When to sow celery for seedlings: three ways to getting a rich harvest

Celery is a tasty and healthy vegetable that is gaining popularity. The main difficulty is that it has a long growing season, so it requires early sowing of seedlings. There is no other way to grow celery in our climate.

But how to sow and germinate the plant properly? OBOZ.UA asked gardeners for advice and tells you about three proven methods.

Sowing in the ground

Like any garden plant, celery germinates well in ordinary soil. To ensure that the plant germinates successfully, take a 400-500 ml container, make several holes in the bottom for drainage, and fill it with peat mixture so that there is about 2 cm of space on top. Level and lightly tamp the top layer, and then sprinkle celery seeds like salt. To avoid covering the small seeds with water, it is better to water them with a spray bottle. Next, cover with foil to create a greenhouse effect and place it in a warm and bright place. Ideally, under a seedling lamp. This is because in February-March, daylight hours are still too short. The optimum temperature for celery germination is 20-25 degrees. Periodic watering is carried out by spraying.

Sowing in hydrogel

Hydrogel granules help to maintain a sufficient level of moisture in the container with celery seeds. Therefore, they are poured on the soil surface to germinate the vegetable. The glass is prepared as in the previous method, but 3-4 cm of free space is left on top, not 2, and the peat mixture is lightly watered to keep it moist. The hydrogel for this method must first be soaked in warm, soft water for several minutes. One teaspoon of granules will be enough. Soon they will increase in size and acquire a gel-like consistency. Two tablespoons of this substance should be spread on the soil with a layer of about 1.5 cm. Celery is sown on top of the hydrogel, scattering the seeds so that there is space between them. Soon, they will sprout through the layer of substance and begin to receive food from the ground. The seed cup should also be covered with foil and placed in a warm and bright environment.

Paper rolls

The very small celery seeds germinate well on soft paper, such as toilet paper or paper towels. To assemble a special roll-up, you will need some of this material and any waterproof film. Cut both materials so that the strips are the same width. The more seeds you plan to germinate, the longer the cut should be.

Lay the film out on a flat surface, place the paper on top of it and spray it with water to make it slightly wet and stick to the film. Next, put another layer of paper on top of the film: this is where the seeds will germinate. Use a damp toothpick to place the seeds on the edge of the strip of paper. The distance to the cut should be no more than 2 mm as the plant will not break through a thicker layer. In addition, the seeds should be 1.5-2 cm apart. The strip with properly laid out seeds is wrapped in a roll and placed in a glass with a little water at the bottom. The side of the roll with the seeds should be on top. The glass is covered with foil and placed in a comfortable environment for germination. In about two weeks, the sprouts from such a roll should be planted in separate cups with soil.

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