Despite a somewhat exotic appearance, cauliflower is after all cabbage, a relative of white-bellied, Brussels, broccoli and kohlrabi. It belongs to the cruciferous family. The cauliflower has been coming to our table all summer, starting from June. This is a very tasty diet dish. Its useful properties are especially important for diseases of the stomach, for baby food. Many truck farmers complain, they say, this vegetable does not grow. When growing cauliflower, you need to take into account some of the nuances.
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- Beneficial features
- How to grow cauliflower
- Top dressing of cauliflower
- Features of watering
- Harvest
- Varieties of cauliflower - growing in the country
For a long time it was called Syrian, because it originates from the Middle East. From there she got to Spain, then to Cyprus. For many centuries Cyprus was the only source of cauliflower seeds. Thanks to this prospered, so the seeds were then very expensive. Cauliflower grew poorly in the climate of northern countries. In Russia, it fell only under Catherine II. Then it was known as a vegetable for the rich and was a rarity.
↑ to the contents ↑.Beneficial features
Now cauliflower is not uncommon, but, nevertheless, we do not grow it so much to satisfy demand. Perhaps ignorance of other forms of cabbage, except white-headed, led to the fact that color is not so popular. But its useful qualities far exceed the useful properties of white-head.
It is one of the few plant foods that contains a lot of iron. Of course, it is less than in meat, but it is iron of vegetable origin - it is better absorbed by our body. Vitamin PP protects our blood vessels from loss of elasticity. Vitamin K affects the coagulation of our blood. And most importantly, it contains a complex substance called dindolylmethane, which suppresses the growth of prostate cancer cells in men.
Cauliflower is considered the most useful of all cabbage varieties. In value, it comes close to chicken, not as rough as white, lighter digested, less irritating to the mucous membrane, better absorbed by the body because of its cell structure.
.For food, the head is used - these are shortened inflorescences located close to each other. Cauliflower is grown as an annual plant. The height of the stem is 15-20 cm. Best of all, it grows where the climate is moderately warm and humid.
↑ back to content ↑How to grow cauliflower
In comparison with the head, color is more demanding for heat, moisture and soil fertility, pH is not higher,. On light soils necessarily make organic.
A good crop can be obtained on fertile, loose soil with a high content of humus. The site should be chosen well-lit, follow the reaction of the soil.
It is worse than the white-flesh, it tolerates fluctuations in temperature and humidity. At a temperature above 25 ° C and bad watering loose or small heads are formed. She is photophilic, prefers unprotected solar areas. Even with partial shading (less than 6 hours in the sun), the heads form shallow or even not tied at all.
Inflorescence of inflorescences is formed already when growing seedlings. The temperature regime is very important. If the seedlings are kept at a temperature above 20 ° C, then the heads begin to form too early, they will be more friable. If the temperature is about 10-12 ° C, the growth of the heads is delayed, but they will be more dense.
Cauliflower does not tolerate frost. This should be taken into account when choosing the timing of planting. In the open ground it is grown both in seedlings and in a non-seedlings way. But still, growing through seedlings is preferable.
Usually, the seeds are planted in seedlings in mid-February (in the Kuban) or mid-March (middle belt). In the open ground seeds are sown in the last days of March - early April (in the Kuban). Ogorodniki of the middle zone of Russia it is grown only through seedlings.
Want to get an early cauliflower? Seedlings should be grown in January to get cabbage in June. At the January sowing of seeds, the plants are ready for planting in the soil in March.
For the cultivation of cauliflower, the late seedlings are grown in April-May, and planted in a permanent place at the end of June. With such a growing time, the harvest is harvested in September, but this also depends on local conditions. Only it should be taken into account that the area of food should be increased to 70x70 cm, since late varieties form large and powerful plants.
.The basic technology of growing cauliflower seedlings is the same as that of white cabbage. But here we must take into account that when growing it should be used to temper the plants, because it is more tender and by the time of planting it should be prepared for lower night temperatures.
How can this be done at home? Immediately I will say that it is very difficult to do this, if not impossible. Still, I am opposed to growing seedlings of any cabbage at home. Increased (for cabbage) room temperature, lack of sunlight helps draw and weaken plants. If you can not maintain a cool temperature regime - you will lose the plants, will remain without seedlings.
.Do not be afraid to sow the seeds of cauliflower in seedlings in a greenhouse or a greenhouse. If, nevertheless, the temperature in the greenhouse is below 10 ° C, I advise you to fill the nutrient soil in a wooden box, seed the seeds, cover the box with a double layer of film or a spunbond before emergence. Seeds should germinate in 7-10 days. After emergence of the shoots, it is necessary to arrange a microparticle above the box, raising the film to a height of 30-35 cm with arches or sticks so that the shoots do not touch the film. That is, in the greenhouse you will have a micro-pot with seedlings of cauliflower. In sunny weather, you can leave one layer of film over the box with seedlings or even shoot it, often ventilate.
If the temperature in the greenhouse is at least 13-14 ° C during the day and at least 10-12 ° C at night, then the box with cauliflower seedlings can not be covered additionally.
Thus, cauliflower seedlings should be grown in a greenhouse or a hotbed, but in warmer conditions than white cabbage. And then she, like any other seedling, dives.
I usually, by determining the timing of the picking, I focus on the leaves. After the first two real leaflets appeared, and the 3rd and 4th leaves are about to appear - it's time for a pick-me-up - I change it into cups. If you count the days, then usually after 30 days after emergence, the seedlings from the cups are planted in a permanent place and there it already grows to ripening.
Plant the seedlings in the open ground at a distance of 60-90 cm from each other. All cabbage crops grow well in fairly fertile, well drained, moist soils with a large amount of added organic matter. Mulch will help keep the soil cold and moist.
.If you do not have the opportunity to provide the necessary conditions for growing cauliflower seedlings, you will have to buy ready-made, better grown greenhouses.
↑ back to content ↑Top dressing of cauliflower
Cauliflower reacts poorly to a lack of boron and molybdenum. I'm saving myself with fertilizer Fertik Lux (formerly Kemira Lux). Twice I feed seedlings and one or two more times in the open ground. About the deficit of boron you will be told by the empty core of the stump, and the lack of molybdenum will tell the narrow leaves - there will not be a luxuriant plant. Naturally, the head will not grow either.
↑ back to content ↑Features of watering
Like any cabbage, color is very fond of watering. But she is loved by slugs, so excessive infatuation with watering, especially at the end of vegetation, is not recommended.
Cauliflower after tying the head should not be sprinkled with sprinkling or from a hose from above. Only under the root. Moisture on contact with the inflorescence immediately causes a disease - a mucous bacteriosis, which affects the joints of petioles with a stump. It is impossible to get rid of this disease. The harvest will be lost.
↑ back to content ↑Harvest
After cutting the heads, do not rush to tear off the remains of the plant from the ground. From the sinuses near the root neck of the week two lateral shoots will appear. Leave the strongest escape, the rest break. In two months, a new head will grow, although smaller in size than the first one. This will be the second crop of cauliflower from one plant. Do not forget to water it in time.
There are some methods for preserving the cauliflower crop. There is such a way of growing cabbage. You can dig it up with a root, put it in a drawer in a dark basement. You can dig up cabbage with an already formed head, but you can only start growing. Its quality from this way of cultivation only improves. She will gain her weight, she will be snow-white, delicious.
↑ back to content ↑Varieties of cauliflower - growing in the country
Now a very large selection of varieties and hybrids. For example, the hybrids of the Malimba F1 and Boldo F1 have proved themselves well for several years. These are very early hybrids. From planting seedlings to harvesting - 55-65 days. The weight of the head is from 1 to 2 kg.
One of the new varieties of cauliflower domestic selection - the Polar Star - is recommended for personal part-time farms. The variety is early maturing. Head up to 1 kg. The taste is excellent.
.Thus, the peculiarity of growing cauliflower is the warmer conditions for growing seedlings in comparison with white cabbage. They create a reserve for the development of a large dense head. Of course, the magnitude, density of the head, its whiteness also depends on the choice of the variety, the hybrid.
