How and when to plant celery

Celery Planting Time

Celery can be planted in March in spring, but the sowing time should not be too early to avoid the impact of low temperature on the celery. If there are too many days with low temperature, the celery will differentiate prematurely and mature early, affecting the yield and quality.

Summer celery is grown in the open field from April to May every year. If it is planted outdoors in the summer, the celery grows poorly and the yield is low. On the contrary, when it encounters rainy and hot weather, the diseases and pests are more serious and there are many dead seedlings, so it is necessary to observe the growth of celery.

The sowing time for autumn celery is from June to July. The germination temperature of celery seeds is 4 to 30 degrees. It germinates better when the temperature is around 20 degrees. However, if conditions permit, the temperature can be changed, keeping it at 25 degrees for 8 hours and then at 15 degrees for 18 hours, which will have the highest germination rate.

Celery should be planted in places with higher temperatures in winter. It can be sown outdoors in the south of the Yangtze River Basin, and in greenhouses in the northern region. Open-air planting in the south should be done from September to November. Watering can be done in small amounts and multiple times during planting. Each watering should be done in the morning and evening when the temperature is lower to avoid high temperatures at noon.

Celery Planting Methods

1. Seeding amount: About 500 grams of seeds are needed per acre of field, and 2 kilograms of celery seeds can be sown per acre of seedbed. When sowing, mix the germinated seeds with old bran ash. After evenly spreading, compact them slightly, and then water them with a spray bottle. In winter, you need to cover them with a plastic arch shed, and in summer, you need to cover them with a shade net to cool down and prevent rain.

2. Fertilization: You can choose to plant in sandy soil that is rich in organic matter and has strong water and fertilizer retention. You can apply 150 kg of quicklime per mu of land, and then deep plow the soil to whiten it, and make it into a ridge about 1.67 meters wide. You can apply urea, phosphate fertilizer, potassium fertilizer, vegetable dregs, human and animal manure, and then shallowly plow it into the soil, level it, and wait for 4-5 days before transplanting.

3. Transplanting: Wait until the seedlings are 50-60 days old and grow to 12-15cm before transplanting. Spray diazinon once before transplanting. Moisten the soil 3-4 hours before pulling the seedlings. Then plant 4-5 plants in each cluster with a row spacing of 16-26cm and a cluster spacing of about 1cm. Water while transplanting.

4. Field management: After the seedlings are planted, they need to be watered once a day in the morning and evening, and attention should be paid to checking the seedlings. After they are established, manure water should be applied frequently and the soil should be kept moist. Shallow tillage is required 2-3 times before closing the rows. Generally, in the hot and dry season, it is necessary to cover the greenhouse or small arch shed with a shade net, or cover it with grass for shade in the early growth stage.

5. Prevention and control of diseases and pests: Common diseases of celery are leaf spot and spot disease, which can be controlled by mancozeb, carbendazim or thiophanate-methyl. Common insect pests include aphids, which can be controlled by dimethoate or malathion.