Few of us do not know what root celery is, growing and caring for it is quite feasible to do on your own private plot, which makes it a desirable guest in the beds. This root is a real storehouse of vitamins and beneficial microelements. It is very well kept in the basement without much care and can be used for food throughout the winter season.
What does root celery look like?
The celery root looks like a round and dense root crop with an unusual aroma and flesh of a sweetish bitter taste. In diameter, it reaches 10 to 20 cm. On the lower part of the root crop there are root processes, at the top from it stem with leaves. At first glance, the root resembles an outgrowth on the bark of a tree. In general, it looks very exotic. Seeds of celery root type are small in size, resemble carrot seeds, but a few shades are darker.
Root celery - varieties
Having an idea of what a root celery looks like, you can delve into its variety, that is, in a variety. They differ, first of all, by the maturity of the harvest. So, the early varieties of root celery :
- The Prague giant . From the time of emergence to harvest, 120 days pass. The fruits are large, repoed, with a tender flesh, which has a strong aroma and bright taste.
- "Diamond" . The vegetative period is 150 days. The fruit weight is 200 grams, the pulp is white and preserves color after cooking.
- "The Cascade . " The period of ripening is 150 days after emergence. Roots are rounded, medium in size, with white flesh that does not change after cooking.
The medium-ripened root celery - growing and caring for it takes up to 180 days:
- "Strong" . Harvesting takes place 170 days after emergence. By this time, root crops gain mass of 400 grams. They have a rounded shape, the flesh is slightly yellow, with a bright aroma.
- "Egor" . From the first shoots to full maturation is 180 days. Roots are smooth, round, with gray skin and white flesh.
- "The Giant . " Its rounded fruits reach a weight of 700 grams, their peel is light beige, the flesh is white, with a pleasant aroma and sweet taste.
Late root celery varieties:
- Anita . On average, its vegetative period lasts 160 days. Fruits are oval, with a weight of up to 400 grams, with a light beige skin, a snow-white fragrant flesh.
- "Maxim" . The maturation period of root crops is 200 days. Their flesh is dense, creamy-white, with a delicate piquant taste. The weight of each fruit reaches 500 grams.
Planting of root celery into the open ground
Because of the long period of maturation, the root celery, which you plan to grow and care for yourself, must be planted solely by seedling method. Plant root celery can be in late February, in extreme cases - until mid-March. In the open ground, seedlings can be transplanted in mid-May, when stable warm weather is established on the street.
Planting seedlings of root celery
What is needed to carry out the cultivation of root celery seedlings:
- Prepare the seeds. They must necessarily be fresh, because they quickly lose their germination. Before planting in the soil, they must be soaked in water for 1-2 days until they are pierced. This is important because on top they are covered with essential oils that hinder the germination process.
- Prepare the soil. The best soil for cultivation of celery seedlings is a mixture of peat, humus, turf and mullein in the proportion of 6: 2: 1: 1. A simpler variant is a mixture of biohumus and sand in equal parts.
On the question, how to grow a celery root, you can say - very slowly, especially at the beginning of the growing season. It requires special care: before landing in the ground, you will have to dive it , while shortening its main root by 0.5-1 cm. Without observing this condition, you will not be able to grow large fruits. Picks in individual pots, as one of the stages of grooming during cultivation, is made at the time of appearance of 2 real leaves on the seedlings.
Root celery - how to plant seeds?
So, how to grow root celery from seeds: for this, the prepared planting material should be sown in boxes with soil according to the scheme of 2x2 cm. For even distribution of seeds, you can use a toothpick. First, it makes holes in the ground, then in these holes put seeds. You can fill up the ground with only 0.5 cm of earth, after which the box is covered with a film and placed in a dark place with a temperature of + 25 ° С. Care at this stage is simple: as drying, the land is poured from the sprayer.
The first entries will appear after a week. Once the root celery has risen above the ground, its cultivation and maintenance should be carried out at a temperature of up to + 16 ° C. That the seedling is not stretched, it is necessary to provide her care in the form of additional illumination by phytolamps . Such care measures as regular soil moistening, airing, timely picking in the process of cultivation will give their results - seedlings will grow strong and healthy.
Growing of root celery in the open ground
In May, along with other seedlings, the root celery is planted on the beds, growing and caring for it later has its own nuances. Between the plants should be a distance of at least 30 cm. When planting seedlings in the ground, you need only to damp the growth point to exclude the appearance of unnecessary accessory roots. Root celery and its cultivation are a bit different from caring for other types of celery. For example, the peculiarities of growing a root celery are that it needs help to form a root crop.
How to form root celery?
The first stage of root formation was described above - this is a picking of root celery at the time of growing seedlings. Further, in order to obtain a beautiful and smooth root celery, its cultivation and care must be accompanied by such measures:
- Maintain a constant soil moisture on the bed. This is necessary in order to make the fruit smooth and juicy. Continue such care is necessary up to harvesting, so it is better to increase the heads. Watering should be carried out strictly under the root.
- At the moment when the root begins to thicken, you need to start gently rake off its top of the earth, along with cutting off the lateral roots with a knife. This will give it a more even shape.
- It is contraindicated to grow roots when growing a vegetable - this only provokes the growth of the lateral rootlets, which will spoil the shape of the root crop.
- Periodically, when growing celery, you can cut off the last leaves and use them in food. In this case it is inadmissible to cut off all the leaves at once - the root crop in this case will not ripen.
- Loosen rows between rows regularly until the foliage over them closes.
How to feed root celery?
Top dressing of celery root as one of the important moments of leaving, will give an excellent result if to produce it competently. It is recommended 4-fold fertilizer of celery during the vegetative period:
- After planting seedlings in the open ground for better rooting and rapid growth, you need to water the beds with herbal solution.
- About a month later, the celery is fed with infusion of celery.
- In the period before July 15 it is useful to feed the plants with Azpho and monophosphate.
- At the ovary stage of the head, it is necessary to shed the beds with a solution of boric acid.
When to clean the root celery?
Anyone who knows how to grow root celery, is aware that you can not rush to harvest, as the celery is able to withstand light autumn frosts. You can start digging roots in early or mid October. By this time they will accumulate in themselves all the nutrients and will reach a good mass. To get them out of the ground was easier, you must first water the beds. It is necessary to work with the tool very carefully, so as not to damage the plants. Dug roots should be cleared from the side roots, cut off the leaves and put into winter storage in the basement.
Diseases of root celery
Even the most careful care of root celery does not give a full guarantee that he will not be ill. Unfortunately, there are many diseases characteristic of this culture, some of which are carried by pests. It:
- bacterial leaf spot;
- black leg ;
- core rot and stem rot;
- mosaic of leaves;
- septoriosis;
- cercosporium;
- white rot.
In addition, there are non-communicable diseases, which are caused by a shortage of mineral elements. This "starvation" manifests itself in the form of necrosis of the growth point and the adjacent leaves. To prevent this, it is important to strictly comply with agricultural technology and be sure to feed celery with a brown 0.04% of the entire vegetation period, not forgetting to strictly monitor the constant moistening of the soil.
Pests of root celery
The main pests of root celery are a carrot leaf and a carrot fly . The leaf is a small insect of green color. It sucks the juice out of the leaves, which causes the celery to dry and cease to develop normally. As a preventive measure, sprinkle with a number of growing coniferous trees with a solution of Corbophos (10 g per 10 liters of water). So you will deprive insects of wintering places and reduce their population.
A carrot fly is an insect with a black belly with a slightly greenish reflection. Dangerous to the harvest of celery is not herself, but her larvae. Hatching from the eggs laid on the leaves, they penetrate into the root crop and destroy it from the inside almost completely. To combat the larvae of carrot flies, treatment of root celery with "Fitoverm" or "Iskra" is necessary.