Rules for planting and caring for broccoli cabbage

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Thanks to its beneficial properties and taste, broccoli has become a favorite of many consumers. This overseas vegetable, containing a large amount of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, can be planted in your area. If you follow the simple rules of care and maintenance, growing broccoli becomes a successful business. As a reward for this, you will receive a high-quality and tasty harvest.

Rules for planting and caring for broccoli cabbage

What is broccoli

Surely not everyone knows what broccoli looks like. After all, this culture came to us from the northeastern regions of the Mediterranean. Annual broccoli, like cauliflower, has loose buds collected in a bunch. Numerous green buds are located on fleshy peduncles. In appearance, the stumps resemble a bouquet and compacted flower inflorescences. The color of broccoli inflorescences is dark green, sometimes with a purple tint.

The description of this culture includes abundant fruiting for several months. In the first year of growth, the plant intensively stretches upward, reaching 1 m in height. At its top, a large number of peduncles with numerous green buds are formed. Small flower buds are tightly packed into the head - this is the stalk of broccoli, which is eaten.

Among all plants, broccoli of the Cabbage family is a vegetable that has become very popular and in demand among consumers. Therefore, today we will share with you information on how to plant this crop correctly, prepare seeds, grow strong seedlings from them and transplant it into the ground.

When to sow seeds

Germinating broccoli seeds is not difficult. The planting technology practically does not differ from the technology of germination of cauliflower seedlings.

Planting broccoli seedlings is carried out in the first decade of March. This is the optimal time for the seedlings to germinate and get stronger before planting on the site.

Some gardeners use the conveyor method to grow broccoli. You can plant seeds every two weeks. Sowing of seeds is carried out until mid-April. At the end of the month, seeds in the country can be planted directly on the site.

For those who want to grow broccoli in the Urals and in the regions of central Russia, it is recommended to use early and mid-season vegetable varieties. Since the late species simply do not have time to ripen.

Seed processing

Presowing seed treatment is a prerequisite for growing high-quality seedlings. They are treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. The seeds are kept in the solution for half an hour, then they are slightly dried and the largest ones are selected for sowing.

After that, they undergo a hardening procedure.They are immersed in hot water - about fifty degrees for a quarter of an hour, then immersed in ice water.

The last treatment is soaking in Epin's solution for ten hours. Epin is essential for fast germination of seeds. After soaking, the seeds are laid out on a paper towel, dried, placed in a refrigerator for 24 hours, then dried to a free-flowing state.

Sowing features

To grow broccoli from seeds at home, you will need a special capacious container for seedlings - a plastic or wooden box at least 20 cm high.

A good drainage layer is laid at the bottom of the container. Pebbles, expanded clay, pieces of red broken brick can be used as a drainage layer.

Germination of seeds is carried out in a well-moistened, fertilized and loose soil. As the experience and practice of gardeners shows, broccoli grows well in soil with a neutral pH level.

To grow broccoli cabbage, like other cabbage varieties, gardeners use a nutritious soil mixture from turf, ash, sand, rotted manure.

The optimal scheme for sowing seeds is 3x3 cm. It is recommended to plant seeds to a depth of 1 cm. After planting, the seedlings are slightly trampled.

Crop care

Provide seedlings with good care

To successfully germinate with seeds this variety of cabbage, seedlings require competent and timely care. Until the sprouts appear, the seedlings require special care:

thermal regime - within 20 °;

air humidity - 80-90%;

the soil must be regularly moistened, avoiding overflow.

After the emergence of seedlings, the temperature of their content is lowered to 10 °. After three days, it is increased to 15 ° in the daytime and to 9 ° at night.

Planting sprouts

Seedlings dive into a separate container at two weeks of age. Peat pots are best for planting young sprouts.

Transplanted plants must be protected from the scorching sun. Therefore, when growing on the windowsill at home, they need to provide reliable protection from the sun's rays. Also, the planted plants need to increase the thermal regime to twenty degrees Celsius.

After a week, when the cabbage planted with seeds adapts and takes root in peat pots, it can be fed.

To increase the yield of broccoli, mineral dressings containing molybdenum and boron must be added to each plant. These microelements not only increase yields, but also help to obtain a high-quality and plentiful harvest of dark green stalks.

During this period, the temperature of the content of the dived seedlings should be about 17 ° during the day and 9 ° at night.

Hardening of seedlings

Planting broccoli in open ground is carried out after hardening. Hardened plants adapt better to new growing conditions. They are taken out regularly on the street, first for a couple of hours, then the time is increased. Before planting in the soil, the seedlings are left to spend the night outside.

Transfer to the garden

Before planting plants on the garden bed, not 1-1.5 months should pass. During this period, at least three pairs of leaves ripen on seedlings. Usually, sprouts are transplanted in regions with warm climatic conditions in the second decade of May. This is the ideal period when the risk of seedling freezing is excluded. In the regions of the middle zone - at the end of May.

Land preparation

It is recommended to grow broccoli in an area well-lit by the sun. This vegetable grows well and ties heads of cabbage in the area where it used to grow: cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic.

Garden crops such as radishes, radishes, tomatoes, beets and turnips often suffer from the same diseases as broccoli. Therefore, it is recommended to grow broccoli after them no earlier than four years later.

To successfully grow broccoli and get a decent harvest from your labors, you need to choose a site with fertile, loose and light soil. It should be slightly alkaline. Soil preparation at the site is carried out in the fall.First, the site is sprinkled with manure or compost at the rate - 1 bucket of substance is consumed per 1 m2 of land. You can deacidify acidic soil with lime or dolomite flour.

With the plot set up, let's learn how to grow broccoli in your garden. We will present you all the secrets of planting and caring for this crop in the country.

Transplanting

Plant seedlings in the evening

Plants are planted in cloudy weather or in the evening when the sun goes down. The sprouts planting scheme is 40x65 cm. Mineral fertilizer is poured into each hole (1 teaspoon each) and thoroughly mixed with the soil. Then plants are planted, sprinkled with soil and slightly trampled.

To grow broccoli in the garden and keep the plantings from freezing as much as possible, cover the seedlings with foil overnight. Since broccoli is not a cold-resistant crop, young shoots die at minimum sub-zero temperatures.

Sowing seeds

How to grow broccoli from seeds on the site is very simple! The seeds are planted in the same soil as the seedlings. After the threat of the last frost has passed, the pickled and hardened seeds are planted according to a certain scheme - 35x55 cm. Before planting, the holes are fertilized with mineral fertilizers consisting of boron and molybdenum. The seeds are sown to a depth of 1.5 cm.

Care rules

To get a good harvest of broccoli, the plantings on the ground need to be properly cared for. Taking care of this garden crop is not difficult at all. Features of care include regular watering, top dressing, loosening the soil.

Watering

In particular, these crops include an increased demand for moisture. Therefore, plants are often watered at the root, and also moisten the soil around them. In regions with moderate climatic conditions, one wetting of the site per week is sufficient. In the south, where the temperature is 25 °, more frequent watering is required - once every 3 days.

In addition to watering under the root, the plants can be watered by the foliar method, irrigating the aerial part of the plants with artificial rain. Spraying is carried out in the evening.

Fertilization

From the beginning to the end of growth and fruiting, each plant is fed with nutrients.

1. After 14 days after disembarking the seedlings on the site. For this, a nitrogen-containing fertilizer (mullein) is used. Dissolve 200 g of the substance in a bucket of water. Then 10 g of carbamide (urea) is added to the resulting solution. One plant - 1 liter. top dressing. For cabbage grown from seeds in the open field, top dressing is applied no earlier than 20 days after sowing the seeds.

2. It is carried out in a clearly established period - exactly 2 weeks after the first fertilization. In this case, ammonium nitrate is used. Put 1.5 tablespoons of the substance on a bucket of water.

3. Produced one month before harvest. This time, the plants are fed with the following composition: ammonium nitrate - 1 tsp, 2 tbsp. l. potash fertilizers and 2 tsp. phosphorus fertilizers. The resulting mixture is diluted in 10 liters of water.

4. It is carried out to stimulate the growth and development of lateral shoots. Top dressing consists of the same components as in the previous case. It is introduced after cutting the central stump. Some gardeners sprinkle the area with wood ash, spending 200 g of the substance per 1 m2 of the area.

Growing in greenhouse conditions

Water and huddle plants regularly

The agricultural technology of this crop allows its cultivation in a greenhouse. The rules for planting broccoli in a greenhouse are as follows:

seeds are sown from late April to late June;
for growing seedlings in greenhouses, early varieties are planted 45 days before planting in the garden, and mid-season and late ones - 30 days before.

Seeds are planted at a distance of 5 cm from each other. For this, seedling boxes with a depth of 10 cm with drainage holes are used. They are filled with nutritious, loose and light soil. The soil is thoroughly moistened the day before planting the seeds. Seedling depth - 1.5 cm.

Subsequent care for plantings in the greenhouse consists in regular watering, loosening the soil, feeding and hilling.

The features of these procedures are no different from the technique of their implementation in the open field.

The temperature should not exceed 18 °. The optimum humidity level is 90%.

Disease prevention

It is not difficult to care for this crop if at the entire stage of the growing season the plants do not get sick and are not affected by harmful insects. Therefore, the cultivation of this crop in the garden involves a number of preventive measures against pests and diseases:

thorough cleaning of the site from the remnants of vegetation, both weedy and useful;
deep digging of the soil in the autumn;
burning damaged plants.

Unfortunately, this variety of cabbage, like other varieties of this culture, is often sick and damaged by harmful parasites.

Diseases

This culture is characterized by the following diseases:

alternaria;
white rot;
downy mildew;
vascular bacteriosis;
mosaic (rust);
blackleg;
tracheomycosis.

Disease control is carried out with systemic fungicides and insecticides.

Pests

Harmful insects pose a great danger to broccoli planting. Most often, this variety of cabbage is affected by scoops, fleas, moths, petiolate mosquitoes, aphids, leaf beetles, cabbage white beetle.

To destroy these parasites, plants are sprayed repeatedly with herbal infusions, as well as systemic pesticides - Foksim, Aktellik, Iskra-bio, Rovikurt, Ambush.

Cutting heads

Cabbage stalks can be eaten

You can determine a ripe head of cabbage by its size. The diameter of the ripe head varies from 10 to 20 cm. The collection of the central heads begins before the blossoming of the flower buds. If even a few buds bloom and you do not have time to harvest, the stumps will be tough and tasteless. In addition, the side shoots simply stop growing. The harvesting period is not long, since the ripe heads of cabbage begin to quickly decay and crumble.

Harvesting is recommended during the cool part of the day. The heads are cut off along with the stems up to fifteen centimeters long. The stems are also edible.

The heads are cut at the summer cottage before the onset of the first frosts; in greenhouse conditions, ripening lasts longer, and harvesting - until the end of November.

The shelf life of the harvested crop is short. At room temperature, heads of cabbage remain juicy and fresh for no more than two days, after which they turn yellow and become lethargic. Cabbage is stored in the refrigerator for about seven days. The best way to preserve broccoli is to freeze it.

Varieties and hybrids

Broccoli has long been a favorite of many gardeners. Not demanding in care and maintenance, resistant to disease and cold, the crop has good yield and repair ability.

Consider the most popular varieties of different ripening periods.

Early

The ripening period of stalks in these varieties varies from seventy 2.5 to 3 months. Ripe heads of cabbage are used for cooking both fresh and processed.

Early varieties include:

tone;
Linda;
Batavia;
agassi;
curly head;
vitamin;
purple queen;
broccoli F1.

Other types of early ripening have also proven themselves well: Vyarus, Corvette, Fiesta, Tribute, Comanche, Laser.

Mid-season

The harvest of mid-season varieties ripens within 3-3.5 months. The heads are large, dense and very tasty.

Common varieties:

grinia;
atlantic;
senshi;
gnome;
compact;
calabrese.

Late

Late species include plants that mature in 3.5-4 months. The weight of the heads can reach 0.5-0.7 kg.

List of late-ripening hybrids:

varnishes;
monterrey;
marathon;
lord;
continental;
Monaco.

All varieties of broccoli cabbage are high-yielding, elite and very tasty, but provided they are provided with the necessary care and proper conditions for growth and maintenance.