How to Grow Celery: The Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial

Celery cultivation in China began in the Han Dynasty and has a history of more than 2000 years. At first it was grown only as an ornamental plant, and later as a food crop. Through continuous domestication and breeding, the slender-petiole celery cultivar type was formed, namely benqin (Chinese celery).

Celery's Growing Environment

1. Temperature. Celery originated along the Mediterranean coast. It is a shallow-rooted vegetable of the Apiaceae family and prefers a cool and mild climate. The optimum temperature for seed germination is 18-25°C, with a minimum of 4-6°C; during the seedling stage 15-20°C is suitable, and it can tolerate short periods of -4-5°C cold and around 30°C heat, while the roots can overwinter at low temperatures of about -15°C. The suitable temperature for vegetative growth is 16-20°C; above 20°C growth is poor, diseases occur easily, and quality declines.

2. Light. Low temperature and long daylight can promote flower bud differentiation at the shoot apex, so spring sowing easily bolts prematurely; during the vegetative growth period, high temperature and strong light increase the fiber content and severely degrade quality. Therefore celery is suited to protected environments, especially winter-early spring and autumn-delayed cultivation.

3. Water. Celery's root system is shallow, mostly around 12-18 cm, so it is not drought-tolerant and needs moist soil and air conditions. Especially during the peak growth period, when the soil surface is covered with white fibrous roots, ample water is even more necessary; otherwise growth stalls, the mechanical tissue in the petioles develops strongly, and yield and quality decline.

4. Soil and nutrition. Celery is suited to loam or clay loam rich in organic matter with strong water- and fertilizer-holding capacity. For every 100 kg of celery produced, 40 g of nitrogen, 14 g of phosphorus and 60 g of potassium are required. Nitrogen deficiency makes plants short and stunted, and petioles age and become hollow easily, with nitrogen deficiency in the early and late stages having the greatest impact. In addition, celery has a relatively strong need for boron; when boron is deficient, celery petioles crack easily, and 0.5-0.75 kg of borax can be applied per mu.

Celery Cultivation Techniques

Celery has strong adaptability to the environment. By combining different varieties for different seasons and matching various protective facilities, it can be produced year-round across both north and south. The main cropping sequences are as follows.

1. Open-field cultivation sequences

① Autumn celery: raised as seedlings in early summer, grows during the cool autumn season, harvested about one month after frost, with a growing period of 120-150 days.

② Spring-summer celery: seedlings raised under protection 80-90 days before the last frost, transplanted 20-30 days before the last frost, grows in spring and summer, harvested around the high-temperature season.

③ Overwintering celery: in areas where the lowest average winter temperature is above -5°C, seedlings or small plants can overwinter directly in the open field; in areas around -10°C, windbreaks and straw mulching on the ground are used for overwintering; in areas below -12°C, autumn celery root stocks are mostly stored for overwintering and planted after the thaw the following spring.

2. Protected facility cultivation sequences

Celery in protected facilities is mainly for overwintering, winter-spring and autumn-delayed production. It can be planted alone on a large scale or intercropped and relay-cropped with cucumber and tomato.

① Solar greenhouse overwintering celery: shaded seedling raising from June to August, transplanting from August to October, and leaf-by-leaf harvesting in stages from December to April of the following year.

② Improved sunny cold frame winter-spring celery: sowing and seedling raising from late August to early September, transplanting from mid-October to early November, harvesting in April-May.

③ Autumn protected cultivation celery: autumn greenhouse celery is generally sown in late June, transplanted in mid-to-late August, and harvested from mid-October to mid-November; small arched sheds covered with straw mats can be used for autumn-delayed celery cultivation, mostly with seedling raising in mid-to-late June, transplanting in early September, and entering peak harvest in mid-December.

Excellent Celery Varieties

1. Chinese celery (benqin)

① Jinnan Shiqin No. 1: bred by the Agricultural Science Station of Shuanggang Town, Jinnan District, Tianjin. This variety has strong growth vigor, bolts late, and has few branches. The petioles are solid, the quality is good, it is disease-resistant and widely adaptable. The average single plant weight is 0.5 kg, and the average yield per mu is 5000-10000 kg. It is suitable for spring and autumn open-field and protected facility cultivation throughout China.

② Jinnan Winter Celery: a new celery variety released in 1995 by the Tianjin Hongcheng Celery Research Institute. This variety has relatively thick petioles, light green in color, with a pleasant aroma. The plant height is 90 cm, the single plant weight is 0.25 kg, and it has very few branches. It is most suitable for winter protected production.

③ Tiegang Celery: the plant is tall, the leaves are dark green and glossy, the petioles are green, solid or semi-solid, the single plant weight is 0.25 kg, and the yield per mu is about 5000 kg.

2. Western celery (celeriac-type celery)

① Italian Winter Celery: the plant has strong growth vigor, plant height 85 cm, thick solid petioles, petiole base 1.2 cm wide and 0.95 cm thick, crisp and tender texture, few fibers, strong medicinal aroma, average single plant weight about 250 g. It can tolerate short-term low temperatures of -10°C and short-term high temperatures of 35°C. It is a main western celery variety planted across north and south, especially suitable for winter, spring and autumn-delayed cultivation in small and medium arched sheds, improved sunny cold frames and solar greenhouses in northern regions.

② Meiqin: a western celery variety introduced from the United States, plant height about 90 cm, spread 42 cm × 34 cm, petioles green, up to 44 cm long, 2.38 cm wide, 1.65 cm thick, leaf sheath base 3.92 cm wide, solid, tender and crisp, with very few fibers. The average single plant weight is about 1 kg, suitable for both raw and cooked use. Late-maturing, growing period 100-120 days, cold- and heat-tolerant, and storage-tolerant. Slightly susceptible to black heart disease, not easy to bolt. The plant and row spacing is slightly larger than that of benqin, with 25 cm × 25 cm being suitable, and 8000-9000 plants per mu.

Celery Pest and Disease Control

The main pest of overwintering celery cultivation is aphids, and the specific control methods are as described above. Diseases have a greater impact on celery yield and quality, and the main diseases are celery leaf spot and celery late blight.

1. Celery leaf spot

[Symptoms] Celery leaf spot, also called early blight, mainly damages the leaves. Initially it appears as yellow-green water-soaked spots, which later develop into round or irregular shapes, 4-10 mm in size; the lesions are grayish-brown, with the edge slightly darker but indistinct. In severe cases the lesions enlarge and merge into patches, eventually causing the leaves to die. Lesions on stems or petioles are oval, 3-7 mm, grayish-brown, and slightly sunken. In severe cases the whole plant lodges. Under high humidity, a grayish-white mold layer grows on all the above diseased parts.

[Control measures] ① Choose disease-tolerant varieties, such as Jinnan Shiqin No. 1. ② When necessary, soak seeds in 48°C warm water for 30 minutes. ③ Plant at a reasonable density and irrigate scientifically to prevent excessively high humidity in the field. ④ In the early stage of disease, spray 50% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder at 500 times dilution, or 77% copper hydroxide wettable powder at 500 times dilution; 5% chlorothalonil dust can also be used at 1 kg per mu each time; or 45% chlorothalonil smoke agent at 200 g per mu each time, once every 9 days or so, applied continuously or alternately 2-3 times.

2. Celery late blight

Celery late blight has become an important disease of winter-spring protected celery, greatly affecting celery yield and quality.

[Symptoms] Celery late blight is also called leaf blight. Leaves, petioles and stems can all be infected. One type starts on old leaves first. Leaf lesions are mostly scattered, of varying sizes, 3-10 cm in diameter, initially light brown oil-soaked small spots, which gradually enlarge, with brown necrosis in the center, mostly dark red on the outer edge with a clear boundary between diseased and healthy tissue, and a few small black dots scattered in the middle. The other type is initially hard to distinguish from the former, later becoming yellow-white or gray-white in the center. Many small black granules cluster on the edge, and the lesions are often surrounded by a yellow halo, with lesion diameters varying. When petioles or stems are infected, the lesions are brown, oblong and slightly sunken, with small black dots scattered in the middle.

[Control measures] ① Disinfect the seeds. ② Strengthen field management, avoid flood irrigation, and pay attention to cooling and reducing humidity. ③ Before celery rows close, fumigate with 45% chlorothalonil smoke agent at 200-250 g per mu each time; or spray 5% chlorothalonil dust at 1 kg per mu each time. ④ In the early stage of disease, spray 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder at 600 times dilution; or 64% oxadixyl-mancozeb wettable powder at 500 times dilution; or 40% carbendazim-sulfur suspension at 500 times dilution, once every 7-10 days, 2-3 times in succession.