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Celery root is a vegetable crop that, if properly grown and stored, can lie until a new harvest. Its taste and aroma are not as rich as those of leaf combs, and the content of vitamins, minerals and other useful substances is high. Root celery should be harvested on time, otherwise it will not ripen or be damaged by frost, which will significantly reduce keeping quality.
When to remove root celery from the garden
Celery root crops can be eaten when they reach a diameter of 5 cm. After full ripening, their size increases significantly, and their weight can exceed 500 g. But choosing the right time to harvest celery root for the winter is important not because of its volume. Though that matters too.
Celery has a long growing season – an average of 200 days from germination. The root crop begins to form in the second half of summer, with the main weight gain occurring from August to September. And the vegetable also needs a period of aging, when the peel acquires the necessary density and becomes able to protect the pulp from moisture loss and infection.
It is not worth rushing or delaying the harvesting of root celery for storage. If this is done too early, the culture will not have time to gain enough nutrients, form a dense peel and will not lie well. Root celery is not afraid of short-term frosts. But exposure to low temperatures reduces its shelf life. Root crops will need to be eaten within a short time or processed.
Harvesting time depends on the growing region and the weather. Naturally, the early varieties are dug up first, and the later ones are kept in the garden almost until frost. It is also necessary to take into account what will be done with root crops after harvest. Early and mid-season fruits are eaten fresh or processed. They are intended for short-term storage, so that the time of their excavation can be determined, although not arbitrarily, but very approximately. Usually they are guided by a varietal description, which indicates the approximate period that must pass from germination to harvest.
Another thing is late root celery. You can store it until the next harvest, and the timing of harvesting should be determined as accurately as possible. In addition to the fact that this must be done before serious frosts, gardeners are guided by such signs:
- the first snow, if it fell before a strong drop in temperature;
- yellowing and wilting of the upper part of the leaves, if this is not caused by disease, pests or overdrying of the soil;
- root crops are dug up after harvesting late varieties of cabbage.
Speaking approximately, in the south, the culture can be kept in the garden until the middle or end of November. Terms of harvesting root celery in the Middle lane – October. In the north, late varieties usually do not ripen in open ground. They are grown in greenhouses, or brought from warmer regions.
When to harvest root celery in the suburbs
Near Moscow, late varieties ripen perfectly. They need to be removed when the signs listed above appear, if a long frost is not expected before. Usually late root celery in the region is harvested by the end of October or the beginning of November. There are no problems at all with early and mid-season varieties in the Moscow region.
When to harvest root celery in the Urals
Late varieties in the Urals often do not have time to ripen before frost. They are grown under film cover or not planted at all. In any case, the weather in the Urals is unpredictable and changeable.
If the gardener is not ready at any time to cover the planting with heat-retaining material, late varieties of root celery should be discarded, and early and mid-ripening ones should be grown. They are harvested, focusing on the signs of ripening, starting from the end of August, all of September, and if the weather permits, in early October.
When to harvest celery root in Siberia
Only early varieties of root celery ripen well in Siberia. Planting mid-season sometimes ends in failure – year after year is not necessary and frosts can begin early.
In Siberia, root crops are dug up when the signs of ripening described above appear. For early varieties, this is usually the end of August – the beginning of September, mid-ripening ones are dug in September-October. Root crops that have fallen under low temperatures or have not had time to ripen are used for harvesting and eaten fresh. And in order to keep fresh celery even for a short time, you should plant mid-ripening and early varieties.
Rules for harvesting celery root
The crop is harvested in dry cloudy weather. The ground should be moist, but not wet. If it rained the day before, it is better to wait – celery dug up immediately after rainfall or watering is stored worse. So you also need to guess with soil moisture – focusing on the mechanical composition of the soil, make it no later than 3 days before harvesting.
They dig up celery with a pitchfork or a shovel – as it is convenient for anyone, but you need to retreat from the tops to a decent distance so as not to damage the root crops. It is possible to pull them out of the ground by the leaves only on light, loose soils, where no effort is needed for this.
Root crops are freed from large lumps of soil. If they were dug out in cold weather, they cannot be brought into a warm room immediately, the temperature must be raised gradually. The root celery taken out of the wet ground is dried under a canopy or in a well-ventilated cool room.
Then thin roots and tops are cut off, leaving columns of about 2 cm. Sorting is carried out. Root crops are rejected:
- with signs of mechanical damage;
- too small;
- affected by diseases or pests;
- deformed;
- with a soft top;
- making a ringing sound when tapped (this is a sign of emptiness inside).
How to store root celery for the winter
Late varieties of root celery grown on loose soils without excessive nitrogen fertilization are best and longest stored. Harvesting in dry weather before the onset of frost, but after the full ripening of the root crops, increases the keeping quality.
Celery root can be peeled, cut into pieces and dried or frozen, used for winter harvesting. But it’s best to keep it fresh.
Celery root refers to vegetables with a long shelf life. This is a culture with a two-year development cycle, being in a state of winter dormancy, it slows down growth processes, and does not stop them at all. The main task of the hostess during the storage of root crops is to prevent their germination and the development of diseases. Under optimal conditions, late varieties will lie until the new harvest.
How to store celery root at home
Root celery can be stored in the refrigerator, washed with a brush and cut off all small shoots. It is laid out in bags or wrapped in cling film and placed in the vegetable section.
You can store root crops on a glazed balcony or loggia. They will lie the longer, the closer the temperature is to the optimum – from 2 to 4 ° C. Root celery is put in boxes or bags and sprinkled with wet sand or peat. Root crops should be sorted from time to time and the substrate in which they are stored should be moistened. Humidity should be at the level of 90-95%.
Damaged root crops can be peeled, cut into thin petals and dried. For freezing, they are divided into cubes, and later they are used only for cooking hot dishes.
How to store root celery for the winter in the cellar
Sorted healthy root crops will lie fresh for the longest time in a cellar or basement at a temperature of 2-4 ° C and a humidity of 90-95%. Just as for storage on the balcony, they are laid out petioles up in boxes or bags with peat or sand. The substrate must always be moist.
Root celery should be periodically removed from the substrate, vegetables that begin to deteriorate should be removed, and sand or peat should be moistened with water.
If the cellar contains different fruits and vegetables that need different conditions, use a different method. Storage of root celery in winter is possible at a temperature and humidity other than optimal, if you lower the roots into a mash made from clay and water. Then they are dried and stacked in rows.
After harvesting, storing root celery in a trench covered with earth on the street, counting on the absence of frost, is not worth it even in the southern regions. There, after all, a real winter can come, and the soil will freeze. But it’s even worse if the root crops sprout. You will no longer be able to eat them.
Shelf life of celery root
In the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator, healthy root crops washed and wrapped in cellophane will lie for about a month.
At room temperature, celery root can be stored for 4 days.
Cut or peeled, wrapped in cling film in the refrigerator, it will lie for up to a week.
On a glazed loggia in wet sand or peat, root celery can be stored all winter.
Root crops remain fresh for the longest time in the cellar or basement. Under the right conditions, they will keep for 3-6 months. You need to quickly eat early varieties of celery, later ones can lie until spring.
For more than six months, root crops are stored in special vegetable stores with controlled temperature and humidity.
Conclusion
You need to clean the root celery on time, and store it correctly. Only then will it retain its taste, nutrients and beneficial properties. If you grow root vegetables yourself and treat them correctly from the very beginning, you can eat hot dishes and salads with fresh celery all winter.