What is celery, probably, many summer residents would like to know. It has become very fashionable to grow this healthy crop recently. To obtain root crops or greens, it is grown for one season. Seeds of this crop can only be harvested in the second year of cultivation.
general description
So what is celery and what does it look like? This plant belongs to the family as carrots, however, outwardly it does not look like this crop at all. Celery bushes grow quite lush and not too high. In the garden, at first it was rather easy to confuse this culture with parsley. Her leaves are the same smoothly-cut.
The taste of celery is specific. Some people really like him. To others, it seems that the juice of the leaves of this culture has a “bug” flavor. Almost all people like boiled celery tubers, unlike leaves. To taste, they resemble potatoes.
Why has it recently become fashionable to grow a crop such as celery? Reviews of gardeners, this plant has earned good, primarily for its unpretentiousness. Grow celery is not difficult. At the same time, eating it is actually very good for health. The roots, petioles and leaves of this culture simply contain a huge amount of vitamins and minerals. Also in the tissues of celery there are also substances of youth - antioxidants.
Grade selection
What is celery, therefore, is understandable. In fact, this is a spicy culture, which can be successfully grown, including in Russia. But in any case, in order to get a good celery crop, you must, of course, choose the right variety. It is believed that for central Russia are best suited:
Varieties such as Pascal, Malachite and Utah are often grown in the Urals and Siberia. Also for these regions with a harsh climate, Esaul, Russian size and Egor are excellent.
On sale today there are both leafy and petiole or root varieties of celery. They are grown by approximately the same technology. The choice of a specific variety in this case depends, of course, on the personal preferences of the owners of the suburban area.
How to prepare the planting material
In order to get friendly entries in the future, celery seeds must first be thoroughly rinsed. Perform this procedure usually as follows:
After this procedure, all the essential oils that can significantly delay their germination will come out of the seeds. At the final stage, the planting material should be thoroughly washed with cool water. Next, the seeds are scattered on the tissue and wait for their drying.
Boarding
Most often, this culture is grown in seedlings. Sowing celery in boxes is usually done in late February - early March. The air temperature in the room where this crop will be grown should not be less than 24-25 ° C. Actually, the sowing of seeds in boxes is carried out in a superficial way. Sprinkle with celery planting material ground. Seeds should germinate outdoors and in the light. Boxes for seedlings in the first stage can be taken low. In the future, celery will still have to dive. The soil for this crop is best used purchased, intended for seedlings of tomatoes.
In the event that the planting material was well washed, it will begin to germinate in a week. In order for the plant to not stretch, at first it is desirable to reduce the air temperature in the room to 15 ° C. Pickled celery in separate pots is carried out immediately after the appearance of the first three true leaves. In tuberous varieties, approximately one third of the root is usually plucked off during this procedure. Subsequently, this will allow you to get the crop earlier.
When to transfer to open ground
According to the technology described above, sufficiently strong and healthy seedlings can be grown. Celery root, petiole or leaf, however, must also be correctly transferred to the ground.
The culture is relatively cold-resistant. Therefore, seedlings can be transferred to the garden already in the beginning or middle of May. But by this time, the outside temperature should no longer drop below 10 ° C during the day. If the celery is planted earlier, instead of building lush greenery in the future, it can stretch out and start flower stalks. Before taking the seedlings to the cottage, it is also worth holding it on the balcony for several days for adaptation.
What should be the soil in the garden
In order to get a good crop of celery, when growing it, of course, you must follow the agricultural technology. It is highly recommended, for example, to plant this crop in the place where carrots, dill or parsley previously grew. Ideal precursors for celery are tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes or cucumbers.
It is advisable to dig up the soil in the garden selected for this crop from the fall. In order for the plants to develop well in the future, it is necessary to add a little humus and superphosphate (25 g per 1 m 2 ) to the ground.
Celery seedlings are planted in holes. A little clay and mullein are preliminarily placed in each of them. This allows you to protect plants from too quick moisture after irrigation. Like seedlings of any other culture, celery should be transferred to the beds early in the morning or in the evening, preferably on a cloudy day.
Landing on beds: technology
In any case, celery should not be thickened too much. Between the grown bushes in the future should be good ventilation. If it does not exist, a tick or aphid will surely start on the bed with plants. Most often, celery bushes are planted at a distance of about 10 cm from each other. In this case, between the rows leave about 30-40 cm. Also, some gardeners place celery according to the scheme of 20 x 20 cm.
The holes should be dug so deep that the root system of the plants fits completely and still has a reserve of about 3 cm. You need to transplant bushes from dive glasses along with a lump of earth.
Very often it happens that as the celery grows, it "scatters" on the sides. That is, its leaves lie on the ground. To prevent this from happening, the bushes immediately after planting should be wrapped with foil. In this case, they will begin to grow strictly up and eventually become lush and strong.
Celery: Plant Care
The cultivation of this culture, like almost any other, involves the implementation, first of all, of the following operations:
regular weeding;
periodic watering;
top dressing;
loosening.
Celery is watered daily at the rate of at least 5 liters of water per 1 m 2 of planting.
How to feed
Celery root should be fertilized with potash at least once during the summer. For petiole and leaf varieties, you also need to use nitrogen fertilizing. This culture responds very well, for example, to nitrophos. You can feed celery and diluted in a proportion of 1 x 20 infusion of chicken manure. Fertilize on the bed should be about two weeks after planting. If desired, you can feed the plants with the same composition one more time after three weeks.
Celery root should be loosened after each watering. On a bed with a petiole or leaf, this procedure can be done less often.
Whitening
Petiole celery - a tasty and healthy culture. However, she has one small flaw. Her leaflets and petioles contain a little bitterness. Therefore, before harvesting such celery must be bleached. To do this, the bushes a few weeks before cutting the greens should begin to spud. The result of this procedure will be that the celery stalks will whiten over time and lose their bitterness.
Harvesting
Both root and petiole celery mature around the middle of autumn. The crop of the first variety is harvested as follows:
Celery root greens can be dried and used as a seasoning for soups or main dishes in winter. Petiole varieties of this culture are usually dug up together with the roots, and without removing the wrappers, they are also transferred to the basement or stored on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
Instead of a conclusion
So, we found out what celery is. This culture, as you can see, is relatively undemanding. Caring for it is as simple as for other garden plants - tomatoes, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, etc. Therefore, gardeners who like the taste of celery should definitely plant it somewhere in the corner on their site. This culture will take a little time to leave in the summer, while the benefits of eating it can be simply colossal.