Broccoli Cabbage - Growing And Care. Outdoors. Seedlings. Photo

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Broccoli Cabbage - Growing And Care. Outdoors. Seedlings. Photo
Broccoli Cabbage - Growing And Care. Outdoors. Seedlings. Photo

Video: Broccoli Cabbage - Growing And Care. Outdoors. Seedlings. Photo

Video: Broccoli Cabbage - Growing And Care. Outdoors. Seedlings. Photo
Video: Growing Cabbages from Sowing to Harvest 2024, March
Anonim

In another way, broccoli is called asparagus cabbage, and, in fact, it is a kind of cabbage familiar to all of us, a culture that belongs to the Cabbage family and in which they eat unblown inflorescences, and not leaf blades, like other representatives of the subspecies. Not everyone knows that cauliflower is genetically closest to her, more precisely - cauliflower literally descended from broccoli, that is, it is younger than the latter.

Broccoli, or Asparagus
Broccoli, or Asparagus

Broccoli was obtained by simple selection in about the fifth or sixth century BC, when, of course, no one knew about such a concept as selection. For a long period of time, literally several centuries, broccoli was grown exclusively in the territory of modern Italy. Translated from Italian, broccoli means scion, and everyone who has seen broccoli will immediately understand why it was called that.

The first detailed descriptions of broccoli are found in manuscripts dating from the late 16th century, at the same time the crop came to England, where it was introduced as Italian asparagus. Almost at the same time broccoli came to the American continent, where at first it did not cause such a stir as in England; and only almost four centuries later, broccoli was remembered in America, and this country became its largest exporter to other countries.

Currently, in addition to the United States, broccoli is actively cultivated in India, China, France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Israel. In Russia, the production of broccoli is concentrated in the hands of small private farms.

Content:

  • Description of broccoli
  • Growing broccoli through seedlings
  • Planting broccoli seedlings outdoors
  • Caring for broccoli cabbage
  • Watering broccoli
  • Feeding broccoli
  • How to Harvest Broccoli?
  • Broccoli cabbage varieties

Description of broccoli

In appearance, broccoli cabbage strongly resembles cauliflower, however, its inflorescences are not creamy, but green. In the first year, the broccoli stalk grows 70-80 cm and numerous succulent-type flower stalks form on its tip. These peduncles are crowned with dense clusters of green buds, which are arranged in a loose, medium-sized head. It is precisely this head that is eaten, cutting it off before the flowers form. If you tighten the broccoli with harvesting and the buds turn yellow, then it will be almost impossible to eat such cabbage.

Experts note an increase in demand for broccoli literally all over the world; If we take the average figures for different countries, then in terms of consumption of broccoli, only a fraction of a percent is inferior to traditional cabbage.

In this article, we will tell you how to grow broccoli through seedlings, how to properly care for it, how to harvest and what varieties you should pay attention to.

Broccoli, or Asparagus
Broccoli, or Asparagus

Growing broccoli through seedlings

When to start sowing broccoli seeds?

Usually, sowing seeds of broccoli cabbage for seedlings is carried out at the very beginning of March and continues until the middle of the month. As for the varieties, when choosing them, it is imperative to take into account the climatic features of your region, for example, in the northern regions, where the summer is short and rather cool, you should not consider varieties with a late ripening period for planting, here you need to focus on early and medium early varieties.

To avoid surprises in the future, try to purchase broccoli seeds only in specialized seed stores and be sure to take the freshest of them.

How to prepare broccoli seeds?

After purchase, sort the seed material, select the largest of them and soak them in water heated to 50 degrees for about a quarter of an hour. Next, the seeds of broccoli cabbage should be immersed in cold water with a temperature of about 10 degrees, thus you "wake up" them.

It remains to soak broccoli seeds in a solution of any growth stimulant such as Heteroauxin, BCI and others, in order to accelerate their germination. You can soak broccoli seeds in a growth stimulant solution for 7-8 hours, then rinse in running water, put in the refrigerator door for a day, and then dry them to flow on a dry napkin.

Sowing broccoli seeds

You can sow seeds in any containers with a side height of about 25 cm. A layer of drainage should be laid on the bottom of the dishes - expanded clay, pebbles, a centimeter thick, and then covered with nutritious soil (a mixture of turf soil, river sand, wood ash and humus in equal proportions) … The soil must be loose, water and breathable. After the containers are filled with soil, it is necessary to pour it from a spray bottle, preferably with rainwater, and then make grooves a little more than a centimeter deep with a distance of three centimeters between them. When the grooves are ready, you can sow broccoli seeds, then sprinkle them with soil, slightly compacting it.

Next, it is important to monitor the temperature in the room where broccoli seedlings are grown. The temperature before sprouting should be at the level of 19-20 degrees, immediately after the sprouts appear on the soil surface, the temperature should be lowered to 9-11 degrees for about 7-8 days, and then the temperature should be adjusted depending on the time of day. So, in the daytime in sunny weather, it should be kept at 15-17 degrees, and in cloudy 12-13 degrees. At night, regardless of the weather outside the window, the temperature in the room should be at the level of 8-10 degrees Celsius.

The air humidity in the room should be maintained at 80-85%, the soil should also be kept moist, but not overflowed, otherwise a black leg may appear, which will destroy the seedlings.

Picking broccoli seedlings

Picking broccoli seedlings is usually carried out when the seedlings are 14-15 days old. It is most convenient to use peat pots as containers for picking, no further transplanting from them is needed, they dissolve in the soil and serve as additional food for seedlings at the initial stage. You need to dive broccoli seedlings carefully, trying not to damage the roots. Pre-fill the cups with the same mixture that you prepared for sowing, pour it from a spray bottle, make depressions. Next, with a small stick, for example from ice cream, you need to carefully select the seedlings from the box, place them in the wells of the cups, compact the soil and water again from the spray bottle.

Before broccoli seedlings get stronger, they must be protected from direct sunlight by shading. At the same time, you need to increase the temperature in the room, bringing it to 20-22 degrees.

After two to three days, when the broccoli seedlings take root, you can feed by adding a solution of nitroammofoska. To do this, a tablespoon of complex fertilizer must be dissolved in a bucket of water, 50 g of solution can be poured into each glass. After feeding, you need to lower the temperature again and adjust it depending on the time of day. During the day, it is necessary to maintain the temperature at 16-18 degrees, and at night, lower it to 8-10 degrees.

About two weeks before planting in the ground, broccoli seedlings can be hardened by taking them out to the balcony or loggia, first for 2-3 hours, a couple of days, then for 8-10 hours, a couple of days, then try to expose the seedlings early in the morning and clean up late in the evening and, finally, 2-3 days before disembarkation, leave the seedlings overnight.

Seedling broccoli
Seedling broccoli

Planting broccoli seedlings outdoors

When to plant broccoli seedlings in the ground?

Usually the age of broccoli seedlings before planting in open ground is 40-50 days, no more. By this time, the seedlings should have five or six true leaves, this is a signal that it is time to plant it.

Calendar this period usually falls in the middle or second half of May, however, if during this period it is cold and the soil is not warmed up enough, then the period of planting broccoli cabbage seedlings can be shifted.

For planting broccoli seedlings, it is imperative to choose the most open and well-lit area; it is good if it is protected from the cold wind on the north side. Try to choose a bed that has previously grown green manure crops, carrots, onions, any cereals, legumes and potatoes - these are the best predecessors. Poor precursors for broccoli are: beets, radishes, tomatoes, radishes and turnips; if they grew on the site earlier, then broccoli can be planted in this place only after four seasons.

Soil for broccoli

The optimal soil for broccoli cabbage is considered to be neutral or slightly alkaline soil, with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Preparing the soil for planting seedlings should be started in the fall, but you can do this in the spring, at least a week before planting seedlings. Under the digging of soil on a full bayonet of a shovel, which must be combined with the maximum removal of weeds, it is necessary to add well-rotted manure or compost in an amount of three kilograms per square meter. In the event that the soil is acidic, add lime - 200 g per square meter.

Planted broccoli seedlings
Planted broccoli seedlings

How to plant broccoli seedlings outdoors?

It is advisable to plant broccoli seedlings in the ground early in the morning and preferably in cloudy weather. The optimal planting scheme is 35 by 50-55 cm. Planting is carried out in holes, which must be dug out a day or two before planting seedlings, and water before planting (0.5 l). In the wells, in addition to water, you need to add 6-7 g of nitroammophoska, thoroughly mixing the fertilizer with moistened soil; then it is necessary to place the seedlings in a peat-melting cup or with a bare root system into the hole, sprinkle with soil, compact it and water it again (250-300 g per plant).

Next, it is important to monitor the weather: if frosts are expected, then cover the seedlings using glass jars or plastic bottles cut in half. Be aware that even at two degrees of frost, broccoli seedlings can die.

Caring for broccoli cabbage

Broccoli care consists in loosening the soil, preventing crust formation; in weeding, avoiding competition from weeds; watering and dressing. Two weeks after planting the seedlings, it is also necessary to carry out hilling, which must be repeated after a week. Hilling can be combined with loosening the soil.

Do not forget that freshly planted broccoli seedlings can be damaged by the bright rays of the sun on especially hot days, so it should be shaded for about 3-4 days at noon. On very hot and dry days, it is necessary, in addition to strictly mandatory watering, to spray the air around the plants, and the more often you do this, the higher the yield and its quality will be.

When loosening the soil, try not to deepen the tool more than eight centimeters, otherwise the roots may be damaged. Loosening is desirable to carry out the next day after watering or heavy rain.

Watering broccoli

Speaking of watering: broccoli is usually watered every 6-7 days, however, if there is a drought and the temperature is at around 24-26 degrees and above, then watering can be done more often. When watering, try to precisely moisten the soil, and not turn it into a swamp. Do not forget about spraying, sometimes they are even more useful than watering, for example, in regions with dense, clayey soil.

Broccoli, or Asparagus
Broccoli, or Asparagus

Feeding broccoli

Naturally, if your plans include getting a full-fledged harvest, then you must definitely provide for feeding. You can often feed broccoli cabbage. For the first time (not counting the feeding of seedlings and fertilizing the hole when planting) broccoli can be fed 12-14 days after planting in open ground. At this time, organic fertilizers are more important for plants. You can feed broccoli with a mullein solution; you need about 250 g of mullein per bucket of water. To increase the nutritional value, you can add a teaspoon of any nitrogen fertilizer, such as urea, to the solution. If there is no mullein, then you can use chicken manure, but it must be dissolved in a ratio of 1 to 20. The consumption rate of any of these solutions is about a liter per square meter.

The next feeding of broccoli can be done 18-20 days after the first one. This time, it is nitrogen fertilizers that are more important. It is desirable to use ammonium nitrate in the amount of a matchbox in a bucket of water. The consumption rate is the same - a liter per square meter of soil.

The third top dressing can be done towards the end of the summer period, at this time potash and phosphorus fertilizers are most important for broccoli cabbage. It is necessary to dilute 30-35 g of superphosphate and 9-11 g of potassium sulfate in a bucket of water and water the soil, spending 1.5 liters per square meter.

After the first harvesting wave has begun and the center head has been removed, the broccoli should be fed again to encourage lateral shoot growth. To do this, in a bucket of water, you need to dissolve a tablespoon of nitroammofoska and pour a liter of solution under each bush.

A week after this top dressing, you can apply 150-200 g of wood ash under the plants, this is a good potash fertilizer. For greater efficiency, ash should be scattered over previously loosened and watered soil.

How to Harvest Broccoli?

We have already slightly touched on harvesting: you need to know that broccoli cabbage should be harvested before its flowers open. This moment is easy to miss, so you need to watch the cabbage more closely. There are a number of signs by which one can understand that the cabbage is ready to be harvested, for example, the size of the head: when ready for harvest, they have a diameter of about 12-14 cm. Further - the color: the head of broccoli, ready to pick, is usually colored dark green, the buds must be closed. At the beginning of the yellowing of the buds, the collection must be carried out immediately, otherwise it will be late, and the entire crop will simply be lost, that is, it will not be tasty and with a reduced nutritional value.

Harvesting broccoli cabbage should be done in the morning when it is in turmoil. In this case, it is advisable not to cut off the heads, but to cut them off using the sharpest and cleanest knife possible.

Most often, from the moment the shoots emerge on the soil surface until the first harvest, 60-65 days pass, usually broccoli collection continues until mid-September. The entire crop must be harvested before frost.

Broccoli, or Asparagus
Broccoli, or Asparagus

Broccoli cabbage varieties

In total, the State Register currently has 37 varieties of broccoli cabbage. Of the early varieties of broccoli, it is worth paying attention to cultivars: Venus, Vyarus, Green Magic and Corato, from medium early varieties of broccoli, Macho, Moscow Souvenir, Naxos and Fiesta have worked well, from the category of mid-ripening varieties of broccoli, one can distinguish: Batavia, Heraklion, Gnome and Curly head, of the middle late ones, the best are: Ironman, Lucky, Monterey and Orantes, and finally, from the late maturing ones stand out: Agassi, Belstar, Beaumont and Quinta.

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