If you want to grow celery in your vegetable garden, you don't need a green thumb or experience - the right knowledge of preparation and easy care is sufficient. With a few tips, growing the vegetables will be even easier and is especially suitable for beginners in plant care. The reward for the little effort is particularly fresh and aromatic celery, which is not only tasty as a raw vegetable.
Sowing directly outdoors is easy in itself, but not recommended when growing bleached celery. Because if the seeds are brought directly into the bed, growth takes a very long time and the harvest is delayed. The celery should therefore either be preferred indoors or planted as a seedling.
The following should be observed when pulling out and planting:
As soon as a piece of the poles is visible above the ground, they are again surrounded with soil and the substrate is lightly pressed on. In this way, a kind of wall gradually emerges and only the upper leaves - i.e. the celery green - are visible.
Tip: If the harvest is very large, the celery can also be frozen and can then be kept for several months. However, it should be cleaned well beforehand, blanched for three minutes in boiling water and then quenched in ice water. This way it will keep its consistency and color.
The bleaching celery is usually spared from pests. Diseases and care mistakes are quite possible, the most likely is the spread of a fungus. The leaves wilt and discolor, and a black fruiting body can often be seen on them. The spread of the fungus is favored by damp weather, damp soil and planting distances that are too close. Watering from above can also increase the risk. If there is an infestation, the culture conditions should be adapted and the affected plants removed. An appropriate fungus remedy can and should also be used to prevent further spread.
In addition to the factors mentioned, other maintenance errors can be responsible for a loss in yield. Including:
Conclusion
Growing celery in the vegetable patch is very easy, provided the appropriate knowledge is available. With this and a little patience, good yields can be achieved and the vegetables can be harvested crisp and fresh for weeks.
Variety choice
With the right procedure, celery can be pulled from any celery stalk or celery. However, this involves more effort in terms of maintenance. It is much easier to choose celery directly. This is also known as white, self-bleaching celery.Location
Garden or balcony - the main thing is that it is sunny. The vegetables can still cope with light shade, but this does not optimally promote growth.Substrate and soil
White celery is a heavy eater and therefore needs large amounts of nutrients. The substrate should also be made as follows:- loamy and not too loose or sandy
- wet
- calcareous
- nutritious
preparation
Ideally, the vegetable patch for growing the bleached celery should be prepared as early as autumn. The soil is dug up or at least loosened and, if necessary, lime and compost are incorporated. If the time for this was missed in autumn, the preparation can also be made up in spring. But then as early as possible so that soil organisms can still decompose the nutrients.Sowing and pre-breeding
Sowing directly outdoors is easy in itself, but not recommended when growing bleached celery. Because if the seeds are brought directly into the bed, growth takes a very long time and the harvest is delayed. The celery should therefore either be preferred indoors or planted as a seedling. The following should be observed when pulling out and planting:
1. The sowing takes place in potting soil, from around the end of February and at a temperature of at least 15 ° C. The seeds should be about two inches apart.
2. The substrate must be kept moist throughout.
3. After the ice saints, the seedlings can be planted outdoors. Of course, this also applies to purchased seedlings.
4. The young plants are each placed two centimeters deep and should have a distance of 20 to 30 centimeters within the row and 30 centimeters between the rows.
5. After planting, the young bleaching celery is poured well so that the water also reaches deeper layers of the earth. It should be noted that no
Water that is too cold is used, as the seedlings are initially quite fragile.bleaching
If a self-bleaching variety of celery has not been chosen, the stalks must be protected from the sun. This is done gradually by piling up the earth around the plants.As soon as a piece of the poles is visible above the ground, they are again surrounded with soil and the substrate is lightly pressed on. In this way, a kind of wall gradually emerges and only the upper leaves - i.e. the celery green - are visible.
to water
Pale celery needs a lot of liquid and moisture - so it has to be watered accordingly. It is ideal if the substrate is always kept slightly moist but no waterlogging occurs. At least in summer and during periods without precipitation it must therefore be watered. It can also be tap water, because bleached celery is not sensitive to lime.Fertilize
During growth, the celery is fertilized and watered with pond water or nettle liquid at the same time. Alternatively, a small amount of compost can be applied and incorporated again before watering. Fertilization takes place about four weeks after planting and from then on once a month until harvest. In the case of very poor soils, fertilization can also be carried out twice a month.harvest
The harvest can begin around August and continue through October. It should be completed before the first frost breaks in. Until then, however, you can harvest as needed. To remove the stalks from the ground, self-bleaching celery is gripped and pulled out of the substrate. If the celery was grown in a light-protected manner by piling up the substrate, the soil around the plant is first carefully removed and the vegetables are then pulled up.storage
If the celery is not to be used immediately, the soil is roughly removed and covered with sand or wrapped in newspaper. The sticks keep for several weeks at 1 to 5 ° C and in the dark.Tip: If the harvest is very large, the celery can also be frozen and can then be kept for several months. However, it should be cleaned well beforehand, blanched for three minutes in boiling water and then quenched in ice water. This way it will keep its consistency and color.
Pests, diseases and care mistakes
The bleaching celery is usually spared from pests. Diseases and care mistakes are quite possible, the most likely is the spread of a fungus. The leaves wilt and discolor, and a black fruiting body can often be seen on them. The spread of the fungus is favored by damp weather, damp soil and planting distances that are too close. Watering from above can also increase the risk. If there is an infestation, the culture conditions should be adapted and the affected plants removed. An appropriate fungus remedy can and should also be used to prevent further spread.In addition to the factors mentioned, other maintenance errors can be responsible for a loss in yield. Including:
- lack of nutrients, too poor a substrate
- too loose, sandy soil
- lack of watering
- too dark location
- too early planting and damage from late frost
- Pour with water that is too cold
Cultivation in the bucket
You don't necessarily need a bed to grow celery. A large, flat bucket or a waterproof sack is also sufficient. A self-bleaching variety should be selected for the bucket so that the piling to bleach the sticks is not necessary. For this purpose, a little more substrate can be filled in a sack. In both cases it must be ensured that:- the water drainage is ensured
- the plants are well ventilated
- the planter is in a sunny spot
- drying out of the substrate is avoided
Conclusion
Growing celery in the vegetable patch is very easy, provided the appropriate knowledge is available. With this and a little patience, good yields can be achieved and the vegetables can be harvested crisp and fresh for weeks.