Celery is vegetable crop with a bittersweet taste and exquisite spicy aroma. All parts of the plant are used in cooking - leaves, roots and even stems. They are added to soups and main dishes, salads, sauces and seasonings. In addition to its taste, celery is valued for its high content of vitamins and minerals. The plant is an important source of vitamins A, C, B, K, PP, magnesium, sodium, iron, calcium, phosphorus. Its regular use helps strengthen the immune system and protective functions of the body.

Growing petiole celery has its own characteristics. Although in general the plant cannot be called capricious and is adapted to various climatic conditions, ensuring proper care will allow you to get really juicy and aromatic petioles.

Optimal climatic conditions

The most favorable temperature for the growth of celery is 15–20 ˚С, however, some varieties of this crop can withstand even slight frosts. Particularly resistant to low temperatures are varieties with red colored stems. The optimal time for sowing is spring. The soil should be moderately moist, loose, drained, the area should be open and well lit. Soils with high acidity must be limed before planting young plants.

Petiole celery grows well in soil with a high nitrogen content. To enrich the soil minerals The area for planting celery is fertilized with humus in the fall.

Main varieties

Choosing a variety is an important task, because the yield depends on it, appearance and taste qualities of celery. The following varieties have proven themselves well:

• "Atlant". Ripening period – 150 – 170 days. Distinctive feature – glossy surface stem with slight ribbing. From one bush it is possible to collect 300 - 400 g of petioles.

To obtain fresh petioles for consumption throughout the summer-autumn season, you need to use seeds with for different periods maturation.

Sowing seedlings and diving

By growing the crop using the seedling method, it is possible to obtain a harvest in the first year. For this purpose, use boxes filled with a nutrient mixture (leaf soil, peat, humus and sand). It is better to sow in the third ten days of February - the first ten days of March, adhering to the following sequence:

• Soak the seeds in advance to speed up germination.
• Distribute the seeds evenly over the surface of the ground.
• Sprinkle with a thin layer of nutrient soil mixture.
• Cover with a plastic bag.
• Place in a room with a temperature of 20 – 22 °C.
• After the first shoots appear, the polyethylene will need to be removed and the temperature reduced to 15 °C.

Be sure to regularly remove weeds in seed boxes and small, weakened shoots. The rest need to be looked after - watered through a sieve, hardened.

With the appearance of the second true leaf, the seedlings are pruned. When replanting shoots into separate cups, it is important to ensure that the outlet is not covered with soil. Plants in separate containers should be placed on a bright windowsill to speed up the growth of young leaves.

If the seedlings are already ready, the most difficult stage has been completed. Further care looking after the bushes won't be a big hassle.

Landing in the ground

A few days before transplanting into open ground, celery seedlings must be taken out to an unheated veranda to adapt to new lighting and temperature conditions. As a rule, replanting is carried out in April - May, when spring frosts are already behind us.

Planted out petiole celery into deep trenches (from 30 cm) according to the 20x30 pattern. However, some self-bleaching varieties are suitable for planting in a regular garden bed. When planting, it is important to ensure that the rosette rises slightly above the ground surface. As the bushes grow, you will need to add soil to the furrows.

It is important to constantly ensure that the soil around the plants does not dry out. But overdoing it is also dangerous - the shoots can rot. It is necessary to weed the bed regularly, and as the crust forms.

A month after transplantation, nitrogen fertilizing is necessary. Vegetable crops are responsive to liquid organic fertilizers and nettle infusion.

When green shoots reach a height of 30 cm, they are bleached. To do this you should:

• Gather the leaves into a bunch and carefully tie them with a piece of soft fabric or twine.
• Wrap the bunches with thick paper, making sure that it adheres well to the soil.
• Leave the leaves uncovered.
• Secure the paper with rope or tape.
• After 3 weeks, dig up the bushes along with the roots, without removing the cover, and place them in the cellar in damp sand.
• Straw can be used for hilling.

Bleaching makes the petioles sweet, eliminates unpleasant bitterness, and helps to acquire a delicate taste.

Video instructions for growing petiole celery

Diseases and main pests

Petiole celery is affected by the following types of diseases:

• black bacterial spot;
• purple rot of root crops;
• fungal infection of the base of the stem;
• tobacco mosaic virus;
• Root collar rot.

As a rule, the cause of rot is stagnation of water as a result of overwatering. Pests can also be carriers of diseases:

• carrot fly;
• hogweed fly;
• slugs;
• snails;
• scoops.

Strict adherence to recommended agricultural techniques will help protect the plant from pests: weeding, watering, diving, crop rotation. Also good method protection against diseases and pests is mixed planting celery with other vegetables and herbs. Petiole celery goes well in the garden with cabbage, tomatoes and beans. But planting next to parsnips is not recommended - both crops can be affected by the hogweed fly.

Harvesting

Self-bleaching celery is ready for harvest 11 to 16 weeks after transplanting into the ground, and trench celery can be cut as needed. But even here it is important not to miss the moment of harvesting, otherwise the stems will become fibrous. The entire crop must be removed from the garden before the first frost, the estimated time frame is early to mid-October. To do this, dig up the bush along with the rhizome with a shovel or pitchfork.

Celery should be stored in a cool place.

Caring for this vegetable crop does not take much time. All that is required is watering as needed, fertilizing and, most importantly, hilling. By periodically sprinkling the bushes in the trench with soil, you can achieve excellent results - white and pleasant-tasting petioles, full of minerals.

Grow on your own personal plot Anyone can make celery. This garden crop is a source of vitamins and is beneficial for both women's and men's health. Chefs from all over the world use the root vegetable to prepare delicious soups and salads. Celery can be pickled and eaten raw. This vegetable is held in high esteem not only by culinary specialists; herbalists and cosmetologists have long used it to treat many diseases and prepare cosmetics. You can grow celery yourself in your summer cottage.

Celery is an umbrella vegetable crop or herbaceous plant. In the world you can find about 20 species of this useful plant, but only a few are popular.

In Russia, it is customary to grow two-year-old celery. It bears fruit (roots) and good greens in the first year of cultivation. In the 2nd year he will give celery lush flowering and fruits with seeds.

Types of celery

As mentioned earlier, there are many types of celery in nature, but we will consider only popular ones that are easy to grow and eat.

When growing leaf celery, we will get succulent leaves with a bright green color. They can be cut throughout the summer. It is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals and is often used in dietary preparations.

Petiole celery is grown by small farms that supply fresh herbs to the markets of large cities. It has juicy large petioles.

Another variety of garden crop is root celery. When the plant matures, roots are produced. If the season is a success, then from 1 plant you can harvest up to 1 kg of crop.

Each variety of vegetable differs not only in taste, but also in its area of ​​application. You can grow several varieties of celery in your garden plot.

When choosing a variety of useful garden crop, it is important to consider the speed of maturation. If you purchase celery in seeds, then all the information is provided on the package. If you have enough time and want to grow several types of celery at the same time, then you can choose different varieties– from early to late.

Growing Leaf Celery

Regardless of the plant variety, this garden crop loves quiet places and grows in fertile, well-lit soil. It is quite possible to harvest a good harvest even on slightly acidic soil and if you plant celery in partial shade. In this case, you can purchase an additional bonus in the form of fragrant leaves.

The leaf variety of celery is resistant to cold, so it will easily tolerate spring frosts and can even overwinter in the soil (only mature plant!). When planted, at the beginning of development, celery will grow slowly and may seem to be “sitting” in one place. This is not scary, since the seeds of this garden crop are very, very small and there may not be 100% germination. It is because of this experienced gardeners prefer to grow this spice culture seedlings.

How to prepare seeds

Growing celery from seeds is a troublesome task, but in the future you can get good harvest. To improve the germination of small celery seeds, they need to be properly prepared. A weak, barely pink solution of potassium permanganate gives excellent results. The seeds are poured with rose water and left for 2-3 hours. After soaking, they are laid out on gauze folded in several layers (previously soaked in water) and left for 3-5 days. During this time, the seeds will hatch, and it will be possible to proceed to the next, no less important stage.

How to sow celery seeds correctly

After preparing the seeds, they are planted in the soil. The right soil consists of a mixture of sand, earth with an admixture of leaves, peat and humus. Each component must be taken in equal proportions.

Leaf celery seeds are sown in early spring in specially prepared seedling boxes (it is better to use wooden ones).

The seeds are planted almost on the surface and sprinkled with peat on top. To improve germination, boxes with seeds are covered with plastic film or transparent glass. The seeds are not expected to sprout within a week. In it optimal time Before germination, you need to maintain a certain temperature - for the plant it is important that the room is not cold and not too hot - from 17 to 20 o C with the “+” mark. When the first shoots appear, the temperature in the room should be lowered to +15 o C.

When growing seedlings, it is necessary to control the duration daylight hours. Since this will not be possible in March, it is worth taking care of artificial lighting seedlings. You also need to monitor watering - it should be moderate and only through a strainer. If you follow all the recommendations, you will be able to grow strong seedlings, which will easily tolerate planting in open ground.

If something is not followed, then when growing celery seedlings, the greens may grow more actively. Don't miss the moment when the celery produces its first 2 leaves - you need to pick them up and pinch the root. This will promote proper development of the root system.

You can transfer seedlings into the ground at the end of April or in May. Leaf celery is planted at a distance of 20 cm from each other and mulched with sawdust or straw.

According to the rules for planting seedlings, it is necessary to wait until the plant reaches a height of 5 cm. In practice, this rule is not observed, because you will have to wait a very long time, so small celery sprouts are planted in the ground. In the future, when caring for seedlings, it is important not to accidentally weed or wash away fragile plants. Therefore, to avoid crop loss, it is recommended to put a plastic cup on the newly planted celery seedlings (the bottom is cut off). A few days later or immediately after planting the seedlings, you can feed the plant with a liquid fertilizer suitable for the soil.

Celery care

Experts say that when growing and caring for celery, it is important to plant seedlings in the ground almost on the surface. Caring for the plant will not take much effort and time.

What is important to do:

1. Weed weeds in a timely manner.
2. Water systematically.
3. Loosen the soil so that a hard earthen crust does not form around the plant.
4. Mulching of the soil is allowed.
5. Water.
6. Loosen the soil after watering.

Growing petiole celery

Petiole celery is a biennial plant reaching a height of 30 cm. Common variety celery has white large stems, there are varieties with stem colors red, pink and bright green colors. This type of celery is widely used for cooking, fried, stewed or raw.

It grows well at temperatures no higher than 20 o C and easily tolerates frost. Stems with a red color are frost-resistant.

You can grow stem celery from seeds in the same way as leaf celery. There are no fundamental differences.

But when planting mature seedlings in the ground, you must follow these rules:

1. The seedlings are transferred to the soil in grooves with a depth of 10 cm.
2. There is no need to sprinkle the apical bud with soil.
3. Hilling should be done only after active growth begins, when the petioles become thicker.
4. Over the entire growing season, you can do hilling several times, which will free the petioles from light bitterness and obtain a more delicate taste.

An interesting method for growing stalked celery is bleaching. It can be strengthened by tying the petioles and wrapping them in dark paper 2 weeks before harvest. This method is acceptable only for plants that have reached a height of 45 cm. When wrapping with paper, you need to leave the tops of the plant in the light (15 cm). This isolation of the plant from light will help to obtain absolutely white and juicy petioles when harvesting.

You can harvest in mid-summer if the petioles grow a little. Young celery bushes are not dug up, but the side petioles are broken off. The harvest is massively harvested in late autumn. Ripened celery is dug up with a shovel; overgrown bushes are best removed with a pitchfork.

Rules of care

Standard care for petiole celery is not significantly different. It is important to follow certain rules:

1. Try to water stalked celery regularly. Be guided by the weather: if it rains, you should skip watering. The soil under the mulch will show you what to do.
2. The soil should remain moist, but stagnation of water is not allowed, so make sure there is good drainage in advance.
3. According to the advice of agricultural technicians, fertilization should be carried out 3 times a month. It is petiole celery that is responsive to feeding. Remember the golden rule - you need to observe moderation in everything. Therefore, instead of frequent fertilizing with liquid fertilizers, it is better to water the soil with nettle infusion.
4. All varieties of celery, except self-bleaching, need to be hilled.

Storing petiole celery

• Greens wither quickly, so after cutting, you need to rinse them thoroughly under running water, wait until they dry and wrap them in foil. Place the package in the refrigerator. For 10 days the greens will remain fresh;
• You can dry celery like this: place chopped celery on a clean surface (sheet of paper), cover it with the same sheet. In a month the spice will be ready. It should be stored in a paper bag;
• celery can be frozen - grind it in a blender, add a small amount of water, put it in ice trays and put it in the freezer;
• Chopped celery can be stored in the freezer in tightly sealed plastic containers.

How to Grow Root Celery

This plant variety long term growing season, so it is grown only by seedlings. The main condition for growing celery is that the crop is planted a month earlier. It turns out that the seeds need to be prepared in advance and planted in early February. It follows from this that in this dark winter month it is necessary to maintain a certain temperature in the room and provide at least 8 hours of daylight.

When growing celery root keep in mind this nuance: when the plant begins to grow, leaves can be collected, but only in a minimal amount and almost at the end of the season. Otherwise, all the beneficial substances will go into the leaves, and we need root vegetables.

How to care

Caring for this type of crop is not very different from standard care: it is necessary to systematically loosen the soil, water the celery, mulch, and remove weeds.

When mass-growing root celery in fields, agricultural technicians hill up the fruits during the period of active growth. But experienced gardeners claim that this can be detrimental to the root crop. On the contrary, you need to remove the soil from the top of the celery.

Prepare properly for harvesting. Another 20 days before the start of harvesting, you need to pinch off the side leaves from the plant and remove the soil from the top of the celery. When the time comes, which is approximately mid-October, you can begin harvesting.

How to store root vegetables

To preserve the resulting harvest, it is necessary to cut off the leaves and leave the petioles. If you plan to eat root vegetables in the near future, then just wrap them in film and put them in the refrigerator. For long-term storage, it is better to send celery to the basement, put it in wooden boxes and sprinkle with a layer of sand (2 cm). The room temperature is not higher than +1 o C.

You can prepare celery for future use: grate it and put it in bags. Stored in freezer The root crop will last a whole year.

Disease and pest control

Growing any variety of celery can have an impact on your efforts if the plant is attacked by diseases and pests. This is especially dangerous during periods of active growth and maturation. You can stop bacterial spotting, rot and other diseases if you follow the rules of growing the plant. Timely watering, avoiding waterlogging of the soil and thickening of seedlings, and weeding will help in the fight against pests and diseases.

You can get rid of pests such as snails, slugs, flies by spraying the plants. In addition, you can avoid death and loss of crops in a simple way: planting celery interspersed with vegetables or herbaceous plants.

Celery stalk is one of three types of celery. Seedling method planting for this variety is perhaps the only way to obtain a harvest. The period of its ripening takes 80-150 days and therefore it is impossible to grow it in time by sowing seeds directly into the ground at the dacha. The most common varieties that have already earned their place Special attention– Golden Feather, Utah, Golden Path, Golden Self-Bleaching. These are not all proven varieties for growing petiole celery, but the most popular and widespread.

Before planting celery seeds, you should take into account its peculiarity of poor and long germination. After dry sowing, the first shoots may appear no earlier than a month and will grow unevenly. There are many gardeners who soak seeds for several days at home before sowing, changing the water several times daily. Due to excess essential oil of seeds, slow germination occurs, which can be accelerated warm water about +60C. After the water cools, the oil will rise to the surface of the water and then the seeds should be washed with running water.

After washing, they should be laid out on damp paper or cotton cloth on a plate, and packaged in a bag for a greenhouse effect at home. To enhance this effect, the plate can be placed in a warm, dark place, but you should not forget to ventilate it and moisten the fabric or paper. There is another method of germinating seeds for seedlings at home. You need to take a jar, preferably glass, and add sawdust there. After wetting the sawdust well, you can lay out the seeds mixed with sand. Not closed jar placed in a warm and well-lit place until germination, constantly adhering to regular watering and room temperature+25C.

Video “Growing Instructions”

Detailed video instructions for growing petiole-type celery.

Preparing the soil for planting

The soil for planting celery seedlings is prepared in advance before sowing. Since seedlings are planted from late February to early March. If you prepare the soil yourself, then you will have to stock up on peat, humus and wood ash. The proportions of the mixture are 3/5 peat, 1/5 humus, 1/5 ash and a little sand. If you do not have these ingredients for preparing soil for seedlings, then such a mixture can be bought ready-made in a specialized store. In this case it will do earth mixture, which is also suitable for growing onions and other vegetables.

Prepared or purchased soil mixture is poured into pre-prepared pots or boxes for growing seedlings and watered with water. Seeds that have sprouted are carefully planted in shallow grooves, without disturbing or breaking off their weak roots. It is not necessary to cover them with soil, you can just press them a little, but not deeper than half a centimeter, otherwise it will be difficult for them to grow. You can also grow celery seeds using the snow method. The processes are almost the same, only instead of watering the ground daily, the box is covered with a layer of snow, on which the seeds are laid out. When the snow melts, it will provide the necessary moisture and deepen them to the required depth into the ground.

Seedling care

Caring for already grown seedlings at home will not be difficult. The soil should not dry out, but there should not be water standing in the box; spraying with a spray bottle is the most the best option. In just a few weeks it will be possible to fertilize the plants for the first time. Densely grown seedlings should be thinned out and the plants should be pruned when 3-4 leaves appear. The seedlings should be deepened half the stem into the ground.

After picking, within two weeks it is worth feeding the plants again. But a week before planting in open ground at the dacha, celery should be hardened at a temperature of +15C. To maintain this temperature, you can take the container to a well-lit balcony. When the moment of planting comes, you must definitely water the plants.

Planting in open ground

You can start planting celery seedlings in mid-May. There should be at least 15-20 centimeters between plants, and the rows should be no closer than 30-40 centimeters to each other. After planting, water and cover with soil. Care includes fertilizing, weeding, loosening, watering and disease control. Petiole celery needs regular feeding and care after planting in the soil.

When exactly a month has passed since the seedlings were planted in the soil, the first fertilizing is carried out, the second with very active growth of greenery, the third with increased root growth. For fertilizing use 10 g ammonium nitrate, 30-40 g of superphosphate and 20-30 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m2. Beware of the celery developing not petioles, but roots, part of the soil is removed from its upper part and the side shoots of the root are pinched. The procedure should be repeated three to four times until the root crop is formed. Mulching around the plant will be an additional care; watering should be moderate depending on weather conditions.

You should not let the soil dry out or allow water to stagnate in the furrows of the garden beds. Hilling up petiole celery is the most important thing in caring for it. It is carried out from the beginning intensive growth and thickening of petioles. If necessary, plant care is repeated. This will help you get bleached petioles without bitterness inside and a delicate taste. But there is another method of care to obtain tender pulp.

A couple of weeks before harvesting celery, the stalks at the top are tied and wrapped in paper. The harvest is fully harvested before the first frost. On cold September nights with temperatures below -5 C, it is worth covering the celery with acrylic material. Despite all this, there are still difficulties in growing celery.

A sufficient amount of water in a vegetable may not outwardly show this, but its petioles simply cannot be eaten. Try to water the plant as often as possible, otherwise all your work and care may be in vain. The plant is not free from the simplest bolting; it is a signal of drying out of the soil or untimely planting of seedlings in the country. Wherever there is good humidity, snails and various slugs can appear. To save the plant, you should pull out the weeds in the garden bed in a timely manner.

Rotting of the middle proceeds unnoticed and the problem can only be recognized when harvesting. The culprit is putrefactive bacteria that formed as a result of stagnation of water in the ground. When the soil is too dry or there is too much nitrogen in it, the petioles crack.

How to harvest and store crops

Depending on the ripening of the vegetable, harvesting of the grown crop begins depending on the climate, but presumably from August and can last until the first frost. Storage is no different from other root vegetables growing in the country. The petioles are cut off in August, and its leaves are cut off as needed. The harvest can be stored dried or frozen.

Informational video with useful practical recommendations for gardeners.

It is impossible to imagine Caucasian cuisine without celery leaves; in Russia they prefer white root, growing petiole celery and caring for it is typical for residents North America, Great Britain, Mediterranean countries, it is also appreciated in Japan. In comparison with the root and leaf varieties, the petiole (salad) varieties are more tender, juicy, and healthy. Only from them can you make juice - a drink for health and maintaining ideal shape.

The petiole variety of celery is winning the hearts of Russian gardeners

Biological features of culture

Petiole celery is cold-resistant, so many gardeners wonder whether it can be grown as perennial or not. Let us immediately note that this is a two-year crop of the Apiaceae family, which produces a rosette of succulent roots and leaves in the first year, and seeds in the second. In the south, provided that the soil freezes slightly, celery is cultivated as a perennial, but only to produce greens. High-quality petioles, like the root, can be obtained only in the first year of the plant’s growing season.

The vegetable belongs to long-growing crops - from full shoots to ripening, it takes 140–180 days, depending on the variety of petiole celery. During this period, a powerful bush will grow up to 65 cm high with a rosette of thick stems and large pinnately dissected leaves, often dark green and glossy. The petioles have a curved shape, outside slightly ribbed, the flesh is juicy, crispy, with a spicy aroma and a slight bitterness. Old varieties are more fibrous, new ones are delicate and have practically no hard fibers. Light green, bleached or yellow-fleshed petioles are sweeter; they are more bitter - green or reddish in color.

One petiole celery plant proper agricultural technology cultivation gives from 300 g to 1.2 kg of marketable products.

Note! Root celery also has large, thick stems, but unlike the petiole variety, they are not fleshy, but sinewy, and also hollow inside.

Crispy petioles are a unique product with a “negative” calorie content that burns excess fat

Successful varieties

In garden centers you can find seeds of domestic and foreign varieties petiole celery. When choosing, pay attention to the ripening time - for regions with a cold climate, early and mid-early varieties are preferable; for greenhouses, mid-late varieties are also suitable.

Taste characteristics play a role. If you like a piquant bitterness, plant celery with green stalks; adherents of traditional neutral tastes will like self-bleaching or yellow-fleshed plants. Let's give short description several of the most successful varieties.

Utah celery was bred by Italian breeders. The petioles are long, light green, very tasty, practically without fibers. In terms of ripening time, the variety is medium, the yield of stems with leaves is up to 3.5 kg/m².

Malachite is one of the most early varieties(85 days), allowing you to enjoy healthy products already in the middle of summer. Productivity – 1.2 kg of petioles per plant.

Nuget is a variety of petiole celery of Czech selection. Among the advantages - early date ripening, neat, tightly closed rosette of stems, pleasant taste and aroma.

Tango is a common variety with bluish-green petioles. It takes a long time to ripen - growing season 180 days. It attracts with its delicate, fiber-free pulp, high yield (1.0 kg per plant), and excellent keeping quality.

Golden will appeal to lovers of self-bleaching varieties. From one plant, up to 800 g of elastic petioles with light pulp, pleasant taste and aroma are collected.

Selection of seeds and producers

How to avoid mistakes when growing?

To avoid disappointment, you need to know and follow the agricultural techniques for cultivating petiole celery. It is in many ways similar to the other two varieties, but has a number of nuances. What mistakes do beginner gardeners most often make?

The seeds are sown too late. Since the crop has a long growing season, it is recommended to plant seedlings at the age of 70–80 days. And taking into account the fact that celery seeds are slow to germinate, it needs to be sown in February, or, in extreme cases, early March.

The seedlings are planted early, in cold soil, and the plant takes off. The paradox of this culture is that despite its cold resistance, it is heat-loving. Petiole celery seedlings will not die when early boarding, but the cold depresses her, her growth stops. Plus, the plant perceives this as a forced period of rest and moves on to the “second series” - it expels the flower shoot.

The petioles are stringy and have a bitter aftertaste. This happens if the vegetable is planted in poor soil. The plant itself is large and requires a lot of nutrition to actively grow. If it is not there, it sits in place, the stems become coarser. The petioles will be fibrous without watering. An important agricultural technique that allows you to remove bitterness is bleaching the stems. Many people don't know about him.

Let's look at how to properly grow petiole celery from seeds.

Timing and technology of growing seedlings

The vegetable seeds are soaked in essential oils, so they do not sprout for a long time. To speed up this process, it is necessary to destroy the inhibitors that suppress germination. There are several ways.

Alternately soak in hot (up to 50⁰ C) and cool (18⁰ C) water. Do this in three steps, holding the seeds in hot water respectively 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and a third time until the water cools.

Germination lasts 7–10 days. To do this, they are soaked, and after swelling, they are placed on a damp cloth and placed in the refrigerator.

Prepared petiole celery seeds are sown in shallow boxes; loose soil based on peat and humus is taken for planting. After sowing, they are not covered, as light is needed for germination. The seeds are sprinkled with water from a spray bottle on top so that they adhere well to the substrate. You can cover them with a layer of snow, which melts and slightly pulls them into the soil. Next, the box is covered with foam (glass) and placed in a warm, bright place, for example, on a windowsill. When thin seedlings appear, sprinkle them half a centimeter with soil and remove the film.

Water the crops carefully - from a sprayer or through a strainer, so as not to damage the fragile seedlings.

Plants dive at the stage of 2–3 true leaves, pinching off the 4th part of the central root. Suitable as a container plastic cups. Seedlings are deepened to the cotyledon leaves. The harvested seedlings are protected from direct rays of the sun for several days, and after rooting, they are returned to the windowsill.

After planting in the garden, strengthened and hardened seedlings will quickly take root and begin to grow green mass.

Planting in open ground

The next stage of growing petiole celery is planting in open ground. Please pay attention to the following nuances.

The indicator for planting seedlings is the onset of stable heat (16–18⁰C during the day).

The culture loves fertile, loose, slightly acidic soils (pH 5.5–6.5) with good aeration.

Prefers sunny places, in partial shade a vegetable with a more pungent odor is obtained.

When planting, you cannot cover the heart of the seedling with soil.

Advice! The culture is suitable for compacted crops. The vegetable is planted together with cucumbers, along the borders of the beds, along the paths.

Subtleties of care

Care vegetable plant consists of regular watering, fertilizing, and frequent loosening.

The first fertilizing is recommended to be done 2 weeks after planting - 20 g of ammonium nitrate, 10–15 g of potassium salt and superphosphate are added per 1 m². This mixture can be replaced with nitroammophos or other complete fertilizer. Application form: aqueous solution. From organic matter, a solution of bird droppings in a concentration of 1:10 is suitable, mullein - 1:5.

Re-feed in mid-summer - emphasis on potash fertilizers, microelements are also needed, namely boron and magnesium.

The plant loves deep, abundant watering, but this should be done at the root, avoiding water getting on the stems and leaves. Overmoistening is one of the causes of stem rot.

A mandatory element of caring for petiole celery is frequent loosening (5-6 times per season). In addition, it needs hilling, unlike root celery, the fruit of which is exposed.

Bleaching petioles

When the petioles become thick, a care technique such as bleaching is used. The stems are collected in a bunch, the lower part is wrapped in opaque material - paper, burlap, lutrasil, but not film - the plant must breathe. Some people simply cover the socket with earth - but the quality will be worse, and it’s difficult not to cover the heart.

Reception leads to a decrease in the level essential oils, the bitterness goes away, the aroma becomes more delicate.

The petioles are wrapped for bleaching a few weeks before harvest.

What is wrong with celery?

The main causes of diseases of petiole celery are related to improper care, waterlogged soil, poor aeration, lack nutrients. Rainy summer aboveground part plants can be affected by fungal infections.

Cercospora blight appears in the form of spots with a light center and a red-brown edge on the leaves and petioles. Diseased parts of the plant dry out. For prevention, it is recommended to disinfect the seeds. Affected crops should be sprayed with a fungicide solution.

Septoria blight, unlike cercospora blight, affects celery by the end of summer. This is also spotting, but different - the spots are oblong, yellow and as if depressed. Control measures are the same as with the previous disease.

Rust is a cold summer disease. The red-brown growths begin to powder as the spores mature. Spraying with phytosporin helps.

In addition to diseases, petiole celery also has pests, although not as many as other crops - it repels them with a pungent odor.

The plant can be affected by celery and carrot flies. The pest lays eggs in the petioles and under the skin of the leaves. The larvae eat through the passages in them, after which they become rough and bitter. Effective method control - pollination of plantings with tobacco dust, wood ash, dry mustard during the summer of the fly (June, August).

Planting and caring for celery:

Celery (Apium) is a herbaceous rhizomatous plant of the Apiaceae or Celeraceae family. The root is taproot, the leaf blades are pinnately dissected. The flowers are small, collected in simple or complex umbrella inflorescences. The plant is biennial: in the first year it is grown to produce greens and root crops, in the second year it produces seeds.

The crop is propagated by seeds. They germinate and develop for a long time, so to obtain good harvest It is advisable to grow seedlings. A special feature is that seeds that have been stored for 3-4 years have better germination.

Celery was cultivated in ancient Greece, but became widespread relatively recently.

Conditions for growing celery

Growing any type or variety of celery is approximately the same, but there are some nuances.

Ground and lighting

Common to all types of celery are the soil and lighting requirements:

• Celery grows well in fertile, loose soils with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction.
• Lighting is preferably bright. Slight shading is possible: the leaves will be more fragrant.

Neighbours

Tomatoes, bush beans, and leeks will be good neighbors in the area. By planting it next to cabbage, you will protect it from the attack of flea beetles and cabbage whites.

Let's look at the growing features for each variety of celery.

Growing petiole and leaf celery from seeds

The plant is cold-resistant. The seedlings will not be damaged by light frosts; adult plants overwinter successfully.

Sowing petiole and leaf celery in the ground

Leaf celery seeds can be sown in open ground in early spring with the emergence of the opportunity to enter the site (March-April) or before winter in late autumn, at the end of October.

• The furrows are filled every 20-25 cm, very shallowly, so that the sowing depth is 1-2 cm.
• You need to sow as little as possible, because densely sown celery will be very difficult to break through.
• Break through the seedlings in three stages: first leaving 5-7 cm, then 10-15, and finally 20-25 cm.

The culture loves water very much; it needs to be watered generously at least once a week.

Growing petiole and leaf celery through seedlings

Start petiole and leaf celery for seedlings at home in early March. The seed material should be pre-treated: hold in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for several minutes, rinse well, then place in a damp cloth in a solution of a growth stimulator for a day. When the seeds swell well, they can be sown.

• Fill the boxes with a mixture of peat, sand, leaf soil and humus in equal proportions.
• Distribute the seeds over the surface at a distance of 1-2 cm, helping yourself with a toothpick, sprinkle with a little earth (a layer of about 0.5 cm).
• Spray with a spray bottle, cover the crops with film, maintain the air temperature within 18-20 °C.
• When using high-quality seeds with pre-treatment, seedlings will appear 5-6 days after sowing.

• When the first shoots appear, remove the cover and lower the air temperature to 14-15 °C.
• To prevent seedlings from stretching, you need not only coolness, but also bright, diffused lighting (organize additional lighting if your apartment does not have south-facing windows).
• Maintain moderate soil moisture.

• With the appearance of 2 true leaves, pinching the main root contributes to the further successful development of the root system.
• A week before planting, harden the seedlings: take them out into the open air during the daytime.

When and how to plant petiole and leaf celery seedlings in the ground

• Transplant petiole and leaf celery seedlings into open ground in late April-early May.
• When planting, use a 25x25 pattern.
• The root collar is not buried.

How to care for leaf celery

The plant is unpretentious in care. Standard procedures should be followed: water regularly, loosen between rows, remove weeds. Mulching the soil will cut the work in half. The moisture level will remain longer, this will prevent the appearance of an earthen crust, and weeds will be less bothered. Hill up the bushes.

Harvest leaf celery regularly. After each cutting of leaf celery, it needs to be watered abundantly, combining watering with fertilizing. Mostly organic fertilizers are used: fermented grass, fermented manure or chicken droppings.

Features of caring for petiole celery in open ground

Petiole celery is carried out by analogy with leaf celery. Nuances: plant the seedlings in grooves 10 cm deep; the apical part should not be covered with soil.

The plant needs intensive hilling. This measure is necessary to bleach the petioles, which have a more delicate taste without bitterness. Also, a couple of weeks before harvest, tie the leaves at the top and wrap the petioles in paper to bleach them. Harvest before frost begins.

How to properly grow petiole celery, watch the video:

Growing root celery through seedlings

Root celery has the longest growing season, 150-190 days. Growing seedlings is a must.

When to sow celery root for seedlings?

Sowing should begin in the 1st-2nd decade of February. The principles of sowing and caring for seedlings are the same as for leaf celery. The difference is that not only picking is carried out, but also the grown seedlings are transferred into larger peat cups or pots.

How to sow root celery, look at the video:

When the plants grow a little, it is necessary to pick.

How to pick root celery, look at the video:

The grown seedlings of root celery are once again placed in larger pots, when the plants become crowded, and grown until planted in the ground in May, when the threat of frost has passed.

Landing in the ground

Root celery is planted in the ground at a distance of 35-40 cm, without deepening the root collar. It is useful to immediately mulch the plantings with mown grass.

How to care for root celery in open ground

• When growing root celery during the summer, you should not cut off the leaves: by mid-August, organic matter accumulated in sheet plates, turn into root crops.
• It is normal for the top of the celery root to stick out of the soil, so avoid the temptation to hill up the plant. This is contraindicated, since active formation of side shoots will begin, and the main root will be damaged.
• During the period June-October, keep the soil slightly moist at all times.
• A couple of weeks before digging up root crops, you should remove lower leaves and side shoots, partially rake off the soil.
• Root crops are harvested around the end of October.

Diseases and pests of celery

Possible diseases of celery: leaf spot, mosaic virus, “black leg”, white rot of stems, core rot, rot of the base of the stem.

To avoid such problems, agricultural practices should be followed (crop rotation, weeding, thinning, and do not allow the soil to become waterlogged).

If affected by diseases, treat with a fungicide.

Conduct pest control. They not only cause damage to the plant, but are also carriers of diseases. Celery can be damaged by snails, slugs, cutworm larvae, and carrot flies. Collect gastropods by hand, use traps; treatment with an insecticide will save you from the rest.

Types and varieties of celery

There are about 20 species of celery in the natural environment. Celery is cultivated culturally.

There are three varieties of celery:

1. Leafy - cultivated to produce leaves that can be cut all season (from spring to late autumn).

Popular varieties of leaf celery: Zakhar, Bodrost, Nezhny, Kartuli.

1. Petiole - the purpose of cultivation is succulent petioles. Harvest occurs at the end of summer.

Varieties: Malachite, Golden, Young, White Feather.

1. Root - grown to produce large root crops weighing 400-800 g. They are harvested in the fall.

Varieties of root celery: Diamant, Maxim, Esaul, Gribovsky.

When choosing, pay attention to the ripening periods: early, middle, late. They are also different taste qualities. Information is indicated on the seed package.

Useful properties of celery

The plant is rich in a set of substances beneficial to the human body. These are vitamins (A, E, C, K, vitamins B and PP), macro- and microelements (calcium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, sodium, manganese, magnesium), amino acids (arginine, lysine, histidine), fiber , essential oils.

The plant is also an aphrodisiac.

Contraindications for consumption include pregnancy and breastfeeding (it reduces milk levels and may cause bloating). If you have a stomach ulcer, urolithiasis disease or varicose veins, you should treat celery with caution.

Depending on the type of plant, a certain part is eaten: leaves, petioles, roots. They have a bittersweet taste, pleasant aroma. They are added fresh to various dishes, prepared as side dishes, pates, and used in home canning. Leaves can be frozen. The dried and ground parts of the plant are a spice. Celery seeds are used to flavor table salt.

Celery will also benefit your site. Earthworms like to be in the roots of plants - they contribute to the formation of humus (fertile layer of soil). To attract them to the site in large quantities, sow or plant celery in a circle to create a “cozy house”.