Celery is a biennial plant, producing flower shoots in the second year. The cultivation includes the well-known root celery and the celery with edible thick petioles popular in the West and Hungary., but not forming a thickening. Root celery is a valuable source of minerals: iron, calcium and phosphorus. It also contains small amounts of vitamins A and C., where the content of vitamins is greater in the celery leaves than in the callus.
Celery is quite frost-resistant and does not freeze in temperatures down to -5 ° C. It grows best in humus soil, fertile, rich in calcium. If the soil is acidic, it must be limeed in the fall. Celery is grown in the second year after manure, and only on poorer soils – in the first year after manure, but then composted manure should be dug up in early autumn. In order to obtain a high yield, the amount of mineral fertilizer should be applied in the spring 1 m2: 15-20 g of calcium ammonium nitrate (do not use ammonium sulphate), 40-50 g superfosfatu i 30-50 g 40% potassium salt.
Celery does not tolerate very high temperatures and strong sunlight. It performs best in temperate and humid regions with evenly distributed rainfall. It is especially sensitive to the lack of water in the soil in the second half of summer and in the fall. Because celery is planted in the second half of May, can be used, cultivating forecrops (radish, lettuce, spinach). It is grown only from seedlings produced in a warm inspection. The seeds are sown in mid-February in a warm inspection room or in a box in the apartment, dressing with mortar T before sowing. Celery requires a temperature of around 25 ° C to emerge, after emergence, 14-17 ° C is sufficient. To produce 1000 seedling pieces, it is enough to sow 0,5 g nasion. Lightly tap the sown seeds and cover them with a 0.5 cm layer of soil. Because the seeds take a relatively long time to germinate, it is worth sprouting them in moist sand beforehand (they are held in the sand by 2 weeks). Po 5-6 weeks after sowing, the seedlings are picked at 4X4 or 4X5 cm spacing. When the temperature outside becomes above 12 ° C, around mid-May, celery is planted in the ground at a distance of 40-45X30-40 cm.
The care work consists in destroying weeds, the soil should not be loosened too deep, not to damage the lumps. You should not sprinkle the celery with soil, as this produces lateral roots, which reduces the quality of the bead. If in July the celery has sparse and too bright leaves, it is necessary to sow nitrogen fertilizer. The celery is harvested at the end of October. WITH 1 m2 can be obtained 1,5 – 2 kg of celery.
The early varieties are: Apple – salad type, delicate, tasty; preserves well during the winter; almost spherical thickening, quite big (time 150-300 g), with thin side roots, only growing out of the bottom; white flesh, strict, firm; Not any more – good for preserves, durable in storage; spherical thickening, sometimes slightly flattened or elongated, with few lateral roots at the bottom, weight 200-400 g; almost smooth surface, brown-cream; creamy-white flesh, strict, firm, aromatic, delicate, tasty; Globus – for early-winter use, because it doesn't keep well; a spherical or slightly elongated bead with very few and fine roots at the bottom of the bead; weight 150-300 g; smooth surface, beige-gray-white; creamy-white flesh, strict, firm, aromatic, with good taste.
The mid-early varieties are: Odrzański – good for early use, winter and preserves; disease resistant; large thickening, weight 200-500 g, spherical, ribbed at the top, lateral roots of medium thickness, thickened at the bottom; slightly rough surface, yellowish brown; creamy-white flesh, quite accurate, often with voids and rusty spots; Frigga- fast growing, very fertile; the thickening most often spherical, but also spherical, spherically flattened or hoof-shaped; weight 200-400 g; cream-brown skin, white flesh; Zwindra – Dutch variety, recently introduced to cultivation in Poland, distinguished by vigorous growth and stiff petioles; large thickening, smooth, spherical, it does not rise above the soil surface; resistant to knocking out of the seed shoot; white flesh; stores well.