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Growing leafy celery from seeds is a challenge for beginner gardeners. This greens with a rich taste is part of many spice mixes, sauces, added to meat and fish dishes, pickles, marinades. Celery contains many minerals and vitamins, it will help lower blood pressure and normalize metabolism, and there are much more essential oils in leaves than in petioles or roots.
What does celery look like
Aromatic or Fragrant Celery (Apium graveolens) is a species belonging to the genus Celery from the Umbelliferae family. The culture has three varieties – leaf, petiole and root.
The life cycle of leaf celery is 2 years. In the first, he gives a crop of greenery, and in the second he shoots a flower arrow up to a meter high and sets the seeds. At the same time, leaf celery, unlike root and petiole, is not necessary to dig out for the winter – in cold regions it is enough to mulch the root so that it does not freeze. In the spring, he will first grow hard greens, then shoot an arrow with greenish-white flowers collected in a complex umbrella. By the end of summer, small seeds will ripen.
The root of celery is taproot, covered with many sucking processes. The leaves are green, depending on the variety, dark or light shade. Pinnately dissected, with rhombic-shaped segments, they are located on a branched furrowed stem.
The culture forms a large rosette, consisting of 40-150 thin petioles in different varieties, crowned with openwork leaves. Their length ranges from 12 to 25 cm, and usually (but not always) the more stems a plant has, the shorter they are.
Features of leaf celery
Celery is considered a vegetable plant, although its leaves would be correctly attributed to spicy herbs. The taste of greens is so rich due to the high content of essential oils that most people can only eat them as part of the main dish, sauce or seasoning. But, finely chopped, the leaves can replace salt. It is the greens that contain the most useful substances.
Unlike petiole and root varieties, leaf varieties are easier to grow by sowing seeds into the ground, although no one bothers to get an earlier harvest through seedlings. Celery, which is planted for greenery, has the shortest growing season and even in the Northwest will produce two crops or more. In the southern regions, leaf varieties can be sown in the ground before winter.
The culture is cold-resistant, even seedlings can easily withstand a short drop in temperature to -5 ° C.
Popular varieties
From the many leafy varieties, you can choose from those that give a large yield or tender greens. In any case, all have a rich spicy taste, contain many nutrients and few calories.
Celery sheet Gentle
In 1999, the State Register adopted the Nezhny variety, the author of which is the breeder Aleksashova M.V. It is recommended for cultivation throughout Our Country and can be grown both in household plots and in small farms.
This is a mid-season variety, in which 100-105 days pass from the moment of emergence of shoots to the first collection of leaves. Forms a medium spreading rosette with numerous shoots. The leaves are dark green, medium in size, with a strong aroma. The variety gives a high yield, from 320 to 350 centners of greens are harvested per hectare per season.
The leaves are used for fresh consumption, drying, cooking various dishes and homemade preparations.
Celery leaf Cheerfulness
A leaf variety accepted by the State Register in 2006 and recommended for cultivation in subsidiary farms in all regions. The originator was Agrofirm Poisk LLC.
This is a variety of medium ripening, in which the first green crop is harvested 100-110 days after germination. It has large green leaves and long petioles. The height of the upright rosette reaches 60-70 cm.
The yield of greens from one plant is 220-270 g. A variety from 1 sq. m per season yields a crop of 2,2-3,5 kg. The aroma is good. Used for fresh consumption, drying, cooking and canning.
Cartula
A popular Georgian leaf variety bred at the Tskhaltub vegetable growing experimental station. It grows better in the southern regions, but can be successfully cultivated in the Middle lane and in the North-West.
From the emergence of seedlings to the first cutting of leaves, 65-70 days pass. Forms an upright rosette with dark green leaves and petioles. It has a strong aroma and high resistance to cold and drought. Versatile greens.
Zakhar
The variety, entered in the State Register in 2000, is recommended for cultivation throughout the Federation. The originator of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “Federal Scientific Center for Vegetable Growing”, the author is Khomyakova E.M.
Green leaves are collected in a semi-raised rosette of 80-150 pieces, petioles are 10-12 cm long. 150-160 days pass from the moment of emergence of shoots to the first collection.
Zakhar is a versatile leaf variety with a strong aroma, good taste and high yield. The average yield of greens from 1 sq. m – 2,4 kg per season.
Planting leaf celery
Leaf celery can be sown directly into the ground. But for early greenery, especially in cold regions, it is grown through seedlings.
Planting seedlings
Sow seedlings at the end of March. Small seeds do not germinate well, as they contain essential oils. Without preliminary preparation, they will rise no earlier than in 20 days, and unevenly and not at the same time. To speed up the germination of seeds, various methods are used:
- Soak for 30 minutes in water at 60°C.
- The use of special preparations for seed germination.
- Long (several days) soaking in warm water. Change it every few hours.
Then the seeds of leaf celery are sown in boxes in rows located at a distance of 5-8 cm from each other. As a substrate, they take the usual purchased soil for seedlings. You can use special cassettes or separate plastic cups with a drainage hole. 2-3 seeds are sown in them, and then the strongest sprout is left – the rest are cut off at the root with nail scissors.
The containers are carefully watered using a household spray bottle, covered with glass and placed in a warm, bright place. As soon as the seedlings hatch, the celery is taken out to a cool room with good lighting and a temperature of 10-12 ° C. This will prevent the seedlings from stretching.
The leaf celery is then returned to the heat. The ideal temperature for seedlings of this crop is from 16 to 20 ° C. If the thermometer drops to 5 ° C, development will stop and the sprouts may die or get sick with a black leg.
When the seedlings put out 2-3 true leaves, they swoop down. To do this, use individual cups and cassettes, or the same boxes, only each plant is placed at a distance of 5 cm from the next one. Roots longer than 6 cm are pinched by 1/3.
For seedlings of leaf celery, compliance with the temperature regime, keeping in a well-lit place, air ventilation, and regular watering is of great importance. The soil should be moist, but not wet, and stagnant water is not allowed at all.
During the cultivation of seedlings, leaf celery is fed twice with a weak solution of complex fertilizers. The first time – after picking, when the sprouts take root and resume growth. The second – 2 weeks before landing in open ground.
Approximately 7 days after the second feeding, the seedlings begin to harden off. First, they take it out into the fresh air for several hours, then leave it outside all daylight hours. Two days before transplanting into the ground, seedlings are not brought into the room for the night.
By this time, cabbage should already be planted in the garden, and celery should have 4-5 real leaves.
The bed must be dug up in advance and placed in a well-lit place. The soil for planting celery should be loose, well permeable to water and air, filled with a large amount of organic matter – compost or humus.
Leaf varieties are planted in rows spaced 25 cm apart. About 20 cm is left between the bushes. Even if leaf celery forms a large rosette, it does not suffer particularly from thickening. In addition, bushes that interfere with each other can be thinned out by eating “extra” plants for food.
Seedlings are planted in the ground so as to leave on the surface and not sprinkle the growth point with earth, and water abundantly.
Planting leaf celery in open ground
In the south, leaf celery can be sown in the ground in late autumn. It germinates for a long time, there is no danger that the seeds will hatch during the thaw. During the winter, they will undergo a natural stratification, so that in the spring they will give friendly shoots.
You can sow a crop in early spring, if you prepare a garden bed in the fall. It is better not to soak the seeds before planting directly in the ground – they themselves will hatch in due time.
On a plot dug up and seasoned with organic matter (a bucket of humus per 1 sq. M) since autumn, shallow loosening is carried out, furrows are drawn at a distance of 25 cm from each other and spilled with water. Seeds of leaf celery mixed with sand are sown on top and sprinkled with dry soil. So there is no danger that small grains, of which about 1 pieces are contained in 800 g, will fall into the soil or be washed out with a stream of water.
When the leaf celery hatches and gives 2-3 true leaves, they begin to thin it out. Gradually removing seedlings, planting is made free enough so that neighboring plants can develop normally. Torn celery is eaten or planted in a new bed.
Care for celery
Leaf celery is not harmed by a decrease in temperature – if it drops to 5 ° C, the culture simply stops developing and waits for warming.
Watering and top dressing
Leaf celery is a moisture-loving crop. It should be watered regularly, in large quantities, but so that there is no stagnation of water in the root area.
You can’t do without top dressing – celery leaves will be small, it will grow poorly. Most crops need nitrogen. The first time, in the phase of 2-3 true leaves when sown in the ground, or a week after transplanting seedlings, the plant is given a complete mineral complex. In the future, every week celery is fertilized with infusion of weeds.
Weeding and mulching
It does not make sense to mulch planting leaf celery – the soil needs to be loosened often. This procedure is of great importance. Simultaneously with loosening, weed shoots and pests hiding in the soil or on its surface are destroyed, aeration improves. Celery not only grows well, but also absorbs nutrients and water.
Diseases and pests
Celery leaves contain a lot of bitterness and essential oils, which is why the culture rarely gets sick and is little damaged by pests. Most troubles with the plant are due to improper care, especially excessive watering without loosening the soil or on dense soils. The growth point of celery is especially sensitive to rot.
Among the diseases of seedlings, black leg should be distinguished. An adult plant suffers:
- from bacterial leaf spot;
- viral mosaic.
Pests of leaf celery:
- carrot flies;
- scoops;
- snails;
- slugs.
Why do celery leaves turn yellow?
Celery leaves may turn yellow due to waterlogging, especially on dense soils that rarely loosen. The color of greenery will also change with a lack of nitrogen.
Separately, one more reason for the yellowing of celery leaves should be noted – the defeat of the spider mite. It appears on the culture in hot weather with excessive dryness of the air. If you water celery, as required by the rules of agricultural technology, the pest will bypass it.
When to harvest and how to store leaf celery
For daily consumption, you can pick celery leaves as soon as they grow a little. Commodity harvesting is done when the crop reaches technical maturity. Overgrown greens become too tough. You can find out about the timing of ripening and harvesting of leaf celery in the description of the variety, they are also indicated on the packages with seeds.
It is impossible to keep greens fresh for a long time. It is dried, prepared with leaf celery salads, added to marinades during canning. If the greens are washed, dried, laid out in plastic bags or vessels and frozen, after thawing it will only be suitable for cooking hot dishes and has an unsightly appearance.
It is much better to grind the leaf celery with a blender, add some water and freeze in ice cube containers. Then you can immediately take the necessary portion of greens.
Conclusion
Growing leaf celery from seeds by sowing directly into the ground is a task for beginners. Breeding a crop through seedlings is a little more difficult, but fresh greens can be obtained much earlier. In any case, it is worth planting celery in every area – it is easy to care for it, and it gives more vitamins than other spicy crops.