?

Let's take a step-by-step look at how to properly plant leaf celery:

1. Step 1 - seed selection and pre-plant preparation . Seeds of leaf celery are characterized by a high enough content of essential oils, as a result of which they quickly lose their germination capacity and are very hard to peck. Therefore, when buying, be sure to pay for the expiration date indicated on the bag. To improve germination before planting, the seeds must be treated: soak for a few hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate , then two to three days stand between several layers of damp cloth or cotton wool.
2. Step 2 - seeding the seeds . As an experiment, you can try to sow the seeds of leaf celery directly on the bed, but you need to be prepared to wait for the shoots to take a very long time. That is why the seedling method of cultivation is more often practiced, the time for sowing seeds is at the end of February - the first half of March. The soil for cultivation of celery seedlings should be loose and nutritious, and also have a neutral or slightly acid reaction. It is best to use for this mixture of peat, humus, turf and sand, taken in equal parts. Since the seeds of celery are very small, for convenience before planting, they can be mixed with clean and dry sand. Sowing occurs as follows: on the surface of the soil, shallow furrows are made (2-3 cm deep) at a distance of not less than 10 cm from each other, into which a mixture of sand and seeds is sown. Then grooves should be carefully poured a thin layer of peat.

Growing sprouts of leaf celery

Boxes with sown celery should be placed in a warm (+20 ... +22 degrees) and a dark room, leaving there until the appearance of the first shoots. In order not to wash the seeds and not to harm sufficiently fragile shoots in the future, watering the celery follows from the spray. As soon as the first sprouts appear from the ground, the conditions of the contents need to be changed a little: lower the temperature to +16 ... +18 degrees, simultaneously adding light. Since in March the natural lighting seedlings will clearly not be enough, then you have to attend to the installation of special phytolamps . When the seedlings enter the phase of two real leaves, it should be dived in separate pots, while trying not to damage the roots. Also, when picking, one should try not to slash the growth point, leaving it to rise above the ground level. You can transplant the leaf celery to the bed in the middle of May, while it is better to wait until the threat of night frosts finally passes by. In order for seedlings to survive the migration with the least losses, some time before it is necessary to temper it, exposing for several hours a day on a balcony or an open loggia.