Celery is famous for its unique beneficial properties. It is a good helper in the treatment of diseases such as anemia, disorders of the nervous system, diseases of the cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract, kidney and liver failure, skin diseases. Celery normalizes metabolism in the body and prevents early aging. This plant is known as a powerful aphrodisiac, as it enhances passion and sexual desire, and also stimulates male sexual potential. By the strength of these properties, celery is not inferior to expensive foreign drugs - aphrodisiacs. Only the seeds of this wonderful root crop are mere pennies. How to properly grow celery root from seeds will be described in detail in this article. But first, let's figure out what kind of root crop you should choose.
Which kind of celery do you prefer?
There are three types:petiole, root and leaf. The type of celery does not affect its beneficial properties. The roots are rich in various mineral s alts (s alts of magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium), as well as vitamins (C, B, B2, PP, K). A feature of celery is the presence of an aggressive odor caused by the essential oils in its composition. This property is not to everyone's liking, so you should opt for growing species with the lowest content of essential oils. So, leaf celery is the most odorous, and the root one, on the contrary, is the least.
Varieties of celery seed varieties
The choice of celery variety should be approached very responsibly. It is necessary to take into account the growing conditions and the desired result. Selection in recent years has made a huge breakthrough in its development. An incredible number of new species of animals and plants have been bred. Celery breeders also did not deprive of attention and brought out several improved varieties. How to grow root celery without a beard? What is a beard anyway? The fact is that sometimes celery begins to form numerous small roots. To prevent this from happening, you need to choose the right variety, correctly dive seedlings and water the plant well. Still on sale there are seeds of old varieties of celery like Gribovsky and Apple. However, keep in mind that the fruits of these varieties do not grow more than 200-300 grams, and they also have a complex root structure. We advise you to pay attention to the variety Diamand and similar ones, which give a very large (up to 800 g) and neat harvest. Also positive reviewshave varieties such as Maxim and the Paris Giant. How to grow root celery at home? Celery seeds require pre-treatment before planting. To do this, they are filled with water and changed every 6-8 hours about 3-4 times. Celery grows long enough. But thanks to this treatment, it is possible to speed up the process of seed germination by about 7 days.
How to plant root celery
In the southern territories, the process of planting celery is simplified as much as possible. Celery grows for about 200 days, which warm regions can provide it with interest. For residents of colder regions, there is also a way out: planting seedlings. For residents of cold territories, this, of course, does not cause any particular difficulties, since the practice of growing seedlings here is also applied to many other crops. It is best to start preparing seedlings in February. As mentioned earlier, the seeds are pre-soaked and then planted in separate cups or cassettes. We advise you to throw 3-5 seeds into each hole and, when digging, do not be zealous so that it is easier for the sprouts to break into the light. After the seedlings germinate, select the strongest bores and remove the excess ones. How to grow seedlings of root celery?
Rules for growing seedlings
Since celery grows for at least 150 days, growing it causes a lot of trouble for gardeners. Growing celery with seedlings allows you to harvestworthy harvest of this plant. The best period for planting seedlings of root celery is the end of winter. Keep in mind that seedlings need about 2.5 months to grow. Seedlings for leaf celery are usually planted in early spring. However, it is worth noting that it can be grown without seedlings by planting seeds immediately in the ground. Celery seeds have a very high content of essential oils, which greatly inhibit the process of their germination. Sometimes the period of seed germination, especially if there is insufficient moisture in the soil, is delayed up to 20–25 days. In this regard, before planting, it is necessary to pre-treat the seeds and germinate them.
Sprouting seeds
For stem and root celery seeds, two effective pre-treatment techniques are commonly used. In the first case, they are subjected to the bubbling process - treatment in water with a temperature of 20 ° C, saturated with air for 24 hours. After bubbling, the seeds are disinfected with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for about 45 minutes at a temperature of 18-20 ° C. Then the seeds are washed well in clean water and finally can be used for sowing. In the second variant, the seeds are also disinfected with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for about 45 minutes. Then they are washed in clean water and again soaked in the Epin solution for about 18 hours at a temperature of 18-20 ° C. A solution of "Epin" is prepared in the proportion of 4 drops of the drug per 1 glass of water. After treatment with this solution, the seeds are ready for sowing. It is necessary to strictly follow the sequence of actions in both options. Forin order to germinate the seeds, they are carefully spread on a moistened cloth and left at room temperature.
Seedling care
At home, it is best to place seedlings on the windowsill. For planting seedlings in sowing trays, a soil mixture is prepared from soddy soil, lowland peat and humus mixed with coarse river sand in a ratio of 1:3:1. To increase the nutritional properties of this mixture, urea (1 tsp per bucket) and wood ash (1 cup per bucket) are added to it. After the seeds have germinated, they are sorted out, choosing those with one seedling. Then they are mixed with sand and laid out in sowing trays with a moistened soil mixture. It is optimal to spread the seeds in a row, keeping a distance between rows of 3-4 centimeters. In order for them to grow faster, they need free access to air. Therefore, the seeds are only lightly sprinkled with moistened sand using a sieve. The tray must be covered with a film and put in a warm place. It is necessary to monitor the soil moisture in the tray and spray it in a timely manner with a hand sprayer with warm water. The water should not be cold, and excessive moisture is also unacceptable, as young stems may turn black. Until sunrise appears, the film is not removed, and the trays are in very warm places (22-25 ° C).
When sprouts appear on the surface, the film must be removed and the tray must be moved to a very lit, but cool (no more than 16 ° C) place, usually a windowsill. A little over a month, seedlings grow very slowly. After about 25-30 days, the seedlings need to be thinned out so that there is a distance of at least 4-5 centimeters between them. Or seedlings can be transplanted into separate pots (6 × 6 cm), cups, as well as in a greenhouse or greenhouse. An important condition is that the soil must be more than 10 centimeters thick. It is necessary to transplant seedlings carefully, to avoid exposing the roots and burying the growth point, as this can greatly slow down the growth of the plant. Be very careful with the main spine, do not damage it. This can lead to the formation of an unaesthetic branched root system on the fruit. When transplanting seedlings into a greenhouse or hotbed, it is necessary to observe the distance between rows of 5-6 centimeters and 4-6 centimeters between plants.
After planting, the plants are watered and covered with moistened paper to darken for 2-3 days. At this stage of growth, the optimum temperature is 15-16 °C during the day and 11-12 °C at night. Further, the soil is regularly loosened between the rows, watered and fed. For the first time after transplantation, complementary foods are used after about 10-12 days. To prepare a solution for feeding, 1 teaspoon of nitrophoska is diluted in 10 liters of water. 2-3 tablespoons of the resulting solution are watered per plant. In order for the leaves of plants not to be pale, urea is used, feeding it 2-3 times with a break of 10-12 days. Inaccurate baiting with urea can lead to burns on the leaves, so after each procedure, wash off the remaining urea from the leaves with clean water using a watering can. Shortly before transplanting into open ground, plants are taught to outdoorair, bringing the trays to the street during the day, and then at night. After about 2 months, the plants appear 4-5 leaves, and they are ready to be transplanted into the open ground.
Seedlings begin to accustom to open air about 5 days before planting, and a few hours before planting, plants are well watered. It is best to plant seedlings in the ground on May 5-6. If the weather is favorable, an earlier landing is also possible. The earlier you plant seedlings, the more likely you are to get a large and high-quality crop. However, for early planted plants, there is a danger of strong flowering of plants, which will adversely affect the yield. Seedlings should not be in trays for too long, but weak seedlings will also not be able to bear good fruit. Ready for transplanting is seedlings 12-15 centimeters tall, with 4-5 leaves and strong roots. Above is the easiest way to grow root celery from seed.
Landing in open ground
As mentioned earlier, plants are considered ready for planting in the ground after about 2 months, when their height reaches 12-15 centimeters, and 4-5 leaves are formed on the stems. A few hours before planting in the beds, the seedlings are well watered. Usually seedlings are planted on May 5-6. It is very important that it is not overexposed in trays or is still fragile, this directly affects the quality of the crop. Immediately before disembarkation, in order to make it easierpull the seedlings out of the trays, they are again watered abundantly. How to grow root celery?
Soil preparation
Before planting celery in the beds, you need to prepare the soil. It should be very loose, soft and located in an open sunny area. It is undesirable that parsley, dill, carrots or parsnips were previously grown on this site. It is good to plant celery where cucumbers, tomatoes, legumes and cabbage used to grow. The soil for celery is prepared in the fall. To do this, it is dug up to a depth of 25-30 centimeters and fertilized with compost or humus (3-4 kg per 1 m) and double superphosphate (20 g per 1 m). In April, the soil is loosened again and filled with complex mineral fertilizers (35-40 g per sq.m.). How to grow celery root outdoors?
How to properly plant in the ground
For root celery, beds are formed in such a way that there is a distance of 40-50 centimeters between plants and between rows. For leaf and stem beds, they do it every 30 centimeters, and leave a space of 15-20 centimeters between plants. It is allowed to plant celery among the beds of other vegetables, such as potatoes, onions, garlic, etc. In each seedling hole, the soil is mixed with a small amount of ash and humus. Each seedling goes deep into the hole to the cotyledon knee, then the soil around it is pressed down and well watered. The first few days after planting in open ground, plants should be protected from the bright sun with paper.
Cultivation of celery inground
Care for petiole, root and leaf celery has some differences. But common to all species are loosening the soil, mulching, weeding, watering, and in some cases protection from pests and diseases. To prevent a sharp loss of soil moisture and the appearance of a crust on it, the beds are covered with sawdust, peat or mowed grass. Petiole and stem celery also need to be hilled 20 days before harvest. Due to hilling in root crops, the amount of essential oils with an unpleasant odor is reduced, the bitter taste is weakened, and petioles are whitened. In order to get the largest roots of root celery, in mid-July, the top of the root is cleared of soil, the lateral roots are removed, and the leaves are pressed as close as possible to the ground. Do not worry about broken leaves, this procedure benefits the root crop. At harvest, the stalk and root celery is harvested in its entirety, and the root system of leaf celery can be saved for growing at home in the winter. To do this, before the cold weather, the root system is dug out of the soil along with the soil and placed in a pot.
How to water properly
Good humidity is important for celery, so it is watered abundantly: 20-25 liters of water per 1 sq.m per week. The soil should not be overdried. On hot days, plants require daily watering. You need to water celery under the root.
How to properly feed celery
To ensure a good harvest, plants need to be fed 4 times over the summer. About,how to feed seedlings was described in detail earlier. 7 days after planting the seedlings in open ground, the plants are fed with an infusion of herbs. 20 days after planting in the ground, the soil is fertilized with infusion of chicken manure or mullein. At the end of July, the plot with plants is filled with superphosphate (30 g per square meter).
If you follow all the growing rules described above, you will get an excellent harvest of a he althy root crop at the right time. The question of how to grow root celery in the country should not seem difficult now.
