How to grow cauliflower? How to grow cauliflower: tips. Planting cauliflower seeds for seedlings. Features of growing cauliflower in a greenhouse and open field

Who manages to grow without the hassle cauliflower? Confess to your unearthly essence! How else to explain that such a whim grows in you and even gives a decent harvest? Or is it the great secret of the ancients, jealously guarded by many generations?

Of course this is a joke. In fact, the question is how to grow cauliflower in open ground, has an answer. True, few people know him. And let's see together why, instead of dense and white heads, terrible green brooms often turn out.

Open the first available article about growing cauliflower. What do we see? Endless directions with numbers. Raise the temperature by 3 degrees, lower by half a degree ... add so many grams of fertilizer on a particular day ... And many more letters that drive you crazy. Well, who in their right mind and sober memory will run around the beds with a thermometer or measure out fertilizers with pharmaceutical scales? close these scientific facts don't break your brain.

Only two numbers should stick in your head. Not lower than +10 and not higher than +25°С. All! In other temperature ranges, cauliflower will not work. Fell below - covered with a film or non-woven material. She rose higher - they arranged a cool shower, shaded with a cloth.

Cross out the long list of fertilizers in FIG! Why do you need cauliflower, in which there are more nitrates than vitamins? Stomp into the agricultural store. Ask sellers for fertilizer with high content molybdenum, boron and phosphorus. If you can read, it's even easier. Choose yourself. And use as recommended by the manufacturer. Still, do not overdo it with the frequency of feeding. You won't be able to.

Why can't you? Because, having sowed seeds for seedlings in the first decade of March, you will harvest the first crop already in early to mid-June. This refers to ultra-early varieties. They take about 100 days from germination to technical ripeness. And more is not necessary. Because the July heat will spoil all your work.

But, you can get a second wave of harvest in October, if you sow new seeds at the end of July. At this time, the heat begins to subside and the cauliflower feels great. If there is no hot summer in your area, then calmly plant any variety of cauliflower at a convenient time for you. The cold will only do you good.

Seed preparation

Pre-planting treatment of cauliflower seeds is not much different from the agricultural technology of other plants. First, they are filled with plain water. On the surface will be hollow and unsuitable for planting seeds. Those that sink to the bottom are good for us. You can drop a little potassium permanganate directly into this water. To light pink. Rinse after half an hour.

Now we take a piece of aloe leaf, knead it well in a small amount of warm water. We filter. We do not use a metal sieve! Only hair or rare tissue. For example, a piece of bandage or gauze. Next, soak the seeds in the resulting liquid. 12 hours is more than enough.

Everything, the seeds are ready for planting. It is not necessary to grow them.

Sowing

In warm regions, you can sow directly into the ground. Approximately early to mid April. But we are not looking for easy ways! Give us a full seedling!

Therefore, we take a cardboard cell from under the eggs. Very handy, by the way. We put 2 tsp in each recess. soil. Top with a prepared seed and then another teaspoon of soil.

Now we lightly press the whole thing with the palm of our hand. Do not press, do not press tea! And sprinkle a little warm water from a spray bottle. You can splash a few drops of any growth biostimulator into it.

We remove our landings in darkness and heat. The top of a kitchen cabinet is perfect. If everything is done correctly, then shoots will appear within 5 days. Didn't show up? Deal with the seed seller. Quality ones always rise quickly.

Seedling

As soon as the first cotyledon leaves appear, we immediately transfer the cell to a cool place. On the locker, it is clearly above + 25 ° С. But we remember that this is a terrible figure. Therefore, on a cool window sill, where + 16-18 ° С.

The strength of the lighting plays a role, but not a very important one. But the length of the day is of great importance. The shorter the day, the denser the heads will be. But it will take a long time. A long day allows you to quickly throw away the flowers, but they quickly fall apart into green loose brooms so hated by everyone. Consider this.

Water the cauliflower seedlings very carefully. Don't over-moisturize! The black leg does not sleep and is only waiting for your inaccurate actions. And the cool conditions for keeping cauliflower are generally a paradise for her! How to avoid the defeat of the sore? It is imperative to take appropriate preventive measures:

Be sure to decontaminate the cells. We spray with a strong solution of potassium permanganate, then dry it near heating appliances.
The soil for seedlings must also be clean. Freezing and subsequent heating in the oven is ideal.
For reliability, the prepared soil is generously spilled with a solution of phytosporin.
Periodically, we ventilate the seedlings well, but without a draft.
Strictly control watering.

All these measures reduce the black leg infection to almost zero. But for greater reliability, cauliflower sprouts must be shed with phytosporin one more time before planting in the ground. At the same time, this will help to avoid rot. After all root system this plant is too small and weak compared to ordinary cabbage.

When to plant cauliflower in the ground

In the middle lane, this is approximately the second decade of April. The air temperature should rise above +12°C. And it is very important not to let the cauliflower outgrow. Such seedlings do not take root well, get sick for a long time and give a poor harvest. If it does at all.

It is most optimal to plant cauliflower when 5 true leaves begin to appear on the sprouts. When it unfolds completely, everything, the cabbage has outgrown.

If planted before this moment, then the sprouts will adapt for a long time. After all, they are still so weak.

It is advisable to prepare the bed in the fall. To do this, along with digging before winter, they bring in good leaf humus or already matured manure. Fresh addition is prohibited! He will burn the roots completely.

Naturally, all weeds and their roots are removed. Young seedlings are too weak to withstand their pressure.

With spring digging they bring mineral fertilizers. Preferably complex. But the organic matter does not have time to ripen to give all the nutrients to the cauliflower. Therefore, it is better to refrain from it in the spring.

Planting holes are arranged according to the 40 by 40 cm scheme. No longer worth it. After all, how much space you give cabbage, so much it will spread its mugs. Do you need it?

Directly on the day of planting, a teaspoon of ash is poured into each hole, no more! Mix well with the ground, pour a decent amount of water. And already in the resulting slurry, an earthen lump with roots is carefully lowered. It is recommended not to destroy it. So the plant is less injured.

By the way, seedlings are removed from the cell very easily. You just need to take it with two fingers near the soil itself and gently pull it up. You will have a sprout in your hand, which tightly braided the earth with its roots.

Deepen the cauliflower to the very cotyledon leaves. But they carefully watch so as not to fill up the growth point.

Advice. After planting for three days, shade the seedlings with any fabric. Then it can be removed.

Cauliflower Care

This plant loves water, but does not tolerate stagnation of liquid at the roots. It is better to water it once every 6 days, but wetting the ground abundantly. And so that the soil does not dry out between waterings - use mulch. A thick layer will protect your landings.

Fertilizers. As we said above, any with a high content of certain trace elements will do. No need to increase the dosage. It won't do any good. Top dressing is done the next day after watering. It will be enough 6 pieces for the entire growing season. They are brought strictly under the root, because the root system of cauliflower is small, it cannot reach far for food.

How to get white heads

As soon as you notice that visible inflorescences have begun to form, cover them from the sun. Some sources recommend breaking the burdock of the cabbage itself and putting it on top. What useless barbarism! The slightest breath of the breeze will carry this burdock to no one knows where. And in the sun, the inflorescences will quickly turn into a broom.

Hold the rationale:

Going to the children's art store
We buy a package of elastic bands for weaving a bracelet.
We return to the garden.
We collect 3-4 top sheets in a bundle.
We put on an elastic band on top.

All. Fast, headache-free and completely inexpensive. The issue price is about 50 rubles for a package of 300 pieces. By the way, they can still be useful in other beds. And they are sold not only in specialized stores, but on almost every corner.

By the way, with this method, you can safely water the cauliflower from above, without fear of water getting on the heads. And under the burdock, the liquid flows freely, which causes rotting of the petioles and spoils the entire crop.

Pests

Cauliflower is remarkably occupied by pests. Everyone loves her: aphids, slugs, bears, cabbage flies, butterflies, fleas, scoops. So, you have to fight for the harvest. You can use any systemic insecticide. But it must be used with caution so as not to fall on the inflorescences.

Bioinsecticides have proven themselves well. They do not harm a person, do not accumulate in the heads and leaves. But they do an excellent job of controlling pests by infecting them with fungal spores. Penetrating through the chitinous membrane, these spores grow and kill insects.

Folk wisdom suggests periodically dusting plantings with fine ash of deciduous trees. Also a good option. And it can be carried out after closing the heads with leaves. Nothing will get inside.

In principle, you can use any repellent infusions from improvised plants. It can be wormwood, garlic, tansy, onion.

It is strictly impossible to be late with the harvest. Peduncles, when overgrown, quickly break up into separate branches. Then they begin to grow in different directions and stick out like a panicle. Cut the heads when they reach the characteristic size for the variety. Or a little earlier. Anyone who has ever seen cauliflower will definitely not be late. At the first sign of overgrowth, an urgent need to harvest.

By the way, if the stem is powerful, the flakes are juicy and bright without signs of disease or damage, then do not pull out the plant. Water it well, feed it thoroughly and spud it higher. If you continue to care for him as before, then after a while new young inflorescences will appear from the lateral sinuses. Of course, the second harvest will not produce large heads. But you will get 4-5 medium-sized pieces, which is equivalent to one large one.

For your own needs - a good help.

Autumn harvest can not be cut. The cauliflower is dug up along with the roots and lowered into the cellar. There it is hung upside down or roots are added dropwise. In this form, the heads are perfectly preserved for up to 3 months.
Seal cauliflower plantings with marigolds. This is aesthetically great and scares off many lovers of snow-white heads.
Spray the newly planted seedlings immediately with a solution of table vinegar: per 10 l pure water 1 st. l. This will kill the smell of the leaves and confuse the pests.
Observe crop rotation. Do not plant a plant after cruciferous plants. They have the same pests and diseases. It is better to attach cauliflower after melons or cereals.

How to grow cauliflower outdoors? As you can see, this is not a mystery at all. Knowing that the plant loves coolness, you can grow two crops per season without the hassle and hassle. Plus a huge storehouse of vitamins, minerals and nutrients on your table from June to December.

Video: the secrets of a good cauliflower harvest

Cauliflower is one of the most popular annual plants. It is a healthy and tasty vegetable that you can easily grow yourself.

First of all, it is necessary to responsibly approach the choice of cabbage planting time. It is necessary that the plant caught cool weather. Most varieties will take approximately 2 months under these conditions. Ideally, daytime temperatures should not exceed 15º C.

It must be taken into account that climatic conditions differ depending on the region. In areas with a pronounced warm climate, planting should be planned so that harvesting occurs in the spring. If there are more cool weather conditions, then cauliflower is planted for harvesting in the autumn.

Culture suitable soil with normal acidity. Its composition can be almost anything, but heavy, moist soils with lots of nutrients are best suited. Experts recommend using black soil with the addition of ash or medium loamy soils. It is also worth adding a small amount dolomite flour, wood ash or notice. In the process of digging in the fall, mineral and organic fertilizers. depends on the quality of the feed crop amount, texture and taste.

Cauliflower should be planted in the area where cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, legumes or beets grew before. The plant should not be planted after radishes, turnips or rutabagas. In the same place, cauliflower is grown no more than 3 years in a row, as bacteria gradually accumulate in the ground, which leads to damage to the crop.

Landing

Cauliflower is grown in seedling and seedless method. The first option is best for middle lane, and the second - for the southern regions.

Reckless way. Thanks to the use of this technology, you do not have to grow seedlings. Everything is very simple in the prepared soil, you need to plant the seeds. Place a few grains in the hole. After germination, shoots needs to be thinned out.

This method is ideal for growing crops in greenhouses and greenhouses. It is almost never used for outdoor sowing, although some gardeners decide to experiment. In this case, the seeds are planted no earlier than May. The reason for this is considered to be instability to temperature extremes. Accordingly, the harvest will appear only at the end of autumn.

Seedling method. When growing a cauliflower, it must be remembered that the root system of cauliflower is poorly developed. Therefore, 6 days before landing in the ground in a common box soil needs to be cut into small squares. Thanks to this, the seedling will be able to form a root system, which in the end will turn out to be quite branched.

When planting seedlings of cabbage in open ground, it is necessary to consider:

Early varieties are sown in early March. After the emergence of seedlings before planting in the ground, approximately 60 days should pass. It is best to plant such cauliflower seedlings between April and May.
Medium-early varieties are sown in April-May. After 40 days, the seedlings are transplanted. That is, it happens in May-June.
Late varieties are sown at the end of May or the first half of June. The age of seedlings before planting should be approximately 35 days. Accordingly, the culture is planted in open ground only in July.

It is worth noting that most experienced gardeners prefer to grow seedlings of different times. Thanks to this, it will be possible to harvest cauliflower all season.

After planting in open ground, seedlings need to be covered with a film for some time. It is also recommended to darken the area for a few days. After 2 weeks, hilling is carried out, and after another 3 - top dressing with liquid mullein. To protect against pests, cabbage should be sprinkled with wood ash. One glass of powder is enough for 1 m².

Care

In order for the plant to develop normally, it is necessary to observe a certain temperature regime. The optimal indicator is 16-25º C. At elevated temperatures and significant dryness of the soil, the quality of the crop deteriorates.

plant needed water regularly. This is very important because cauliflower needs access to moisture and various nutrients. If watering is not enough, then the taste will be poor. The soil should be kept moist all the time, however, stagnant water should be avoided. It must be remembered that with frequent rains, moderate watering is recommended.

Young plants must be protected from various diseases and pests. This is especially true for cabbage bugs, aphids and cabbage. Insect protection needs to be given a lot of attention under the condition of early disembarkation. So, you should use a complex remedy for several pests, because they can disrupt the development cycle of cabbage or completely destroy the crop.

It is best to use harmless pesticides. In this case, you should carefully read the label, which contains information about pests and plants. To further protect the culture from insects, it is necessary to carefully cover the seedlings with cut plastic bottles.

Particular attention should be paid to the application of fertilizers. So, for 60-day-old seedlings, 4 top dressing is enough, for 30-day ones - 2. The following scheme is considered optimal:

The first dressing is applied 15 days after planting. For these purposes, liquid mullein or mineral fertilizer is used.
The second feeding is carried out after another 15 days. It is enough to add nitrophos and wood ash.
The turn of the third feeding comes when the head is formed. For 10 liters of water, 30 g of ammonium nitrate will be required. You can also take 20 g potash fertilizer or 80 g of superphosphate.

It must be remembered that cauliflower needs molybdenum and bore. If these elements are not enough, then the head will crumble and a pronounced brown coating will appear on it.

Whitening

Many gardeners pay attention to whitening the head. This is very important, because if sunlight falls on the plant during the formation process, the vegetable will turn yellow. Naturally, darkened cabbage remains edible, but its texture will be coarser. Therefore, it is very important to carry out bleaching in a timely manner.

When the head is equal in size to chicken egg, must be carefully break the leaves and cover your head. For better fixation, you can use elastic bands.

Before bleaching, you need to make sure that the vegetable is dry. If moisture begins to accumulate here, the plant will quickly rot. You need to tie the leaves very carefully, otherwise the air will not get to the head.

It should be borne in mind that purple, orange and green cabbage are often found on sale. Such varieties do not need bleaching. Moreover, breeders have bred varieties of vegetables, the leaves of which protect the head from light in a natural way.

When the cauliflower reaches about 15 cm in diameter, it can be cut off, leaving a few leaves. Usually they do it after 2-3 weeks after bleaching. Cauliflower is often stored in the refrigerator. She will stay here for about a week. For long-term storage, the vegetable is frozen or salted. Also, the plant can be uprooted and hung upside down. In this state, cauliflower is stored for a month.

Everyone knows that cauliflower is an indispensable product of dietary and baby food, surpassing even our favorite white cabbage in terms of vitamins and proteins.

It’s just that it’s not always possible to grow this valuable vegetable on your site: sometimes the heads do not tie, then the inflorescences darken, then instead of the desired dense white ball, loose thin greenish “flowers” are obtained.

How to grow cauliflower the right way? Let's look at the main methods of its agricultural technology.

Our main task when growing cauliflower is to provide plants with all the conditions for early and friendly flowering, because the white “head” of cauliflower is nothing more than unblown inflorescences tightly adjacent to each other.

What do flowers need? Phosphorus, potassium and boron. By increasing the content of these elements in the soil while limiting nitrogen components, it is possible to reduce the growth time of green mass and accelerate flowering.

Cauliflower is mostly grown from seedlings. To provide yourself with a crop during the entire summer-autumn period, seeds for seedlings can be sown three times.

Sowing seeds for early varieties and cauliflower hybrids are produced from March 5 to March 30 with planting in the ground in 25-60 days, that is, from April 25 to May 15.
For medium late varieties cauliflower seeds are sown from April 10 to May 10, and seedlings are planted in open ground after 35-40 days (from May 20 to June 15).
Late varieties of cauliflower are planted for seedlings from May 25 to June 10 with planting in open ground in 30-35 days (from July 1 to July 10).

Before planting on seedlings, cauliflower seeds, pickling in potassium permanganate, and also tempered with alternating temperatures.

Since cauliflower seedlings do not tolerate picking well, it is better to immediately plant seeds in peat pots or plastic cups filled with nutrient soil.

Doesn't like cauliflower acidic soils, which means that the reaction of the soil mixture should be closer to neutral pH (6-6.5). It is recommended to prepare a mixture for cauliflower seedlings in the following proportions:

Option 1.

lowland peat - 3-5 parts,
rotted sawdust - 1-1.5 parts,
mullein - 1 part.

Option 2.

humus - 10 parts,
lowland peat - 1 part,
sand - 1 part.

Some summer residents immediately add mineral fertilizers to the peat mixture: superphosphate, sulfate or potassium nitrate, ammonium nitrate. Others - prefer foliar and root top dressing seedlings in the future. If you are a principled opponent inorganic fertilizers, add ashes to the soil for seedlings. Ash is an excellent organic source of potassium, in addition, it reduces the acidity of the soil and increases the content of phosphorus, boron and manganese in it.

When growing cauliflower seedlings, the correct temperature regime is very important. It is recommended to maintain the temperature at the level of 18-20°C until emergence of seedlings. After the emergence of shoots, so that the seedlings do not stretch and pamper, the temperature is reduced to 6-8 ° C, and after 5 days it is brought to 15-18 ° C during the day and to 8-10 ° C at night. If cauliflower seedlings are grown at high temperatures(over 22 ° C), subsequently it may not form inflorescences at all and leave you without a crop.

Cauliflower is especially demanding on trace elements such as molybdenum and boron. Therefore, when 2-3 true leaves are formed on the seedling, the seedlings are sprayed with a 0.2% solution boric acid(2 grams per liter of water). And in the phase of 3-4 leaves - with a 0.5% solution of ammonium molybdate (5 grams per bucket of water).

Feeding is completely excluded a week before planting. nitrogen fertilizers, 2-3 days before planting, seedlings are fed with phosphorus and potassium (2-3 grams of superphosphate and 3 grams of potassium chloride per liter of water), which increases its cold resistance.

Preparing the beds and planting cauliflower seedlings

It is best to plant cauliflower seedlings on a cloudy but rather warm day in a well-lit garden bed where legumes or onions or cucumbers grew last year - these are the best cauliflowers. Before planting, rotted manure or a mixture of humus, peat and compost (10 kg per 1 square meter) can be introduced into the soil.

Seedlings are planted according to the scheme 50x25 cm, adding a handful of ash to each hole. Plants are buried to the first true leaf and watered. Immediately after planting, the still unrooted seedlings can be shaded for a couple of days with a non-woven fabric or film. This procedure will also help protect young plants from cruciferous flea infestation.

Feeding, watering, caring for cauliflower

Watering and loosening.

Cauliflower is less demanding on moisture than white cabbage. It is enough to water it once a week. Excessive moisture delays the formation of the head and disrupts the functioning of the root system. Since the roots of cauliflower are located close to the surface, it is better not to loosen the soil under it, but to mulch it with peat mixture, humus or any other.

Top dressing.

Cauliflower is fed 3 times per season. The first top dressing is carried out ten days after planting seedlings in open ground. Then the cabbage is fed at intervals of two weeks. After tying the head, feeding is stopped so that nitrates that we do not need do not accumulate.

Feed options:

Diluted mullein (1 part mullein to 10 parts water) or bird droppings(1 part manure to 15 parts water) with the addition of trace elements (boron, molybdenum, magnesium and manganese),
A mixture of 20 grams of urea, 20 grams of potassium chloride and 50 grams of superphosphate is dissolved in 10 liters of water.

Under each plant should be poured a liter of a solution.

Shading.

When the first inflorescences appear on the cauliflower, do not forget to cover the head with broken top leaves to keep it white. Leaves can be fastened with a regular clothespin.

Pest control.

If signs of a fungal infection appear on the cauliflower, then the plants should be sprayed with Fitosporin, which fights pathogens naturally.

Against the main pests of cauliflower - cabbage white caterpillars or cabbage scoops - use the Enterobacterin biological product or an infusion of burdock leaves. To prepare such an infusion, a bucket is filled 1/3 with burdock leaves, topped up with water and infused for a day.

Harvesting and growing cauliflower

Cauliflower is harvested, focusing on its ripening period (it is always written on the package with seeds) before the “head” becomes loose, and the unopened inflorescences bloom for real.

If the plant from which the head is cut is healthy and the leaves are strong, try to get a second harvest from it. Leave on the plants one of the strongest shoots that grow from the axillary buds of the stalk, and remove all the rest. Remember to water and feed your cauliflower in the same way as you would for your main crop. At good care behind plants, heads can reach a weight of 400 - 500 grams.

Late cauliflower, which must be harvested before the first frost, does not always have time to produce a full-fledged head. Such cabbage can be grown. Plants with a large clod of earth are dug out of the garden and transferred to a greenhouse or cellar. Cabbage is placed close to each other, sprinkled with earth and watered. Cauliflower does not need light during the growing period, it is only necessary to moisten the roots. Due to the outflow of nutrients from the leaves to the inflorescences, after two months, a quite decent head of cauliflower can be obtained from a small underdeveloped "cauliflower".

Proper planting of cauliflower for seedlings and regular care for it is the key to a stable harvest. However, few people know that you can get inflorescences of this crop rich in vitamins and microelements from the second half of May to mid-October. How to do it? For this question, we have prepared a number of useful recommendations.

When to sow cauliflower seeds for seedlings

To get first early harvest, cauliflower is sown for seedlings in the last decade of February. As a rule, seedlings are grown in a room or a heated greenhouse. In order to use separate peat pots, tablets or ordinary plastic cups. Under such conditions, seedlings should be until 4-6 true leaves appear.

Cauliflower seedlings, which were sown in February, are transferred to prepared beds in the first half of April. To protect plants from frost, it is best to use film shelters or spunbond shelters. Well proven , which can be used until stable weather conditions.

IMPORTANT! Cauliflower planted from seeds may not set heads due to seedlings being planted too early in the ground. Even frost at -1 o C is able to destroy the growth point, and the curly head will not form. For reliability, seedlings are gradually hardened before being planted in the ground.

To obtain a harvest at the end of July - in early August, cauliflower begins to germinate for seedlings from April to the end of May. If the crop is sown periodically every week, then from mid-summer to early autumn you can regularly remove juicy inflorescences. It is best to sow seeds in nurseries or late greenhouses. In open ground, plants are sent to last days May - mid June.

Get good harvest cabbage inflorescences in September or the first half of October will allow summer planting of seedlings. For this, the prepared seeds of the crop are sown in early June in open or protected ground. If the planting pattern is followed (usually the distance between plants is 40x50cm), the grown plants can be left in the same place. Otherwise, it is better to transplant in early July.

Choosing varieties of cauliflower

Planting cauliflower for seedlings for collection in a certain period should be carried out not only in certain time, but also taking into account the timing of maturation. Get a summer harvest will allow the choice of seed material of early ripening and mid-season varieties. Autumn harvest can be obtained by choosing late-ripening varieties for planting.

NOTE: The most important thing when planting cauliflower is not to miscalculate with the timing, since with a belated planting, the inflorescences will not have time to ripen. Therefore, the total number of stages of sowing seeds for seedlings should not be more than 4.

What are the best varieties of cauliflower to use for planting? The long-term practice of our summer residents has made it possible to isolate the most reliable varietal material for the climate of central Russia and Belarus. This is a classic that has stood the test of time.

The best varieties of cauliflower
Ripening period	Number of days	Variety
EARLY MATURE	from 90 to 110 days	Amphora; Alpha; Snowball; Early Gribovskaya 1355; Express.
MIDDLE-MAPING	from 110 to 135 days	Pioneer; Rocket; Patriotic.
LATE-MAPING	about 150 days for the Moscow region	Konsista; Autumn giant; Skywalker F1; Regent.

Seed preparation for planting seedlings

Before germinating cauliflower seeds, they must first be calibrated and checked for germination. This is done quite simply:

seeds are examined and selected by appearance large, healthy;
then the seeds are put into a container with warm water(47 ... 50 about C;
in 20 minutes. seeds that have sunk to the bottom are removed and processed cold water within 1 min;
seeds floating on the surface are discarded.

Next, the calibrated cabbage seeds are soaked for 8 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate). For better germination of the prepared material, you can use special preparations, stimulating the growth of seeds with a disinfecting effect (for example, EPIN). After disinfection, the seeds are washed in running water and stacked for a day on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

INTERESTING: To disinfect cauliflower seeds before sowing seedlings, you can use garlic juice, which is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 3.

Soil preparation for seedlings

Having determined for yourself the time when to plant cauliflower seedlings and having properly prepared the seed material, you can proceed directly to sowing it. But before that, take care nutrient soil in which seedlings will be grown. It can be purchased or prepared as follows:

humus or compost - 2 parts;
peat - 7 parts;
rotted mullein - 1 part;
sod land - 1 part.

Please note that the soil for seedlings of this type of cabbage should be lighter in texture. Therefore, it is desirable to add rotted sawdust and coarse river sand to the prepared soil. equal parts- in the volume of one liter jar.

To disinfect the soil in which seedlings of cauliflower planted from seeds will grow, it is necessary to freeze it for a long time - 1-2 months (on the balcony, in the open air in the yard). After that, it is also possible to calcinate the soil, but such disinfection is not always effective, because. in parallel with diseases, beneficial microflora can also be killed. Usually extra heat treatment perform if there is a threat that the keel pathogen is present in the soil.

IMPORTANT! The soil mixture for sowing cauliflower seedlings should be light and enriched with organic matter. The prepared substrate should be neutral, not acidic. For deoxidation per 1 liter of earth use: furnace ash - 20 g or dolomite flour - 15 g.

Preparation of containers for sowing seeds

In order to have an early harvest of cauliflower in June, germination of seedlings is done only in pots; peat humus or bulk. You can germinate seeds in peat cubes, cassettes or egg cartons.

Such agricultural technology allows you to grow seedlings without picking with further transplantation into open ground. Picking this type of cabbage is not shown, because. a short tap root may be broken. In addition, cauliflower grown in individual containers is less susceptible to such a lesion as clubroot.

Using wooden boxes for sowing seeds of cauliflower, they must be disinfected. You can do this in one of two ways:

Treat with a dark solution of potassium permanganate;
Boil the entire surface of the boxes with boiling water.

Planting cauliflower seeds for seedlings

Sowing cauliflower seeds for seedlings is done in sowing boxes or individual cups. Traditionally, 2 seeds are placed in each pot, in each hole of the box. They are deepened by 2 centimeters, after which they are sprinkled with soil and mulched with dry, steamed river sand. Then the container is covered with glass or film and exposed to a warm dark place. At a temperature of 20 ° C shoots appear on the 2nd ... 4th day after planting. At this moment, it is very important to leave one of the two sprouts - the strongest.

So that cauliflower seedlings do not stretch, immediately after hatching for 5 days, they create favorable conditions:

daily temperature regime - +10 ° С;
night temperature regime - +6 ° С;
bright lighting (with backlight).

After 5 days, the temperature is gradually increased to 18 ° C in daytime, and up to 10 o C at night. On cloudy days, the ambient temperature should not exceed 14°C.

IMPORTANT! During the sowing of seeds, the soil temperature should be 18 ... 24 ° C, the humidity regime should be 70 - 80%. Overdrying of the soil, low (less than 4-6°С) and high (more than 25°С) temperatures can cause stress. As a result, small heads and rapid flowering form in the cabbage.

Caring for cauliflower seedlings

When cauliflower shoots appear, plants will need periodic fertilization. As a rule, 3 feedings are carried out. The first - after the appearance of the 2nd ... 3rd true leaf. Subsequent dressings are applied at intervals of 10 days. The following are used as top dressings:

Infusion of wood ash at the rate of 200 gram glass per 10 liter bucket;
Mullein infusion in a ratio of 1:10 with the addition of a tablespoon of superphosphate;

IMPORTANT! When forcing and developing seedlings of cauliflower, you should not abuse nitrogen fertilizers, because. they increase the acidity of the soil, which is detrimental to these plants.

Watering cauliflower planted with seeds is best done by sprinkling. This method allows you to increase humidity and reduce the temperature of the soil and air. The water temperature for irrigation should be several degrees higher than the soil temperature.

In a greenhouse, cauliflower seedlings need favorable conditions. If it is hot, the greenhouse is ventilated, excluding drafts, which are categorically contraindicated for cauliflower. On warm days, the frames of the greenhouse can be opened. And before planting the seedlings in the ground for several days, the temperature in the greenhouse is maintained during the day, close to the temperature outside.

Cauliflower has gained immense popularity around the world, not only because of its pleasant taste. The vegetable is valued for the presence of a large number of proteins, vitamins, amino acids, low calorie content - only 23 kcal. per 100 g and is indispensable in dietary and baby food. Cauliflower has long been cultivated in Arab countries, gradually spread to Europe, and only in the 18th century began to be grown in Russia. The plant is thermophilic, so for your site you should choose domestic varieties adapted to our cold climate. And in order not to get overgrown foliage instead of tasty and healthy inflorescences, you must strictly adhere to optimal timing planting cauliflower.

Terms of sowing cauliflower for seedlings

The preferred way to grow cauliflower is through seedlings. Sowing time is determined depending on the precocity of the variety and the climatic factor. The head of cauliflower is formed in a certain temperature range - not lower than +16 ºС and not higher than +25 ºС. In extreme heat, even with additional irrigation, the foliage grows rapidly, there will be no harvest. At a temperature of +28 ºС, the inflorescences open early and turn into flowering shoots. Cold snaps also have a negative impact on vegetable crops: lowering the temperature to +5 ºС leads to a delay in seed germination, inflorescences are poorly formed.

Cauliflower is usually grown from seedlings.

Unblown inflorescences, which are formed by shortened peduncles, are used for food. Hence the name of the cabbage - cauliflower. Although the heads can be not only snow-white, but also yellow, greenish, purple hues.

Cauliflower heads can be of different colors

The timing of sowing seeds for seedlings depends on the precocity of the selected variety.

Advice. Experienced gardeners do not immediately use all the seeds for sowing seedlings, but sow them every 3-4 days. This allows you to get plants different ages and extend the ripening period of the crop.

Watering is important: if there is not enough moisture when growing seedlings or immediately after planting them in the soil, ripened cabbage heads will be small.

After a week and a half, the seedlings must be dived. You should not wait longer, because in older shoots it is easy to damage the roots. At seedling method cultivation of culture in connection with the detachment during transplantation of the central root, the root system is fibrous.

Cauliflower seedlings dive 1.5 weeks after germination, transplanting into a separate cell one plant at a time

Favorable time for sowing in open ground

Many summer residents do not want to mess with seedlings and immediately sow the seeds in the garden. For cultivation in the central regions, early and mid-season varieties and hybrids are suitable for this. The specific sowing time depends on weather conditions: the end of April - the beginning of May, when warm weather sets in with a temperature of at least +12 ºС. In the south of the country, seeds of late varieties of cauliflower are sown in early May.

Sowing cauliflower in open ground is carried out in settled warm weather

This vegetable crop is less cold hardy than standard head varieties. Its seeds begin to germinate when the soil warms up to about +6 ºС, and the warmer environment, the faster the seedlings appear. At a soil temperature of +11 ºС, sprouts appear on the 12th day, and at +20 ºС - on the 3rd–4th day after sowing. Until June 10 possible return frosts especially in the lowlands. Therefore, it is necessary to take care of the warming of the beds. The sowing period can be extended to the tenth of June by creating a continuous cauliflower conveyor.

In the garden, grooves are made 1 cm deep at a distance of 40 cm from each other.
Moisturize the soil.
Lay out the seeds every 5 cm and sprinkle them with earth.
Crops are covered with a film or set over a bed of an arc and stretched with lutrasil, agrofibre, etc.

When sprouts appear, they are opened during the day, and at night they are insulated with covering material. As the seedlings grow, they are thinned out so as not to thicken the plantings. Optimal Distance between plants - 50–70 cm.

To protect cauliflower crops from cold weather, the beds are covered with agrofiber

Growing cauliflower by direct seeding into the ground has several advantages: no need to mess with seedlings, seedlings form strong taproots that are not injured during transplantation, as a result, plants develop well and are more resistant to heat and drought.

In greenhouses or greenhouses, where the soil warms up much faster, cauliflower seeds of early and mid-season varieties begin to be sown immediately after the snow melts, after April 10. And already on the 4-5th day shoots appear.

Video: cauliflower seedlings - the subtleties of the process

When is the best time to transplant seedlings

It is very important to plant seedlings in the ground on time. Seedlings should be 12–15 cm high and have 4–5 leaves. Overgrown seedlings have a much worse survival rate. Seedlings are planted in the garden in the last days of April - in May, when the earth warms up well. If the plants are too long at the time of transplantation, you can remove two bottom sheet and when landing a little deeper. The exact timing of planting depends on the variety and development of plants. It is better to plant seedlings in the evening, preferably in cloudy weather or with obligatory shading if sunny.

Cauliflower seedlings should have 4-5 leaves before planting in the ground.

From April 25 to May 15, seedlings of early varieties at the age of 35–45 days are transplanted to the site.
From May 15 to June 15, seedlings of mid-season varieties at the age of 35–40 days are planted in open ground.
From the end of June to the middle of July (at the age of 30–35 days) - the most optimal period planting seedlings of late-ripening varieties.

Early ripe cauliflower forms small heads, so the plants are placed every 40 cm, leaving 50 cm between rows. The planting pattern of later varieties is 60x70 cm.

Cauliflower is planted in open ground in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 50–70 cm from each other.

Comfortable temperature regime for cauliflower - during the day + 18–20 ºС, at night + 13 ºС. However, if before planting the seedlings were taken out for several days to a colder room for hardening, they will not suffer even if the temperature drops to -7 ºС for a short time. For non-hardened plants, a cold snap and -1 ºС can be fatal.

Do not delay planting seedlings. Early autumn frosts of -2–3 ºС during head formation can damage early ripe varieties cabbage. Late maturing varieties are more resistant to low temperatures, withstand frosts down to -5 ºС.

Video: planting cauliflower seedlings in the ground

Favorable time for sowing and planting cauliflower in 2019 according to the lunar calendar

It is known that the Earth's satellite has a powerful influence on the development of plants, the size of the crop and its safety. Taking into account the period of the change of phases of the moon, the lunar calendar is compiled annually. Most lucky days for sowing and planting plants, the fruits of which ripen above the earth, coincide with the growing moon. During this period, intensive sap flow occurs, the development of the aerial part intensifies. Minor damage to the root system during transplantation is not so dangerous.

The lunar calendar is compiled taking into account the change in the phases of the moon

Roots and tubers are actively beginning to develop on the waning moon, so it is highly undesirable to plant or transplant crops these days. Do not give good result And landing work held on the new moon or during the full moon - at this time, plants are especially vulnerable. An incorrectly chosen day for sowing or planting can lead to the fact that the seeds do not sprout or the plants do not take root.

Cauliflower seedlings should be planted on the growing moon

Auspicious days for sowing and planting cauliflower in 2019:

March - 8–10, 15, 26, 30
April - 2, 7–10, 19, 22
May - 4, 9, 10, 13, 27, 29.
June - 5–6

Unfavorable periods for active growth and development of a new life, when you should refrain from sowing and planting:

March - 7, 8, 21, 22.
April - 1, 6, 14, 15.
May - 1, 2, 6, 21, 30, 31.
June - 4, 19, 20, 30.
July - 3, 4.19.

If you coordinate your actions with the sowing lunar calendar, the stages of plant growth will be more active, and you can get a richer harvest from your beds.

Grow a decent crop of cauliflower on own site for every gardener. It is only necessary to select zoned varieties, take into account the timing of their ripening, know the features vegetable crop and follow the rules of agricultural technology, if desired, focusing on the lunar calendar.