How to cultivate celery in spring? Detailed explanation of key technical points

Celery belongs to the Apiaceae family. There are three types: water celery, dryland celery and western celery. Their functions are similar, and for medicinal use dryland celery is the best. Dryland celery has a stronger aroma and is called "medicinal celery". However, it is not the same species as cilantro. Celery is rich in protein, carbohydrates, carotene, B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium and so on. At the same time, it has the effects of calming the liver and clearing heat, dispelling wind and promoting diuresis, relieving restlessness and reducing swelling, cooling the blood and stopping bleeding, detoxifying and soothing the lungs, strengthening the stomach and nourishing the blood, clearing the intestines and relieving constipation, moistening the lungs and stopping cough, lowering blood pressure, and calming the brain. Eating celery regularly, especially eating celery leaves, is very beneficial for preventing hypertension and arteriosclerosis, and has an auxiliary therapeutic effect.

Celery is cool in nature, sweet and pungent in taste, and non-toxic; it enters the liver, gallbladder and pericardium meridians. It mainly treats clearing heat and relieving restlessness, calming the liver. It mainly treats hypertension, headache, dizziness, severe heat with restlessness and thirst, jaundice, edema, painful and difficult hot urination, irregular menstruation in women, red and white leukorrhea. scrofula. mumps and other conditions. Celery is cool in nature and smooth in quality, so those with deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach, or with insecure and slippery intestines, should eat it with caution. It contains a large amount of colloidal calcium carbonate, which is easily absorbed by the human body, can supplement the calcium needed by the legs, and can also prevent edema of the lower body.

The apigenin contained in celery has a blood pressure-lowering effect, and its effect is mainly caused through the reflex action of the chemoreceptors of the carotid body. The alkaloid extract of celery has a sedative effect on animals. It is used for heat in the liver meridian, hyperactivity of liver yang, restlessness and irritability with fever, and dizziness; heat strangury, turbid urine, difficult urination or blood in the urine; early menstruation; stomach heat with vomiting and reduced food intake. In modern times it is used for hypertension, chyluria and so on.

How to cultivate celery well in spring?

Varieties should be selected that are relatively cold-resistant, late in bolting, vigorous in growth, good in quality, and suitable for spring cultivation. Such as large-leaf celery, milk-stalk celery, glass crisp celery, Jinnan solid celery, Italian western celery and so on. Seedling raising For celery raised in greenhouses, sowing can be done in stages from the end of January to early March. For open-field sowing and seedling raising, it is advisable to sow on sunny days from the end of February to mid-April. When sowing in this period, the temperature is low, so before sowing the seeds should first be soaked, then germinated under conditions of 15°C to 20°C. After sowing, the seedbed should also be covered with film or a small arch shed, and a shade net should be added at night. Before emergence, the beds can be kept appropriately higher to promote rapid emergence. After emergence, pay attention to ventilation and cooling during the day (not exceeding 25°C), to prevent “leggy seedlings” and the occurrence of diseases, and at night it is best not to go below 8°C. This is conducive to cultivating strong seedlings, and can also delay the vernalization stage, reducing or delaying premature bolting of celery. Whether raising seedlings in greenhouses or open fields, or direct sowing, fertilizer and water management should be strengthened on sunny days according to seedling conditions. Planting and management For direct sowing, in order to prevent the seedlings from growing leggy due to crowding, thinning should be carried out twice after the seedlings emerge evenly and during the 1 to 2 true leaf stage. For greenhouse seedling raising, transplant from mid-March to late April when the 10 cm open-field soil temperature is stable and above 5°C; for open-field direct sowing from late February to mid-April without transplanting, final thinning should be done from early May to early June. The spacing between plants and rows for transplanting and final thinning is 10 cm × 10 cm. Select large seedlings and plant them by grade, and after planting water them to settle the soil. Most seedbeds remain for “stool” cultivation. Plant 35,000 to 40,000 stools per 666.7 sq m. Harvesting The spring celery growing period is a process from low temperature to high temperature, which easily causes the plants to pass through vernalization and bolt. Therefore, it must be harvested and marketed in time before celery bolts, so as not to reduce quality. Thus its growing period is shorter than that of autumn and winter celery, and it is generally harvested and marketed successively from May to late June.