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This vitamin greens has long been known and loved by truck farmers for excellent taste and medicinal properties. Cultivation of celery and care for it in the open ground will not be very difficult even for beginners, if you follow the simple rules of agricultural technology. But in return, you can get and tops, and roots, and even petioles! However, for this purpose it is necessary to plant a celery of all three kinds.
General information about celery
Celery varieties are divided into three varieties - leaf, petiolate and root. In the conditions of the middle belt, all species can be planted in seedlings, since this culture is characterized by a long vegetation period. In practice, this method grows only the last two, and the leaf is sown directly into the soil in the early spring or during the winter.
Cultivation of celery in the open ground requires advance preparation of the soil. All kinds of beds are prepared from autumn:
- make phosphorus and potassium fertilizers;
- add well reparted manure or compost;
- pour in ashes or dolomite flour for acid soil;
- ditch with forks, removing roots of weeds;
- form beds.
To plant celery into the ground, choose open sunny places. Recommended doses of mineral fertilizers are indicated on the packaging, organic plants need an average bucket per square meter, and the amount of dolomite flour can be calculated based on the acidity level of the soil at site. In a weak acid make 350-450 g per square meter, for acidic, you need twice as much. If the soil is alkaline, you can do by applying 100-150 g to saturate it with calcium and magnesium.
Growing celery and care for it in the open field requires frequent watering and regular feeding with liquid organic fertilizers - mullein or nettle infusion.
When there is a shortage of water, the leaves and petioles will be coarse and fibrous, and the root crop will not reach the right size.
When to sow seeds
Celery and root species of celery are planted in seedlings in February or March. Late-ripening varieties should be sown earlier. Before planting, it is desirable to keep the seeds in a pink solution of potassium permanganate, rinse and remove for 10-12 days on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, wrapped in a damp cloth. Thus, the seeds of celery are stratified and in the future they are more rapid and friendly.
Landing time in the ground
When to plant celery in the open ground - the weather will tell. The soil at the time of transplanting should warm up to +8 degrees. In the middle lane, this usually occurs in mid-May. Seedlings by this time should have several strong leaves, a developed root system and be hardened. To do this, it is regularly carried out in the afternoon on a balcony or street.
Features of agricultural technology of culture
In the soil of celery planted in rows. The optimal distance between them is not less than 50-60 cm, and between plants - 25 cm.
Plants planted thicker will not receive nutrients and light. After planting, the seedlings are watered abundantly.
In the future, for good growth and development of celery regularly watered, weeds are removed and loosened.
The cultivation of petioled celery in the open ground differs in some features. Since the middle of the season, the bushes slightly hill, and at the end of summer, when the petioles have practically reached the market, they can be hardened and wrapped in light paper.These procedures are carried out in order to obtain bleached stems - they are more tender and not more whitened.
Cultivation of root celery in the open ground also has subtleties, without knowledge of which it is difficult to obtain an even and large root crop. Seedlings need to be planted on the ridges, not deepening.After the plant starts to form a root crop, it is necessary to regularly cut off the outer leaves, carefully trim the side roots and make sure that there are only a few thick lower roots. Earth from the roots are regularly raked and loosened. Otherwise, the risk of getting a brush from roots instead of a round root crop is great. For normal growth of root celery, several well-developed young leaves and the lowest roots are enough.
When removing excess leaves and roots from root celery, one should not forget about regular fertilizing with organic fertilizers. Then the plant will form a large root crop.
When the celery is removed
Cleaning of leaf celery begins as soon as the first green leaves grow. During the summer period, it is cut several times. After cutting, the plant is watered and fed.
Cleaning the petiolate and root species is carried out selectively, as the individual bushes mature. It is necessary to finish it before the onset of autumn frosts, that is, until the middle of October.
With these simple recommendations, growing celery and keeping it outdoor will not be difficult and will result in a delicious and vitamin-rich harvest.
