Root celery

Root celery: growing and care

The benefits of root celery have been proven. Celery root is a storehouse of vitamins.

Growing root celery in the country is not difficult. You need to know some secrets to get a good harvest.

When buying root celery seeds, pay attention to the timing of their ripening. Ripening takes an average of 120-200 days. You need to buy early maturing varieties. First you need to grow root celery seedlings. Growing root celery without seedlings is effective only in the southern regions.

It must be remembered that root celery seeds are very capricious.

• First, they quickly lose their germination.
• Secondly, the surface of the seed is protected by essential oils, which impede germination.

Therefore, before planting, root celery seeds should be soaked in water for two days, or even better, germinated in a dark place on a tray with a damp cloth. It is important to change the water in which the seeds are located 3 times a day, or make sure that the napkin on the tray is always damp. When root celery seeds hatch, you can plant them on seedlings.

Growing root celery seedlings

From February 5th to March 15th is the best time to plant seeds for seedlings. The prepared soil for growing celery should consist of six parts of peat, two parts of humus, part of sod land and part of mullein. You can also mix vermicompost with sand in equal parts. Landing is done in boxes in rows according to the scheme 2x2 centimeters in shallow holes.

Cover the seeds of root celery with soil for half a centimeter, cover the boxes with foil and place in a warm, dark place. It is necessary to constantly spray the soil with water. When shoots appear, after about a week, the seedlings are taken out to the balcony. The optimum temperature for seedlings at this time is + 16 ° C. The air temperature on the balcony should not be lower than + 8 ° C. It is impossible to freeze celery seedlings, otherwise the plant will give an arrow in bloom instead of juicy root crops. When the seedlings have two real leaves, you need to separate them and plant them in separate boxes. In this case, it is necessary to pinch the main spine by one third. It is impossible to fill up the growth point. Before planting the grown root celery seedlings in the soil, you can feed the seedlings with organic or mineral fertilizers several times. You can spray it with a pink solution of potassium permanganate or feed it with infusion of chicken droppings, a solution of humate, and a solution of complex fertilizer.

Planting celery root in the ground

It is necessary to plant celery root in open ground in warm weather. Around mid-May. The distance between plants should be 30 cm on each side. During planting, do not deepen the growing point.

If these conditions are met, the root crop will grow large without adventitious roots. It is necessary to water well. It is best to plant celery seedlings on a cloudy day in the morning. During frost it is necessary to cover each branch with a plastic bottle.

The main secrets of growing and caring for root celery in the open field

Watering

Don't let the soil dry out. Throughout the summer and until harvesting, the soil in the celery garden should remain moist. Pour celery under the root.

Feeding

Top dressing is done four times a season. The first feeding helps the seedlings to root and start vigorous growth. Subsequent top dressing promotes root thickening. A week after the seedlings are sown, you need to feed with herbal infusion, and after 12-14 days - infusion of mullein or chicken droppings. At the end of July, feed with superphosphate and, when the head begins to tie, with a solution of boric acid.

 Hilling

This procedure is contraindicated. On the contrary, when the root crop begins to thicken, it is necessary to rake off excess soil from it several times.

Loosening

Weakening the soil is encouraged. Although the plants are small, it will not be superfluous to loosen the soil between the rows from time to time.

Pruning leaves and lateral roots

If lateral (horizontal) roots appear, they must be removed, as they interfere with the thickening of the main root.

Root celery leaves can be eaten. But when the root crop begins to increase in size, all the terminal leaves are cut off, leaving only which grow vertically upward.

Harvest

Grown root celery is harvested in early or mid October. The first frosts are not terrible. Root celery tubers can withstand temperature drops of up to minus three degrees.