Cauliflower - a delicious vegetable. And at the same time useful. In order to get an early crop, they grow it in seedlings. This technology is simple, but some recommendations must be followed. Further in the article, we will consider how to properly grow cauliflower seedlings at home.
Basic techniques
Good seedlings of cauliflower can be obtained in two ways: ordinary and potted. In the first case, the seeds are planted in boxes or in a greenhouse. The second uses special peat pots. A fairly weak and delicate root system is what distinguishes cauliflower. Seedlings, the cultivation of which is not a complicated procedure, will rise well and will be strong only when using very loose soil. Therefore, it is best to use the second technique. You can also use mixed technology. That is, to plant the seeds in boxes or a greenhouse, and pick in the peat pots.
The timing
45 days - the period for which a sufficiently large and sturdy cabbage seedling can be transported into beds. Its cultivation usually begins in late March - early April. This is if you want to get an early harvest. More precise dates depend on the region in which the plot with the garden is located. In the southern regions of Russia they will be earlier. In the middle lane and in Siberia, sowing is started later.
Having taken 45 days from the period of possible transfer to the open ground, you can accurately calculate the time when cauliflower seedlings should be planted. Growing (it is better to use early varieties) in a greenhouse or in pots in this case will allow you to get a crop at the end of summer. Of course, only subject to compliance with all technologies. The most popular varieties of early ripening are Movir 74, Gribovskaya 1355, Fatherland, etc.
Later varieties of cauliflower are often planted in late April - in May in a greenhouse. In this case, the crop will be available in September - October.
Preparation of land in boxes
Cauliflower seedlings
, the cultivation of which must be carried out correctly, react very painfully to a lack of nutrients in the soil. Therefore, the soil under it should be prepared very carefully. A mixture consisting of equal parts of sod land, humus and peat is just perfect for growing strong healthy plants. It will be very good to add a little phosphorus fertilizer to the soil under cabbage (for example, 20 g / m
2 of granular
superphosphate double).It is also necessary to disinfect the soil by spilling it with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. To prevent black seedlings from spreading, prepare calcined sand. They are covered with soil surface in boxes after planting seeds. Sand can be replaced with high-quality wood ash.
Seed preparation
Planting material should first be calibrated, heated and pickled. For growing seedlings, large seeds should be taken. The use of such planting material can improve productivity by about 30%. When sowing large seeds, a stronger seedlings of cauliflower are obtained. Growing at home will be even more successful if you pre-heat the planting material. To do this, it is placed in a gauze bag and immersed last for 20 minutes in very warm water (50 g.). Then the seeds are dried and proceeded to dressing. Disinfection can be carried out with a formalin solution (1: 300) or garlic juice (1 hour for 3 hours of water) for an hour.
Transplanting
The soil in the drawers is carefully leveled. Next, the seeds themselves of such a crop as cauliflower are actually planted. Seedlings, which are grown at home on window sills, will grow well and quickly when the seeds are buried in the ground by about 1 cm. After planting, the surface is sprinkled with calcined sand or ash. Further, the soil in the boxes should be shed well, using a spray bottle.
Care for small seedlings consists in periodic moistening of the soil and weeding if necessary. Cauliflower is also planted approximately in the greenhouse. It is best to cover it with a special film, for example, Svetlitsa. Such material transmits sunlight well and is hygroscopic (does not collect condensate).
Cauliflower Seedlings: How to Grow
Before shoots appear in the drawers, the air in the room must be warmed up to at least 18-20 gr. The same temperature should be maintained in the greenhouse. In order for the air under the film not to cool in the dark, you should cover the construction with some improvised material: straw mats, old blankets, etc.
After the cabbage rises, the ambient temperature can be reduced by day to 6-8 gr., At night - to 5-6 gr. This will help strengthen and harden the plants. After a week, the temperature should be increased to 10-12 g. and maintain at this level for about 10 more days, right up to a dive. This mode will allow you to grow healthy, strong, not pampered seedlings.
Pick
This procedure is carried out in a week and a half after the sprouts of cauliflower rise. Growing and caring for it requires a proper transplant. It is impossible to delay the timing of the dive. In older plants, when transferred to other containers, the root system is very affected. As a result, they take root much worse and develop in the future.
A pick is best done in peat pots. In this case, when transplanting plants into open ground, their root system will not be damaged, and they will take root much faster and better. Pike in such a way that the plants are immersed in the ground to cotyledon leaves. At the end of this procedure, the cabbage should be mulched with wood ash.
It is better to dive not all plants at once. Several bushes should be left in boxes just in case. Peat pots themselves are easiest to buy in a specialized store. But you can make them yourself.
How to make peat pots
Subject to the above methodology, very good cauliflower seedlings can be grown. How to plant it, we have figured out. Now let's see how to make peat pots for seedlings. For the manufacture will need to cook:
- Lowland peat with a pH no higher than 6.5. More acidic can be produced. This procedure is carried out no earlier than two weeks before transplanting seedlings.
- Sawdust. The day before the pots are made, they need to add a little ammonium nitrate (1 kg per 1 m 3 ). It is introduced in order to prevent depletion of the soil mixture. The fact is that the bacteria that process sawdust absorb a lot of nitrogen from the environment (in this case, the peat mixture).
- Sand.
- Fresh mullein diluted with water 1x1.
Three parts of peat take 1 part of sawdust and 0.2 parts of sand. Mullein needs very little (5% of the total) - only for gluing the mixture. Otherwise, the walls of the pots will turn out to be very dense and rigid, and the roots will not be able to break through them. To a mixture of sawdust, peat and sand, you need to add some mineral fertilizers (ammonium nitrate, superphosphate and potassium chloride) and lime. It is best to make pots on the same day when the pick will be held.
How to grow cauliflower seedlings in peat tablets
This is a fairly new technology that allows you to get very strong plants. Purchased peat tablets you just need to put in plastic cups and pour warm water. After a while, they swell and are converted into a nutrient mixture. In each cup, put one or two seeds.
Growing without picking
This method has recently become more and more popular among domestic gardeners. When using it, very good cauliflower seedlings can also be obtained. In this case, cultivation is made from the first day in peat pots. However, this method is best used to obtain late seedlings. That is, when it is supposed to be carried into the ground in the summer.
Without picking, you can grow late seedlings and right on the bed. Seeds in this case are sowed quite rarely (according to the 10x56 cm pattern). Take care of the plants in the same way as when growing in boxes, pots and greenhouses. To protect seedlings from frost, install arcs and pull a film on them. Usually a small cabbage occupies only a small part of the space of the garden. After four leaves grow on it, it is distributed over the entire area.
How to fertilize
In order for the seedlings to grow healthy and strong, it should be fed with mineral preparations at least two times. For the first time, plants are fertilized about 10 days after the dive. The second - in another 10 days. For feeding, you can use a solution of ammonium nitrate.
Seedling hardening
Preparation of this genus allows you to get the most frost-resistant plants. Hardening begins about 12 days before planting in open ground. To do this, in the daytime, seedlings are taken out to the balcony or placed in a greenhouse at an air temperature of about 5 grams. At night, the pots should be returned back to a warm room. Five days before planting, seedlings can be rearranged from the room to the greenhouse. In warm weather, the film is periodically removed from it, gradually increasing the interval the plants are outdoors.
How to transfer to open ground
Using the technologies described above, actually a very good cauliflower seedlings can be obtained. Growing it in open ground is also carried out according to certain methods.
Under the seedlings make small holes with a depth slightly greater than the height of the pots. Place the cabbage in rows at a sufficiently large distance. The free space between the bushes should be at least 25 cm. The rows are placed at a distance of 70 cm from each other. This planting scheme is suitable for early varieties of cabbage. For later, both distances should be increased by about 10 cm.
Pots are lowered into the ground and instilled in such a way that the plant is buried to the first leaves. At the final stage, the grown seedlings should be carefully watered.
Well, now you know how good cauliflower seedlings can be obtained. Growing it at home, as well as carrying it in the open ground, are simple procedures, but require exact adherence to certain technologies. The main thing is to observe the planting dates, prepare a good soil mixture and do not forget to water the plants.