Terms and rules for planting celery for beginning gardeners

Gardeners are more willing to grow celery for greens. This is determined by the fact that agricultural technology is easier, and there are more vitamins and microelements in the leaves. But the petiole contains an increased amount of essential oils, and the root contains more fiber. The tubers are stored for a long time, retaining useful substances for several months and are used for forcing greens, and the petioles are indispensable for dietary nutrition, soups and main courses.

Features of planting celery, depending on the type

The agricultural technology of this crop is not very different for all three species, but each has its own characteristics.

Root. Such celery It is grown by seedlings, since it has a long growing season - on average 150-160 days. Therefore, seed preparation and sowing start already at the end of January - beginning of February, depending on the ripening time of a particular variety.

Stem/petiole. This type of celery requires preliminary sowing for seedlings in late February - March.

Sheet. The easiest way to plant is directly into the ground in late April - early May.

Important! If grow only root celery, it will give both greens and tubers, but not petioles.

Landing dates

Depending on the type of celery chosen, the following are planted:

• for seedlings: root in late January - early February, petiole - in late February - early March;
• into the ground: root and petiole seedlings in late April - early May, leaf seeds - in early May.

Gardeners who follow the lunar calendar adhere to the rule: for root celery, planting occurs on the waning moon, for petiole and leaf celery - on the growing one.

When planting in the ground, they are guided by the weather - when a stable +8°C is reached, celery can be assigned to a permanent place in the garden.

Favorable days according to the lunar calendar

In 2020, the best dates for planting celery will be:

Unfavorable days for all types of celery in 2020 will be: 21.01, 05.02, 06.03, 19.04, 05.05.

Important! Focusing on the lunar calendar, we must not forget about the prevailing weather conditions - even on the most favorable day, you should not plant in open ground in pouring rain or hail.

Rules

To obtain juicy greens, tender petioles and high-quality root crops, seeding rates per unit area, crop rotation, and the proximity of crops are taken into account.

Good predecessors for celery are cruciferous vegetables, legumes, cucumbers and tomatoes. You cannot grow it after carrots, parsley and dill due to the risk of infection with common diseases and pests. It is also not recommended to plant celery in the same place for several years in a row.

At what distance to plant

This crop requires a large feeding area. Therefore, the distance between plants in a row is maintained at 20-25 cm. Row spacing is 30-45 cm.

With this placement, all plants are well illuminated by the sun and do not suffer from a lack of nutrients and moisture in the soil.

What you can/cannot plant next to

Celery does not tolerate the proximity of corn, potatoes, carrots and parsley.But it responds well to joint plantings with white cabbage, beets, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and beans.

Important! If you plant celery next to cabbage, it will drive away the white butterfly, and cabbage stimulates the active growth of celery.

How to plant celery seeds

To obtain viable, strong seedlings, planting material is prepared in 5-6 days. This stage is important for disinfecting the seeds and reducing the amount of essential oils in them, which will delay hatching for 20-30 days.

Preparation of planting material and soil

The substrate for sowing celery consists of peat (3 parts), soil (1 part) and compost (1 part). It’s good to add 1/10 of the sand to the entire mass of soil - celery loves loose soil. Lumps in the soil are not allowed; before planting, it is carefully loosened and, if possible, sifted.

If the soil is taken from the garden, it is etched with a hot, weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Important! Store-bought soil is already disinfected, so it can be used immediately.

Celery seeds contain a large amount of essential oils that make germination difficult. Therefore, planting material is kept in warm water for 3-5 days. Before soaking, seeds are disinfected with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate for 48 hours.

Landing instructions

To improve germination, follow the following sequence of actions:

1. Celery seeds are small, so they are laid out on a damp cloth for germination in a warm place, covered with film.
2. After pecking, carefully place them on the surface of the soil and lightly sprinkle them with sand.
3. Moisten the top layer of soil using a sprayer.
4. Boxes or beds with seeds are covered with glass or film, creating a greenhouse effect.
5. After the first leaves appear, the cover is removed.

Subsequently, the seedlings are planted in separate containers. Select the strongest seedlings in the phase of 3-4 true leaves.

How to Plant Celery Root

Tubers used for forcing leaves in the autumn-winter period. To do this, select strong, healthy root crops and dig them 2/3 of the way up into boxes with soil or into a greenhouse. After 25-30 days, the greens reach food ripeness, they are cut off, and the roots are put away for storage.

Features of planting in open ground

As soon as the soil has warmed up sufficiently, furrows are made in it at a distance of 30 cm from each other and a depth of 1-1.5 cm. Celery is sown rarely, otherwise there will be difficulties with thinning.

It is carried out in three stages: in the phase of 3-4 true leaves, they break through to a distance of 5-7 cm, after 2-3 weeks 3-4 plants are left per 20 cm, after another two weeks they are reduced to one plant per 20-25 cm.

To the greenhouse

Planting celery in closed ground is carried out similarly to growing seedlings. In a greenhouse or greenhouse, prepared and hatched seeds are laid out on the surface of the soil and sprinkled with a thin layer of sand. Additionally, cover with film or non-woven material until the planting material germinates.

Other sowing methods

If there is no greenhouse or greenhouse, the only way to grow celery seedlings is at home on a windowsill. Suitable containers include boxes, plastic cups and peat tablets.

Into boxes for further picking

The prepared planting material is sown on the surface of the substrate, sprinkled with a layer of sand of 0.5-1 cm. Cover with glass or film, after moistening the soil with a spray bottle.After seed germination, the shelter is removed, and the containers with seedlings are left warm until two true leaves appear.

To prevent the plants from stretching out and becoming strong, the air temperature should not exceed 15-16°C; such conditions can be easily created on a glazed loggia. For full development, seedlings require good lighting. If there are no windows on the south side, the celery is illuminated with a fluorescent or phytolamp.

The soil is moistened in a timely manner, preventing it from drying out.

In the phase of 3-4 leaves, plants are planted, planting them in separate containers - cassettes, cups, bags.

In peat tablets

Celery tolerates picking well, so it is grown in any container for seedlings. Peat tablets make the gardener’s work easier, but they are not cheap and are used only once.

Attention. Before use, the tablets are soaked in warm water until they swell. Then sprouted celery seeds are placed in them one at a time and covered with film until germination.

Care after landing

During the growing season, celery needs regular watering, loosening, 3-4 fertilizing and weeding. Additional care required root and petiole celery in the second half of the growing season.

Water celery at the rate of 1-1.5 buckets of water per 1 m2.

Feeding depending on the growing season:

1. After planting, nitrogen fertilizers are applied to the soil.
2. In mid-June - complex with a predominant nitrogen content.
3. In July - a mineral complex with a reduced N concentration (the root can no longer be fed).
4. A month before harvesting, potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are applied.

Important! When there is an excess of nitrogen in the soil, root celery forms small tubers with voids

Loosening the soil provides nutrition to the root system of plants, the formation of a strong leaf rosette and tuber.

Chereshkovy In the second half of the growing season, celery is hilled high or the stems are wrapped in thick paper. This is done for bleaching - to obtain juicy, tender, pale green petioles.

When forming tubers, root celery, on the contrary, is dug up until 1/3 of the fruit is open and the lateral roots are cut off. Otherwise, instead of a root crop, a root brush is formed. Starting in mid-August, the leaves bend to the ground. Even if they break, nothing bad will happen. The root celery will continue to form a tuber.

Conclusion

Sowing of celery in most regions of the country is carried out through seedlings, since this crop has a long growing season. Seeds and soil are prepared in advance - even before tomatoes and eggplants. Care before planting in open ground consists of proper sowing, moderate moisture, timely picking and maintaining the required temperature and light.