Ⅰ. Product Details

Variety Characteristics

Four-Season Small Fragrant Celery is a dwarf, early-maturing celery variety with a growth cycle of 40-60 days. The plant height is 25-35cm, with upright stems, bright green leaves, and crisp petioles. It has strong branching ability, cold and heat resistance, and can be planted all year round, making it an ideal variety for family gardens and commercial cultivation.

Quality Advantages

• Strong fragrance: Rich in volatile aromatic oils, with a strong and unique celery aroma, crisp and tender taste, no fibrous residue, suitable for raw eating, stir-frying, soup and stuffing.
• Nutritional value: Contains rich vitamin C, vitamin K, dietary fiber, potassium and calcium, which can promote digestion and enhance immunity.
• Continuous harvest: Can be harvested by stages, picking outer leaves first to promote inner leaf growth, with a long harvest period and high yield per plant.

High-Yield Characteristics

Under proper management, the yield per mu can reach 2000-3000kg. The variety has strong adaptability, can be planted in open fields, greenhouses and pots, with fast growth speed, short production cycle and high multiple cropping index.

Application Scenarios

• Home gardening: Suitable for planting in balcony pots, courtyard plots, easy to manage and harvest, providing fresh celery for families;
• Commercial cultivation: Short growth cycle, suitable for intensive production and supply to vegetable markets, supermarkets and catering industry;
• Processing industry: Can be processed into dehydrated celery, celery powder, pickled celery and other products, with broad market prospects.

Selection & Storage Suggestions

• Selection skills: Choose plants with bright green leaves, crisp and upright petioles, no yellowing, no insect damage and no wilting;
• Storage method: Wrap with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator crisper for 7-10 days, or blanch and freeze for long-term storage. For fresh celery, it can be placed in a cool and ventilated place for 2-3 days.

Ⅱ. Planting Methods

Planting Preparation

1. Soil Selection

Four-Season Small Fragrant Celery prefers loose, fertile, well-drained sandy loam or loam with pH value of 6.0-7.0. The soil should be rich in organic matter, and it is best to apply sufficient base fertilizer before planting: 2000-3000kg of decomposed organic fertilizer and 20-30kg of compound fertilizer per mu. Deep plow and rake the soil finely to make flat ridges with width of 1-1.2m.

2. Seed Treatment

• Seed selection: Choose full, disease-free seeds with high germination rate, with seed consumption of about 50-100g per mu;
• Seed soaking and germination: Celery seeds have hard seed coats and need to be treated before sowing. Soak seeds in cold water for 24 hours, then place them in a wet gauze at 15-20℃ for germination, rinse with water once a day, and sow when 30-40% of seeds show white buds.

Sowing & Transplanting

1. Sowing Time

• Spring sowing: February to April, can be sown in open fields or greenhouses;
• Summer sowing: May to July, need shade and cooling measures;
• Autumn sowing: August to October, the best planting season with high yield and good quality;
• Winter sowing: November to January, need greenhouse or small arch shed for heat preservation.

2. Sowing Methods

• Direct seeding: Mix seeds with fine soil and broadcast evenly on the prepared seedbed, cover with 0.5cm fine soil, water thoroughly, and cover with straw or shade net to keep moisture;
• Seedling raising and transplanting: Sow in seedling trays or seedbeds, transplant when seedlings have 3-4 true leaves, with plant spacing of 10cm × 10cm, and water thoroughly after transplanting.

Field Management

1. Water Management

• Seedling stage: Keep soil moist, water frequently with small amount to prevent drought;
• Growth period: Water once every 3-5 days, keep soil moist but not waterlogged, and drain water in time during rainy season;
• Before harvest: Reduce watering appropriately to improve the crispness of petioles.

2. Fertilizer Management

• Seedling fertilizer: Apply thin urea solution (0.5%) 10 days after emergence to promote seedling growth;
• Growth fertilizer: Apply 10-15kg of urea and 5-10kg of potassium fertilizer per mu every 15 days during the vigorous growth period, and spray 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution on leaves for 1-2 times;
• Topdressing: Combine watering with topdressing, and avoid excessive nitrogen fertilizer to prevent plant lodging.

3. Temperature & Light Management

• Optimal growth temperature: 15-20℃, shade with shade net when temperature exceeds 25℃ in summer;
• Light requirement: Prefers scattered light, avoid strong direct light, which can cause leaf yellowing and poor growth.

4. Disease & Pest Control

• Damping-off: Use 50% carbendazim wettable powder 800x solution for soil disinfection or root irrigation;
• Leaf spot: Spray with 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder 600x solution;
• Aphids and leafminers: Control with 10% imidacloprid wettable powder 1500x solution or yellow sticky traps;
• Slugs: Spread metaldehyde granules around plants or manually capture them.

Harvesting

• Harvest time: Harvest when plants grow to 25-30cm height and have 5-6 true leaves, usually 40-60 days after sowing;
• Harvesting method: For batch harvest, pick outer leaves with scissors, leaving inner leaves to continue growing; for full harvest, uproot the whole plant, cut off roots and old leaves, and clean;
• Post-harvest treatment: Fresh celery can be sold directly, or bundled and stored in a cool place for 2-3 days, or processed into various products.