Content:
Requirements for growing conditions Growing seedlings Preparing seeds for planting Sowing dates Soil preparation Care for seedlings Picking Planting seedlings in open ground Preparing beds How to plant cauliflower Planting patterns Non-seedling method of planting Cauliflower care Watering Fertilizing Loosening Care before harvesting Harvesting and storage Pests and cauliflower disease
Cauliflower is an invaluable vegetable for the amount of vitamins and proteins. It fits perfectly into the menu for children and those who are losing weight, and therefore is the subject of desire of most gardeners. In this article, we'll show you how to grow cauliflower properly.
Requirements for growing conditions
Growing and caring for cauliflower is the same as for other cruciferous species. To get a good harvest, the main thing is to follow the basic rules of agricultural technology:
Grow cabbage using a seedling method. Choose nutrient-rich soil. Observe the temperature and light conditions. Watering and fertilizing in a timely manner. Protect plants from diseases and pests.
Growing seedlings
How to grow cauliflower from seeds? Let's take a closer look at how and when to sow the future decoration of your beds.
Preparing seeds for planting
How to grow strong and healthy cauliflower? Cabbage seeds should be prepared in a special way, protecting them from disease and preparing them for temperature extremes. To do this, perform the following set of procedures:
Disinfect seeds in hot water for 20 minutes. For 24 hours the seed is soaked in a nutrient solution of nitrophoska or Fitosporin. After that, the seeds are hardened. To do this, they are placed in a refrigerator for a day.
Sowing dates
When to plant cauliflower for seedlings, so as not to lose money with the harvest?
Focus on the type of ripening and weather conditions in your region. In the north, cabbage is planted earlier, in the south - later:
early varieties and hybrids are sown on April 5-30. They are planted on the beds from late April to mid-May; mid-early and mid-late varieties are sown from April 10 to May 10. They are transplanted into the ground from late May to mid-June; late varieties are sown from late May to early June, and seedlings are planted in the ground in early July.
Soil preparation
The seedling soil should be loose, rich in nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. The first is necessary for the proper development of the root system, and the second is responsible for the harmonious development of the plant and the future harvest. For cauliflower, a generic store-bought seedling mix is suitable. She already has all the necessary complex of dressings and has a good structure.
Seedling care
Young sprouts of cauliflower need certain conditions:
Temperature regime: before emergence - + 20 ° С, after - + 8 ° С in the first week and up to + 18 ° С thereafter (with a slight decrease in temperature at night). Watering the seedlings should be moderate. Water the young shoots with warm, settled water. After the appearance of the first leaves, they begin to spray with solutions of boric acid and ammonium, up to transplanting seedlings into open ground.
Picking
Cauliflower is not recommended to be sown in the same hole. The fact is that the root system of a plant is weak and is located on the surface. Therefore, when it comes time to pick, there are very high chances of damaging healthy plants while removing weak ones. If it is not possible to plant cabbage in separate containers, then it is better not to uproot weak sprouts, but to pinch them at the root. This way you won't disturb the plant you want to keep.
Planting seedlings in open ground
The seedlings are ready to go outdoors, and now is the time to figure out how to grow cauliflower in your vegetable garden. In fact, caring for it is simple, and even inexperienced gardeners can master it.
Garden bed preparation
Growing cauliflower in the open field does not start with planting seedlings in beds or flower beds, but with preparing the soil. Fertilized soil with good moisture absorption and aeration is a prerequisite for a bountiful, tasty harvest.
How to plant cauliflower
Transplanting cauliflower should be done on a warm, cloudy day. Young plants are planted to a depth of true leaves, sprinkled with earth tightly and watered well. When planting early varieties, it is required to close the beds with seedlings for several days with a cloth or greenhouse bottles to protect the cabbage from hypothermia.
Landing patterns
Usually, cauliflower is planted in two rows in the garden to make it easier to care for it. The minimum distance between rows is 50 centimeters, between plants is 25 cm.
Seedless sowing method
If you live in the suburbs or Siberia, then the reckless sowing method is not suitable for you. But in Sochi or in the Kuban, you can sow seeds directly on the beds from early May to July. Seed preparation and plant picking is done according to the same principle as when growing cauliflower through seedlings.
Cauliflower care
If you are looking for the secrets of obtaining a bountiful harvest in the article, we hasten to please you: it all depends on the observance of the rules for the care and protection of plants from diseases and pests. Let us dwell on each point in more detail in order to answer the question of what cauliflower loves when growing in a sufficiently detailed way.
Watering
The technology for watering cauliflower is even easier than growing white cabbage. If the weather is not dry, then the plant is watered once a week, provided the top layer of the earth is completely dry. Overmoistening threatens with disturbances in the work of the roots.
Top dressing
Cauliflower should be fed three times throughout the growing season.
The first feeding occurs ten days after planting the seedlings (droppings or mullein). The second top dressing is applied in two weeks. It is recommended to use a solution of nitrophoska and wood ash. For the third time, the plant is fertilized with a mixture of phosphorus and potassium during the flowering period, so that the heads of cabbage set up more actively and grow faster.
Loosening
Growing cauliflower in the country cannot be imagined without loosening or mulching the soil with peat or humus. The peculiarity of the root system of the plant is that it is very weak and is located close to the surface of the earth. Therefore, it is so important to provide it with protection and good air permeability.
Care before harvest
Growing cauliflower outdoors also includes the following activities before harvest:
A week before harvesting, watering of the plants stops, since the more moisture in the heads, the less they will be stored. To make the heads of the cauliflower white, they are covered with leaves and fixed with clothespins. So they will be reliably protected from the sun's rays, which give the cabbage a green color.
Cleaning and storage
Above, we figured out how to plant and care for cauliflower outdoors. But how and when to harvest? It is important to understand that each variety has different head sizes, and the growing season also varies. If we try to generalize, then on average, the cauliflower crop is harvested at the following times:
early varieties - 60–100 days after planting; mid-season - in 100-130 days.
The cut heads are stored in a cool, dark place for up to three months.
Cauliflower pests and diseases
How to grow healthy cauliflower outdoors and protect it from pests? Use insect and slug repellents. They are effective and safe for plants and humans. However, diseases are much more dangerous and difficult to treat. The only way out is disease prevention:
be sure to disinfect the seeds; harden seed and seedlings in a cool place; follow the rules of crop rotation and do not grow crops from the same family in the same place.
