Cauliflower is a delicious vegetable. And useful at the same time. In order to get an early harvest, it is grown in seedlings. This technology is simple, but it is necessary to follow some recommendations. Further in the article, we will consider how to properly grow cauliflower seedlings at home.
Basic techniques
Good cauliflower seedlings can be obtained in two ways: regular and potted. In the first case, the seeds are planted in boxes or in a greenhouse. The second uses special peat pots. A rather weak and tender root system is what distinguishes cauliflower. Seedlings, the cultivation of which is not too difficult, will rise well and be strong only when using very loose soil. Therefore, it is best to use the second method. You can also use mixed technology. That is, plant the seeds in boxes or a greenhouse, and make a pick in peat pots.
Timing
45 days - the period for which cauliflower seedlings large enough and strong enough to be transferred to the beds can be obtained. Growing it usually begins in late March - early April. This is the case if they want to get an early harvest. More exact 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 starts later.
Subtracting 45 days from the period of possible transfer to 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, Otechestvennaya and others.
Late varieties of cauliflower are often planted in late April - in May in a greenhouse. In this case, the harvest can be obtained in September - October.
Preparation of land in boxes
Cauliflower seedlings, which must be grown correctly, react very painfully to a lack of nutrients in the soil. Therefore, the soil under it should be prepared very carefully. Just fine for growing strong he althy plants, a mixture consisting of equal parts of soddy soil, humus and peat is suitable. It would be very nice to add a little phosphorus fertilizer to the soil for cabbage (for example, 20g/m2 double granular superphosphate).
Be sure to also disinfect the soil by spilling it with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. To prevent the disease of seedlings with a black leg, calcined sand should be prepared. They cover the surface of the soil in boxes after planting the seeds. Sand can be replaced with quality wood ash.
Seed preparation
Planting material should first be calibrated, warmed up and pickled. For growing seedlings, large seeds should be taken. The use of such planting material can improve the yield by about 30%. When sowing large seeds, stronger seedlings of cauliflower are also obtained. Growing at home will be even more successful if you preheat the planting material. To do this, it is placed in a gauze bag and the latter is immersed for 20 minutes in very warm water (50 gr.). Next, the seeds are dried and proceed to dressing. Disinfection can be done with formalin solution (1:300) or garlic juice (1 teaspoon to 3 teaspoons of water) for an hour.
Planting seedlings
The soil in the boxes is carefully leveled. Next, the actual seeds of such a crop as cauliflower are planted. Seedlings, which are grown at home on window sills, will germinate well and quickly when the seeds are buried in the ground by about 1 cm. After embedding, the surface is sprinkled with calcined sand or ash. Next, the soil in the boxes should be thoroughly shed using a spray gun.
Caring for small seedlings isperiodic moistening of the soil and weeding if necessary. About the same way, cauliflower is planted in a 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 boxes, the air in the room must be warmed up to at least 18-20 degrees. The same temperature should be maintained in the greenhouse. In order for the air under the film not to cool down at night, you should cover the structure with some improvised material: straw mats, old blankets, etc.
After the cabbage rises, the ambient air temperature can be reduced during the day to 6-8 degrees, at night - to 5-6 degrees. This will help strengthen and harden the plants. After a week, the temperature should be raised to 10-12 gr. and maintain at this level for about 10 more days, until picking. This mode will allow you to grow he althy, strong, not pampered seedlings.
Picking
This procedure is carried out a week - one and a half after the cauliflower seedlings emerge. Growing and caring for it also involves the correct transplant. It is impossible to delay the timing of the pick. In older plants, when transferred to other containers, the root system suffers greatly. As a result, they take root much worse and develop further.
Picking is best done in peat pots. ATIn this case, when transplanting plants into open ground, their root system will not be damaged, and they will take root much faster and better. Picking is carried out in such a way that the plants are immersed in the ground to the cotyledon leaves. At the end of this procedure, the cabbage should be mulched with wood ash.
It is better not to dive all plants at once. A few bushes should be left in boxes just in case. Peat pots themselves are easiest to purchase at a specialized store. But you can also make them yourself.
How to make peat pots
Very good cauliflower seedlings can be grown by following the above method. How to plant it, we found out. Now let's see how to make peat pots for seedlings. To make, you will need to prepare:
- Lowland peat with pH not higher than 6.5. More acidic can be limed. This procedure is carried out no earlier than two weeks before planting seedlings.
- Wood sawdust. The day before the pots are made, they need to add a little ammonium nitrate (1 kg per 1 m 3 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.
For three parts of peat, take 1 part of sawdust and 0.2 parts of sand. Mullein needs very little (5% of the totalquantities) - 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 a little mineral fertilizer (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 will swell and transform into a nutrient mixture. One or two seeds are placed in each cup.
Growing without a pick
This method has recently become more and more popular among domestic gardeners. With its use, very good seedlings of cauliflower can also be obtained. Cultivation in this case is carried out from the first day in peat pots. However, this method is best used for late seedlings. That is, when the transfer to the ground is supposed to be done in the summer.
Without a pick, you can grow late seedlings right in the garden. Seeds in this case are sown quite rarely (according to the scheme 10x56 cm). Care for plants in the same way as when growing in boxes, pots and greenhouses. To protect seedlings from frost, arcs are installed and a film is pulled over them. Usually a small cabbage takes onlya small part of the garden space. After four leaves grow on it, it is distributed over the entire area.
How to fertilize
In order for the seedlings to grow he althy and strong, it is worth at least two times to feed them with mineral preparations. For the first time, plants are fertilized about 10 days after picking. The second - in another 10 days. For top dressing, you can use a solution of ammonium nitrate.
Seedling hardening
Preparation of this kind allows you to get the most frost-resistant plants. Start hardening about 12 days before planting in open ground. To do this, during the daytime, the seedlings are taken out to the balcony or placed in a greenhouse at an air temperature of about 5 g. At night, the pots must 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 for the plants to be outdoors.
How to transfer to open ground
With the technology described above, really good cauliflower seedlings can be obtained. Its cultivation 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. Cabbage is placed 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. Such a schemeplanting is suitable for early varieties of cabbage. For later, both distances should be increased by about 10 cm.
The pots are lowered into the ground and dug in such a way that the plant is deepened 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 to open ground, are simple procedures, but require strict 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.
