White celery/Black celery - set of 5 pieces

White celery has full petioles and is more delicate as a plant than green celery. The taste is milder. The leaf stalks are often used as a stewing vegetable, for example in white sauces.

GENERAL:
Celery belongs to the umbellifer family and is closely related to some other commonly grown vegetables such as parsley, chervil and fennel, among others. It is naturally a biennial plant that forms leaves the first year and flowers and dies the following year.

Different types of celery can be distinguished:
Leafy celery such as green celery, cut celery and white celery, of which mainly the leaf and leaf stalk is used.
Celeriac (discussed separately because of the long cultivation period), of which the thickened root is used.

PLANTING:
Celery requires a warm culture to germinate and in a young stage, otherwise it will bolt.
For the first 6 weeks after sowing, therefore, celery must be raised at a temperature of about 20°C. Afterwards this critical phase is over.

So if you want to grow celery early in the year you have to be sure of quality plants that have been raised correctly. Allégrow can guarantee you this.

CULTIVATION TIPS:
Celery requires a rich and well-moisturized soil. It grows best on heavy soils. To successfully grow celery on light soils, add enough humus to the soil so that moisture and nutrients are better retained.

Give in advance a good basic fertilizer of preferably organic fertilizer. However, be careful with fresh farmyard manure, this increases the risk of leaf spot disease. Celery is cold-sensitive, planting outside is best done from early May onwards. Earlier celery should be planted in the greenhouse. Planting distance for white celery: 30 x 30 cm.

When planting out, make sure the top of the press pot is level with the soil. Planting too deep can suffocate the heart and cause the plant to die. Planting too shallow will leave the plants too loose and will also cause them to dry out more quickly.

When planting, press the soil well around the plants and water them so that the plant "takes root" immediately. During the growth you should always make sure there is sufficient water. If growth slows down or if there is a lot of rain during the cultivation, it is best to fertilize. The cultivation period in summer is about 10 weeks. In spring and autumn this is 3 months.
It is best to plant celery before the end of June, otherwise it will be too late to harvest.

HARVESTING:
Be careful when harvesting, some people are allergic to the juice of celery, it can cause burning red spots on the skin.

White celery is best harvested before the end of October. Do not wait too long, as the risk of leaf spot disease greatly increases. White celery cannot be stored for long.

PROBLEMS AND DISEASES:
Celery is especially susceptible to rust or leaf spot disease: brownish-yellow spots that appear on the leaves.
This is especially common during humid, hot weather. Remove affected leaves as soon as possible to prevent further infection.