The principle of growing broccoli outdoors
Growing broccoli outdoors is a simple process. To obtain a high-quality plant in the country, the principles of planting and caring for the crop should be taken into account.
The principle of growing broccoli outdoors
Vegetable characteristic
The appearance of the plant is a bit like a cauliflower. The difference between them lies in the shades of the inflorescence itself: broccoli is green, while cauliflower is beige. In the first year after planting, the height of the bush can reach 100 cm. In the upper part, peduncles are formed, which are covered with dense green buds, collected in a small head.
As soon as the inflorescences turn yellow, they become unusable. It is necessary to immediately cut off the forming head so that a new one grows in its place. Fruiting of cabbage lasts for several months.
If leaves are considered edible in most varieties, then this vegetable has inflorescences that have not opened.
Sowing seeds
Seeds are being prepared for sowing from the beginning of March. Before the procedure, the planting material is disinfected with a manganese solution (2 mg per 5 l of water), and from mid-March they begin to plant seeds to obtain seedlings. It is recommended to sow in containers using a conveyor belt, in several stages, with an interval of 14 days. This allows you to increase the number of seedlings, because in places where the previous seeds did not sprout, you can plant new ones. If you postpone the procedure to mid-April, then the planting of seeds is no longer carried out in a container, but in open ground.
If you are going to grow late varieties of broccoli from seed, do not plant in June. In areas with a cold climate (for example, in the Urals), only early varieties should be grown.
Features of growing seedlings
You need to start growing seedlings with the selection of high-quality planting material. You need to take only the largest seeds and fill them with warm boiled water (temperature 50-60 ° C). Leave them for 15 minutes, then lower them under cold running water. The next step is to process the planting material with a drug such as Epin. After 2 hours, you need to rinse the seeds again with cold water. A drain should be installed at the bottom of the pot and covered with a thick layer of soil. You need to make small holes in it, about 2 cm deep, and put the planting material in them.
The first few weeks, until the first shoots appear, you should adhere to a room temperature of about 18 ° C. As soon as the first shoots appear, it must be reduced to 10-12 ° C. It should last for 7 days. Next, the temperature is adjusted in the following order: during the day, about 16 ° C is allowed, and at night no more than 10 ° C. The soil should be watered regularly and the indoor humidity kept high.
The picking process
After two weeks, the seedlings can be dived
As soon as the seedlings reach the age of 14 days, they must be dived. The ideal place for this process is in peat pots. They can also be used to plant broccoli outdoors. As soon as the picking procedure is carried out, it is necessary to protect the shoots from the sun's rays. Around the pots, you need to install paper partitions and adhere to a temperature of 20 ° C.
After the seedlings begin to actively gain growth, fertilizer should be applied to the soil. It is important that they contain a high concentration of boron. After that, you need to normalize the temperature again. During the day it should be 15 ° C, and at night about 10 ° C. 14-18 days before planting broccoli in open ground, it is important to harden the seedlings. This will allow for a sustainable culture.
Planting cabbage
You can grow broccoli seedlings in 40 days. During this time, 3 pairs of main leaves develop on the plant. Only then can planting be carried out in open ground.
Usually, a crop can be planted as early as May, but only when the soil warms up to the optimum temperature (14 ° C). If the soil heats up for a long time, do not rush to plant.
Planting conditions
Planting broccoli in open ground should be carried out only after the following conditions are met:
- the ambient temperature should be 15-17 ° С;
- the soil temperature should warm up to 14 ° C;
- 6-7 leaves should form on the seedlings.
Choose only sunny areas of the garden. After all, such a plant needs high-quality lighting. Plant carrots, beets, onions or celery in the neighborhood.
Planting broccoli outdoors should not be done in sunny weather.
Growing broccoli in the open field should be carried out only if the required level of soil acidity is set: it should not be higher than 4-6%.
It is recommended to prepare the soil in advance: it is best to do this in the fall. The soil is dug up and a small amount of humus or compost is introduced into it. Additional lime must be added to the soil with a high acid content.
Basic planting rules
Follow the landing pattern
To know how to properly plant broccoli outdoors, you need to learn the basic rules.
The recommended planting pattern is 40x70cm. About 40 g of compost is introduced into the pits and only then the seedlings are lowered.
Growing broccoli in the open field can be done in another way. Once the risk of frost is gone, you can plant the seeds directly in the open field. The ideal time is early May. Before planting, the seeds must be treated with a disinfectant (Epin). The already hatched broccoli seeds should be planted in the ground according to the 50x50 cm scheme.
To properly plant broccoli seeds that have already hatched into the ground, first add high-quality humus to the holes: the optimal dose is 6-7 g per 1 m2.
Care
Growing broccoli cabbage in the open field consists not only in high-quality planting, but also in adherence to agricultural technology. It usually consists of several basic principles: watering, fertilizing and protecting against pests.
Thoroughly loosen the soil and remove all unnecessary weeds. Pay attention to the hilling of the root zone. The first time after transplanting, cabbage bushes must be covered with buckets or paper shelters to protect them from strong sunlight. In conditions of high temperatures dangerous for the plant, it is necessary to moisten the soil every day.
Irrigation works
Caring for broccoli cabbage outdoors should also include proper watering. The culture should be moistened once every 7 days. As soon as the temperature reaches 25 ° C and above, the bushes need to be watered more often (at least once a day).
Excessive moisture is unfavorable for the crop. Watering should be frequent but moderate. Not only the roots, but also the stem of the plant should be moistened.Spray the cabbage every night with warm water from a spray bottle.
Top dressing
Also, caring for broccoli cabbage in the open field consists in high-quality fertilizers.
- The first feeding is carried out 14 days after the broccoli was planted in open ground. Add 1 glass of cow dung under each bush.
- The second feeding is done 20 days after the first treatment. It is important to use saltpeter here. It is necessary to prepare a solution of 10 g of the substance per 10 liters of water. After that, each bush is sprayed.
- The third feeding is carried out at the time of the formation of inflorescences. In this case, it is better to use superphosphate, potassium or phosphorus.
Major diseases
Growing broccoli outdoors can be complicated by the crop's susceptibility to disease.
- Black leg disease is considered dangerous. You can get rid of it with the help of a special thinning of the rows. Only diseased areas need to be removed, and the remaining plants and soil are treated with a manganese solution (5 g of 5% manganese per 10 l of water).
- Keela. It is impossible to cure plants from it. All bushes are immediately removed from the garden and burned away from your site.
- You can get rid of powdery mildew only with the help of Topaz.
- Treatment with Oxyhom will help to save from white rot.
Prophylaxis
It is possible to carry out the prevention of Alternaria only if the seeds for planting are processed in advance. Powdery mildew can be prevented by feeding the roots with a tobacco solution or by pre-sowing seed treatment.
Laundry can only be prevented if weeds are removed in time. Keel prevention lies in the right neighborhood (carrots, onions or celery).
Conclusion
To properly grow broccoli outdoors, you must strictly follow agrotechnical rules, and then you can get a generous and healthy crop of such a crop.