A Detailed Guide to Celery's Growing Environment Requirements and Fertilization Methods

Celery is rich in dietary fiber and is a green, healthy vegetable that can promote intestinal peristalsis in the human body, and eating it regularly is good for your health. Let's take a look below at what requirements celery has for its growing environment and what fertilization methods there are.

1. What requirements does celery have for its growing environment?

1. Soil

Celery likes to grow in clay soil rich in humus and with little loss of water and nutrients. Soil that is too sandy easily causes water and nutrient deficiency, making celery highly prone to hollow and rotten hearts. The soil pH should be kept at around 6.5; too acidic or too alkaline will both affect the growth of celery. The soil must also be ensured to have comprehensive nutrients, as the lack of any one nutrient will hinder the growth and development of celery. If the soil lacks a certain nutrient, the corresponding fertilizer should be added to the base fertilizer to ensure the normal growth of celery, increase celery yield, and enhance quality.

2. Water

Celery's roots are distributed relatively shallowly, its nutrient absorption capacity is not strong, and its demand for water is relatively high. Sufficient water must be ensured throughout the entire growth period. After sowing, water promptly to keep the soil moist and promote seed germination and emergence. When celery is in the vegetative growth stage, air humidity and soil moisture content must be ensured; insufficient water will thicken the sclerenchyma tissue in the leaf stalks, leading to increased fiber and worsening the hollowing of celery. This reduces yield and results in poor quality. Therefore, during the planting process, we must manage water well according to the soil moisture content and weather changes.

3. Light

Celery's demand for light is relatively high, especially during the period from sowing to germination; if light is insufficient, germination will be extremely slow and may even stop. Sufficient light must also be ensured during the seedling stage to promote celery growth and ensure its development. The duration and intensity of light are very important for celery growth, so supplemental artificial lighting is needed in winter. However, in summer, under conditions of long natural daylight hours, appropriate shading is also needed to prevent celery from bolting. Therefore, maintaining appropriate temperature and light is the key to ensuring celery yield.

4. Temperature

Celery is relatively suited to growing in a low-temperature environment and has strong low-temperature tolerance; excessively high temperatures will cause poor development in celery. In addition, celery also undergoes some changes in its temperature requirements during different growth stages. For example, the temperature during the germination stage should be kept at around 16°C and must not fall outside the range of 15-25°C. Otherwise, germination will be affected and the germination rate will be reduced. With a suitable temperature ensured, germination can occur in about a week. After transplanting, celery enters its vigorous growth period, and the temperature must not exceed 20°C; otherwise, celery quality will be poor, pest and disease incidence will be severe, and yield will be greatly affected.

2. What fertilization methods are there for celery?

1. Because the celery seedling stage is relatively long, the seedbed should be chosen as fertile, loose soil, and for every 10 sq m of seedbed, 30-40 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer should be applied and thoroughly mixed with the soil. Nutrient soil can also be prepared artificially for raising seedlings; generally, it can be prepared with 6 parts loam and 4 parts barnyard manure, or prepared with 4 parts peat soil, 3 parts loam, and 3 parts barnyard manure. The purpose of fertilizing the seedbed is to promote strong seedlings.

2. Before transplanting celery, sufficient base fertilizer should be applied. In combination with land preparation, apply 3-4 tons of barnyard manure and about 40 kg of 45% compound fertilizer per mu. For acidic soil, 50 kg of lime can be applied as well.

3. Topdressing for celery can be carried out in several applications. After transplanting and seedling recovery, a seedling-promoting fertilizer can be applied once, with an application amount per mu of 3-4 kg of nitrogen (equivalent to 6.5-8.7 kg of urea), applied with water; when the celery leaf stalks elongate and enter the peak growth period of the leaf cluster, topdressing should be done multiple times. Generally, when the plant height is 30 cm, apply 4-5 kg of nitrogen per mu, and after 10-15 days apply nitrogen once more. For summer and autumn cultivation, the number and amount of topdressings can be adjusted appropriately, and each application should be combined with irrigation according to the weather.

4. Because autumn drought easily leads to boron deficiency, spray the leaves with a 0.2%-0.5% borax solution to prevent the leaf stalks from becoming rough and cracking.