Cauliflower is a capricious vegetable, demanding on loosening, weeding, watering, and fertilizing the cabbage after planting. If the soil is slightly dry, the plant will slow down and ripening will be delayed. For the ripening of this vegetable, regular feeding is important at all stages of plant development, from preparing the soil in the autumn, planting seedlings and ending with the ripening of the head of cabbage. Boron, molybdenum and other microelements are necessary for a growing vegetable; care will produce excellent and healthy heads of cauliflower.
This vegetable is used both raw and stewed and boiled.For small children aged 6 months, puree is prepared from this healthy product. It is perfectly absorbed by the body and provides nutrients and vitamins.
When and with what to fertilize the soil, how to grow and care for cauliflower you'll find out now.
How to feed the soil before planting
Before planting this fastidious crop, you need to prepare the soil while preparing the land for wintering. To do this, when plowing the field, fertilizers are added to the soil in the form of compost or burnt manure. This will give rise to a rich harvest. Fertilizing is done using both folk remedies and proven chemical elements; cabbage is also fed with boric acid.
How many times does the crop need to be processed?
- In the spring before planting in the main growing area.
- Fertilizers should be applied to the soil for seedlings on the 10th day after picking.
- When 4 leaves are formed.
- The first feeding of the main bush 2 weeks after planting in the ground.
- The second feeding is 10 days after the first.
- The third is during the formation of the ovary.
In this way, cauliflower in open ground is fertilized up to 4 times during the cultivation of one crop. During growth, it is important to loosen and weed the soil; during formation, protect them from the scorching rays of the sun; for this, they use their own leaves - they are broken and tied around the growing heads of cabbage. It is necessary to keep the soil moist. The use of hilling will protect vegetables from diseases. With the help of these manipulations, cauliflower will grow healthy.
Germination of seedlings
Cauliflower is grown in two ways. Direct sowing of seeds to a permanent growing place, but most gardeners grow seedlings before planting in the garden.This manipulation allows you to harvest the fruits earlier, and the gradual planting of seedlings allows the vegetables to ripen throughout the summer and autumn period. How are seedlings grown?
Seeds for seedlings are planted from March to the end of May. Before germination, prepare as follows.
- A week before planting, calibration occurs - treatment in a 3% saline solution.
- Washing with water.
- Drying.
- Soak the seeds in a solution of wood ash for 12 hours (add 1 tablespoon per liter of water).
Plant them in the soil to a depth of 1 centimeter and maintain a distance of 2-3 centimeters between them. Cover with film or mulch, water as the soil dries with water at room temperature.
10 days after planting the seeds, the seedlings are given the first fertilizing in the form of a solution of urea, superphosphate and potassium chloride in a ratio of 20:40:10 grams per 10 liters of water. After another 10 days, add the following fertilizer: dissolve 30 grams of urea and 20 grams of potassium per 10 liters of water. And the seedlings are fed the third time when 4 cabbage leaves are formed; for this, boric acid is diluted in 10 liters of water, manganese sulfate and ammonium acid molybdenum in a ratio of 2:1.5:0.5 grams per bucket of water.
On 45-51 days of seedling growth, it is planted in the ground. By this time, 4 to 6 permanent leaves should have formed on the bush.
Planting seedlings in the ground
Cauliflower is resistant to temperature changes. It is a light-loving plant, but during the formation of the ovary it must be shaded from the scorching rays of the sun, otherwise the vegetable will bloom ahead of time and the heads of cabbage will not form correctly. Protection from the sun can be provided by its own leaves; for this, they are lifted up and tied around the head of cabbage.
The seedlings are planted on the bed in a checkerboard pattern, maintaining a distance between crops of 50 by 40 centimeters. Plant the cuttings in the hole, covering the entire stem with soil. Make sure that the top bud of the cabbage remains on the surface. If you cover it with soil, the bud will rot and the seedlings will die. During the main cultivation of the crop, 3 feedings are carried out. This is done so that the head of cabbage does not bloom ahead of time and all the vitamins and microelements are preserved in it.
How to feed cauliflower
The first fertilizing after planting in the ground is carried out after 1.5-2 weeks. To do this, dilute cow manure with rainwater in a 10 liter bucket. Let it brew for a week, and then take 07 liters of mullein and 1 tablespoon of mineral fertilizer per 10 liter bucket of water and water each bush.
The second feeding is carried out 10 days after the first with a solution of microelements: 30 grams of ammonium nitrate, 2 grams of potassium chloride, 2 grams of boric acid and 40 grams of superphosphate are added to 10 liters of water. Fertilizer is poured under each bush.
The third foliar feeding of cauliflower is carried out during the formation of the head of cabbage. For 10 liters of water, dilute mullein with water in a ratio of 1:8, add 30 grams of ammonium nitrate, 20 grams of calcium chloride and 30 grams of superphosphate.
During formation, watering of plants is increased, the soil is wetted to the entire depth of the root system.
Many gardeners use regular baker's yeast as an effective fertilizer for plants. Yeast diluted in water promotes the effective development of the root system and provides plants with the vitamins necessary for growth. Yeast Fertilizer for cauliflower it is prepared as follows: 1 part of yeast is diluted in 5 parts of warm water. Before use, the solution is diluted again in 10 parts of water, after which the plants are watered.
Rules for caring for a plant during growth
When seedlings are already growing in the garden, you should adhere to the following rules for caring for them.
- Frequent watering.
- Hilling up every 15 days.
- Shading of heads of cabbage.
- Root feeding.
- Feeding cabbage with boric acid.
So, after each feeding, they hill up, covering the trunk with soil. This manipulation protects the roots from diseases. The head of cabbage forms correctly under certain conditions. You need to monitor the soil moisture - if it dries out, the cabbage will bloom earlier.
The air temperature should be within 20-22 degrees, otherwise the cauliflower will not form correctly and will not have a marketable appearance.
To enrich it with vitamins and microelements, you need to feed cauliflower with the following solution - dissolve boron and molybdenum in water and spray it.
Under bad weather conditions - dry summers, acidic sandy soils, cold weather, the plants experience molybdenum starvation, the inflorescences die out, the leaves are soft and ugly, and the head does not set. To eliminate these shortcomings, foliar feeding is carried out, which implies the use of a microelement - ammonium molybdenum is dissolved with water and sprayed.
Harvesting
The heads are ready for removal starting at the end of May. Heads of cabbage are cut off as they form, preventing flowering. When the head of cabbage blooms, the cabbage's nutrients are lost and all manipulations will be in vain. With proper care of the crop, harvesting lasts about 2 weeks.
To obtain one more cabbage harvest per year - in July, after planting the second batch of seedlings, the harvest is harvested at the end of August.
Varieties for the second harvest - Autumn, Round Head, Otechestvennaya, Shirokolistnaya. The seedlings are planted in loose soil fertilized with mullein. The second harvest is harvested at the end of August - beginning of September and is completed in two weeks. In cool weather, large and dense heads of cabbage are formed.
Preparing the soil for the next season
In order for cauliflower to grow fruitfully next year, you need to fertilize the soil with humus in the fall, then dig up the soil and leave it to rest until spring. Thus, with proper care of cabbage, gardeners receive high-quality vegetables, useful with vitamins and microelements, twice a season.
We learned how to fertilize and care for cauliflower.
