What are the temperature requirements and precautions for growing celery?
Celery is a green, healthy vegetable, divided into water celery, Western celery and dryland celery, each with its own characteristics. It is cultivated in many parts of our country, and its requirements for the growing environment also differ. Let's take a look below at what the temperature requirements for growing celery are and what growing precautions there are.
1. What are the temperature requirements for growing celery?
Celery is a cold-tolerant vegetable and requires cool, moist environmental conditions. When growing celery in a greenhouse, the daytime temperature should preferably be 15-23°C, not exceeding 25°C at most; at night it should be around 10°C, not below 5°C. On cloudy, rainy, snowy and windy days, the temperature should be appropriately lower, but not too low, to prevent freezing injury and early bolting. Ventilate appropriately according to the humidity to reduce air humidity and lessen disease; this can be used for assimilation, reduce respiration consumption, and make the leaf stalks plump and thick.
2. Precautions for growing celery
1. Variety selection: The variety is an important condition for increasing yield. We should choose varieties with high yield, good disease and pest resistance, and cold tolerance.
2. Seed treatment: Because celery seeds have a waxy, oily layer on their surface, if they are not pre-sprouted, the seeds will germinate slowly or even not germinate at all. Before sowing, we can soak the seeds in clean water and rub them with our hands a few times to rub off the waxy, oily substance. Then soak the seeds in clean water for 24 hours, remove them, rinse away impurities with clean water, wrap them in gauze, and place them in the refrigerator with the temperature controlled at around 5°C. Note that the seeds must be rinsed every day. After two days, spread them out to air in a lighted environment, rinse them with clean water twice a day, and blow-dry the seed moisture. They will generally germinate in 5-7 days.
3. Sow at the right time: Overwintering celery in protected cultivation is generally sown from early August to early September. For spring sowing in protected cultivation, sow from the end of January to early March. For open-field sowing, sow in mid-April. When cold weather occurs, straw curtains can be used to uncover and cover in the morning and evening, taking care to keep warm, avoid freezing injury at the seedling stage, and prevent vernalization of the seedlings.
4. Field plot selection: Celery has relatively strict soil requirements. Generally, choose soil with a deep soil layer, loose texture, good aeration, and strong water- and fertilizer-retention capacity; it is not easy to cultivate in sandy soil.
5. Final planting and transplanting: When celery grows to 3-4 true leaves, carry out final planting at a spacing of 8-10 cm, and water thoroughly to promote the seedlings' recovery.
6. Field management: After celery is finally planted, water frequently and lightly during the seedling recovery period to keep the soil moist. After new leaves grow out, cultivate appropriately to control growth. After growth control, water and fertilize; generally apply 5_10 kg of humic acid water-soluble fertilizer per mu each time, once every 15 days. During the growing period, foliar fertilizer can also be sprayed 2-3 times, which has a very good effect on increasing yield. 15-20 days before harvest, gibberellic acid solution can be sprayed to make celery taller and heavier. When stalk splitting occurs in celery, a 0.2% boric acid solution can be sprayed to prevent boron deficiency in celery.
7. Pest and disease control: Common diseases of celery generally include soft rot, spot disease, leaf spot disease, etc. Pests include aphids, etc. Specific pests and diseases should be controlled scientifically according to the actual situation, using scientific control measures.
8. Harvest in time: Harvest before celery flower stalks have grown out. Do not harvest when bolting plants have aged, as this affects celery quality.