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Very similar to cauliflower, broccoli is highly valued for its low calorie content, useful properties and wonderful taste. As the main vegetable garden it is chosen by many modern summer residents, as broccoli, growing and caring in the open ground beyond which there are no special difficulties, yields a good harvest even in regions with short and cold in summer.
There are two main methods of planting broccoli cabbage:
- uncultivated (from seeds);
- seedling.
Each method has its own advantages and is suitable for growing broccoli in the suburban area and vegetable garden.
Growing from seedlings
Growing cabbage broccoli in the open from seedlings is the most convenient and common way that allows you to anticipate the amount of harvest and save as many plants as possible.
Seed preparation for growing seedlings begins in early spring. To get good and high quality seedlings, the seeds are sorted, selecting only large and undamaged specimens. They are sown in boxes that are filled with a neutral or slightly alkaline substrate.
The soil for sowing seeds must be loose and water-permeable, so drainage material is placed on the bottom of the boxes.
Seeds are laid in the ground at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other into shallow grooves. Before the appearance of the first shoots, the temperature of the air in the room where the seedlings are grown should not be below + 20 ° C, after germination of the seedlings it can be reduced to + 10 ° C.
Broccoli seedlings develop rapidly, so in two weeks they must be dived. It is best to make a pick in small peat pots, which, with the onset of heat, together with young plants, can be planted in the ground.
Typically, broccoli seedlings are planted on the bed not earlier than a month after sowing seeds, when cabbage appears 5-6 leaves. Planting broccoli in the ground in the suburbs, as well as in other regions with a cold climate, is produced not earlier than May and only in a well-warmed by the sun soil.
Technology of growing broccoli from seeds
To not bother with boxes and seedlings, you can grow broccoli on a bed from seeds. As a rule, the seeds are planted in the soil to a depth of 2-3 cm at the end of April. That the first shoots of broccoli appeared as quickly as possible, when planting seeds, the soil should be moist.
Growing broccoli in the open ground in the Urals, as well as in other regions with a cool and short summer, should be produced only with the help of cold-resistant and early varieties of cabbage. The use of late-ripening varieties in these regions will be inappropriate, since cabbage does not have time to ripen. Plant broccoli seeds in the open soil in cold areas can not be earlier than May.
Features of care for broccoli
Growing and caring for broccoli in the open ground practically does not differ from the cultivation of other varieties of cabbage and will be able to every summer resident. Broccoli cabbage is one of the unpretentious plants. However, to make the plant happy with its abundant harvest, the soil in the garden with broccoli should be regularly loosened, and cabbage itself - fertilize and water.
Watering
Broccoli should be watered at least once a week. To cabbage has grown juicy and large, you need to water not only the roots of the plant, but also abundantly spray its leaves.
Additional fertilizing
To make broccoli cabbage pleased with a generous harvest, it must be fed three times per season. The first time - 2 weeks after planting seedlings in the garden. In this case, organic fertilizers (for example, chicken manure or mullein) are used as a fertilizer.
The next top dressing is done with the help of saltpeter a few weeks after the first one. The third fertilizing with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers is carried out during the appearance of the first inflorescences.
Pests and diseases
Growing and caring for broccoli outdoors is sometimes complicated by pests and diseases that can be exposed to this sort of cabbage. The main pests of broccoli can be:
- slug;
- butterfly-cabbage butterfly;
- cabbage fly;
- aphid.
Seedlings, leaves and inflorescences can infect such diseases as keel, black leg, rot, mosaic, peronosporosis.
Special chemicals are used to control pests. In the case of broccoli diseases, diseased specimens from the garden are removed, and healthy inflorescences are treated with special solutions.
Harvesting
Cut the broccoli heads should be green, without waiting for the appearance of yellow flowers. If broccoli in the open ground has blossomed, it becomes unsuitable for eating. It is better not to cut off these heads and leave them on the bed to receive seeds.
Do not tear the broccoli out of the ground after cutting the head. Broccoli from lateral sinuses very quickly grow shoots, from which you can get another crop.
The presented photos of the cultivation of broccoli in the open field demonstrate that with regular watering and observance basic rules of care, each summer resident will be able to receive a generous and high-quality harvest such a useful and tasty cabbage.
