Feeding cauliflower in the open field: what and how to fertilize
Cauliflower is a capricious vegetable, demanding on loosening, weeding, watering, fertilizing cabbage after planting. If the soil is slightly dry, the plant will slow down growth and maturation will be delayed. For the ripening of this vegetable, regular top dressing is important at all stages of plant development, starting with soil preparation in the autumn, planting seedlings and ending with head ripening. Boron, molybdenum and other trace elements are necessary for a growing vegetable, care will give excellent and he althy heads of cauliflower.
This vegetable is used both raw and stewed, boiled. For young children at the age of 6 months, mashed potatoes are prepared from this he althy product. It is well absorbed by the body and provides nutrients and vitamins.
When and how to fertilize the soil, you will now learn how to grow and care for cauliflower.
How to feed the soil before planting
Before planting this whimsical crop, you need to prepare the soil even during the preparation of the land for wintering. To do this, when plowing the field, fertilizers are applied to the soil in the form of compost or burnt manure. This will give rise to a rich harvest. The use of top dressing is carried out both with folk remedies and with proven chemical elements, they also feed cabbage with boric acid.
How many times should a crop be processed?
- In the spring before planting in the main growing area.
- Feed should be applied to the ground for seedlings on the 10th day after picking.
- When the 4th sheet is formed.
- First feeding of the main bush 2 weeks after planting in the ground.
- Second feeding 10 days after the first.
- Third during the formation of the ovary.
Thus, cauliflower is fertilized in the open field up to 4 times during the cultivation of one crop. During growth, it is important to loosen and weed the ground, during formation to protect them from the scorching sun, for this they use their own leaves - they are broken and tied around growing heads of cabbage. You need to keep the soil moist. The use of hilling will protect vegetables from diseases. Cauliflower will grow he althy with these manipulations.
Sprouting seedlings
Cauliflower is grown in two ways. Directly sowing seeds to a permanent place of cultivation, but most gardeners grow seedlings before planting in the garden. This manipulation allows you to remove the fruits earlier, and the gradual planting of seedlings allows vegetables to ripen throughout the summer - autumn period.How are seedlings grown?
Seeds for seedlings are planted from March to the end of May. Before sprouting, prepare as follows.
- A week before planting, calibration takes place - treatment in a 3% saline solution.
- Rinsing with water.
- Drying.
- 12 hours soaking seeds in a solution of wood ash (add 1 tablespoon per liter of water).
Planted in the soil to a depth of 1 centimeter and maintain a distance between them of 2-3 centimeters. Cover with a film or mulch, water as the earth dries with water at room temperature.
10 days after planting the seeds for seedlings, the first top dressing is carried out 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, the following fertilizer is applied: dissolve 30 grams of urea and 20 grams of potassium per 10 liters of water. And the seedlings are fed for the third time when 4 cabbage leaves are formed, for this, boric acid, manganese sulfate and ammonium acid molybdenum are diluted in 10 liters of water in a ratio of 2: 1.5: 0.5 grams per bucket of water.
At 45-51 days of seedling growth, it is planted in the ground. By this time, 4 to 6 permanent leaves should form on the bush.
Planting seedlings in the ground
Cauliflower is resistant to temperature extremes. A light-loving plant, but during the formation of the ovary it is necessary to shade from the scorching sun, otherwise the vegetable will bloom ahead of time and the heads of cabbage will not form correctly. The leaves can provide protection from the sun by lifting them up and tying them around the head.
Seedlings are planted on a ridge in a checkerboard pattern, observing a distance between crops of 50 by 40 centimeters. Plant the cuttings in the hole, covering the entire stem with earth. Make sure that the top bud of cabbage remains on the surface. If it is covered with earth, the bud will rot and the seedlings will die.During the main cultivation of the crop, 3 top dressings are carried out. This is done so that the head of cabbage does not bloom ahead of time and all vitamins and trace elements are preserved in it.
How to feed cauliflower
The first feeding after planting in the ground is carried out in 1.5-2 weeks. For this, cow dung is bred 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 top dressing is carried out 10 days after the first with a solution of trace elements: 30 grams of ammonium nitrate, 2 grams of potassium chloride, boric acid - 2 grams and 40 grams of superphosphate are added to 10 liters of water. Top dressing is poured under each bush.
The third foliar feeding of cauliflower is carried out during the formation of the head. 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 the 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 plant fertilizer. Diluted in water, yeast contributes to the effective development of the root system, gives the plants the vitamins necessary for growth. Yeast fertilizer for cauliflower is prepared as follows: 1 part yeast is diluted in 5 parts warm water. Before use, the solution is once again diluted 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, the following rules for caring for them should be followed.
- Frequent watering.
- Hilling every 15 days.
- Shading heads.
- Feeding under the root.
- Feeding cabbage with boric acid.
So, after each top dressing they spud, filling the trunk with soil. This manipulation protects the roots from diseases. A head of cabbage is correctly formed under certain conditions. It is necessary to monitor the soil moisture - from drying out, the cabbage will bloom earlier.
The air temperature should be between 20-22 degrees, otherwise the cauliflower will not form properly and will not have a marketable appearance.
To enrich with vitamins and microelements, you need to feed the 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, plants experience molybdenum starvation, inflorescences die out, leaves are soft and ugly, the head is not tied. To eliminate these shortcomings, foliar top dressing is carried out, the use of a microelement is implied - ammonium molybdenum is dissolved with water and sprayed.
Harvesting
Removal heads ready from the end of May. Heads are cut as they form, preventing flowering. When the head of cabbage blooms, the nutrients of the cabbage are lost and all manipulations will go to waste. With proper care of the crop, the harvest lasts about 2 weeks.
To get another crop of cabbage a year - in July, after planting the second batch of seedlings, the crop is harvested at the end of August.
Varieties for the second harvest - Autumn, Round Head, Domestic, Broadleaf. Seedlings are planted in loose soil fertilized with mullein. The second harvest is taken in late August - early September and finished in two weeks. In cool weather, large and dense heads are formed.
Preparing the soil for 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 ground and leave it to rest until spring. Thus, with proper care for cabbage, gardeners receive high-quality vegetables that are useful in vitamins and microelements twice a season.
We learned how to fertilize and care for cauliflower.
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