Agricultural practices for growing celery from transplants, from sowing to harvest

Growing celery requires strict adherence to agricultural techniques and planting dates. Due to a long growing season, root and stalk cultivars are grown exclusively through transplants. Leaf types grow faster, so they can be sown directly into open soil.

• Growing season of root celery — about 200 days
• Sowing date for root celery — end of February
• Sowing date for stalk celery — early March
• Ash application rate for leaf celery — 1 cup per 1 sq. m
• Minimum dose of organic matter for root celery — 1 bucket per plant
• Boron application rate for root crops — 2 g per bucket of water

Seedling cultivation and planting in beds

For sowing root celery at the end of February, agronomists use the "sowing on snow" method. This technique facilitates the distribution of small seeds and ensures their optimal depth in the soil substrate. Adherence to this sowing technology guarantees uniform and strong seedlings.

1. Fill seedling pots with moist soil, compact it, and add a 2 cm layer of snow on top.
2. Compact the snow and carefully spread the seeds over it — no more than 3 per container.
3. Cover the pots with glass or film and place them on a windowsill.
4. Wait for the snow to melt, which will pull the small seeds into the top layer of soil.
5. Remove the glass or film as soon as the seeds sprout and show emergence.

The success of cultivation largely depends on the quality of the seed. For root cultivars, it is recommended to choose imported seeds, as domestic equivalents are often inferior in key characteristics. Caring for delicate seedlings after the appearance of the "loops" requires increased attention.

Water the seedlings with a teaspoon strictly along the edges of the pot. At the 2–3 true leaves stage, cut off excess seedlings with nail scissors at the soil level, leaving only the strongest plant in each pot. To prevent weak stems from falling over and tearing the roots, the seedlings are periodically hilled by gently gathering soil around them using two matchsticks.

In early May, the grown plants are moved to their permanent location. To obtain early greens, 5–6 stalk celery plants are planted in a greenhouse in late April or early May. Seedlings for greenhouse are prepared at home using the same technology as for root celery transplants.

When planting root celery, the soil is heavily amended with organic matter — at least one bucket per plant. Additionally, a tablespoon of superphosphate is added to the planting holes, mixed thoroughly with the soil, and watered. The transplants are set into the holes strictly up to the cotyledon leaves. For stalk cultivars, the dose of organic fertilizer at planting can be halved.

Maintenance technology for root, stalk, and leaf cultivars

Subsequent care for root celery consists of regular weekly top dressing. For this, a weed infusion diluted with water in a 1:5 ratio is used, with the addition of 1 teaspoon of superphosphate per bucket of solution. At the beginning of fruit set, the crops are treated with boron at a rate of 2 g per bucket of water to prevent hollows from forming inside the roots.

The formation of a large, marketable root crop requires constant control of the foliage and the root system. No more than 4 young leaves are left in the center of the rosette, while outer leaves are regularly pruned. As the root crop grows, it is gradually un-hilled, and two mandatory operations are performed:

• using a sharp knife, carefully prune side roots, trying not to damage the body of the root crop;
• do not allow roots to spread outward to avoid unwanted branching.

Stalk celery is sown for transplants in early March at the same time as tomatoes, and transplantation into the greenhouse is carried out in late April — early May. In the second half of summer, unlike root types, stalk cultivars are highly hilled with soil. This practice helps to blanch the leaf stalks and removes their unwanted bitterness.

Leaf celery is sown in early spring directly into open soil. Wood ash is applied during soil preparation at a rate of one cup per square meter. The seeds germinate for about two weeks, so to protect against weeds, lettuce is sown in the furrows as a marker crop. Weed seedlings are cut with a weeding tool to a depth of 1–2 cm as they appear and left on the bed.

Subsequently, leaf celery is top dressed weekly with a weed infusion. The crop is very responsive to soil aeration, so frequent irrigation should be replaced by regular loosening of the row spacings. Leaf and stalk cultivars do not require boron application. In autumn, the entire harvest must be collected completely, as celery does not overwinter in the soil under the conditions of the North-West.