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Reviews of Snowball 123 cauliflower are mostly positive. Gardeners praise the culture for its good taste, juiciness, rapid maturation and frost resistance. Cauliflower has long been considered one of the favorite vegetables of gardeners and cooks, which allows you to cook many healthy and tasty dishes.
Description of Cauliflower Snowball
From the photo of Snowball 123 cauliflower, you can determine that its heads are dense, snow-white in color, resemble a ball in appearance (hence the name). The variety appeared relatively recently, in 1994. It was bred by French specialists from HM. CLAUSE SA “Snowball 123” can be grown in all regions. It perfectly takes root in the middle lane and is very popular with summer residents.
Cabbage ripens 90 days after sowing. The seeds germinate profusely. Culture with dense round heads, weighing 500-1000 g. The cabbage rosette is erect, compact, the leaves are high, they cover the head from sunlight, so its color remains snow-white until fully ripe.
Advantages and disadvantages
Cabbage “Snowball 123” has a number of advantages. These include:
- Confronting such well-known diseases as black leg, clubroot, downy mildew.
- Simultaneous maturation on almost all plants.
- Resistance to temperature changes (withstands frost down to -4 ° C).
- Does not need additional shelter due to tall leaves.
- Has excellent taste characteristics.
- Widely used in cooking.
The disadvantages of culture include the poor preservation of heads of cabbage in the garden. Ripe heads of cabbage must be harvested on time.
Snowball cauliflower yield
The variety has a high yield. For this reason, it is in great demand among domestic gardeners, and in Europe, Snowball 123 cauliflower is grown in huge plantations. With proper care, about 4 kg of vegetables can be harvested from one square meter of land. The weight of the fork can reach 1,5 kg.
Planting and caring for cabbage Snowball 123
Most often, Snowball 123 cauliflower is grown through seedlings. Seeds are usually sown at home. If you adhere to the laws of agricultural technology, the result will be 100% guaranteed.
To obtain good seedlings, cauliflower must be sown in late February – early March, observing the mandatory stages of the planting process:
- seed treatment;
- soil preparation;
- proper care.
The procedure for preparing planting material does not take much time. For quick germination, it is advisable to soak the seeds of Snowball 123 cauliflower for half an hour in warm water (50 ° C) before planting, and then dry.
It is better to use the soil for culture purchased, purchased in specialized garden stores, but you can also use the soil from the plot. In the latter case, it is desirable to mix it in equal parts with peat and humus, and also sterilize. This can be done in the oven at 80 degrees for half an hour.
To germinate seedlings “Snowball 123” use different containers, the main thing is that their depth is at least 10 cm. Peat cups are considered the best place for the growth of young shoots.
Seeds are sown in moist soil to a depth of 1-1,5 cm, at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other. To avoid subsequent picking of seedlings, you can plant each seed in a separate pot.
Since cabbage is a light-loving crop, and in early spring the daylight hours are short, seedlings need to be provided with additional lighting.
Watering young sprouts is done once a week. It is advisable to use a spray gun for the procedure. A couple of times in the process of growing seedlings, complex fertilizer is added to the water.
Plants are picked when a pair of strong leaves appears on the surface of the stems. Each sprout is transplanted into a larger glass. It is better to carry out the procedure when the sprouts are 12 days old.
Seedlings are planted in beds that are well warmed up and illuminated by the sun, in an area where cabbage, radish, radish and other cruciferous crops have not grown before. The soil for planting cabbage seedlings should be neutral. In autumn, lime and organic fertilizers must be added to the soil with an acidic reaction. It is customary to plant Snowball 123 in May. Seedlings are placed according to the scheme 0,3 by 0,7 meters.
Diseases and pests
A vegetable can suffer from the same pests as white cabbage. Downy mildew, fusarium, rot, as well as aphids, slugs, scoops and cruciferous fleas can cause damage to crops. Insecticides or folk remedies will help in the fight against parasites.
For the treatment and prevention of diseases, Snowball 123 is sprinkled or sprayed with infusion of ash, tobacco, garlic, it can be treated with Fitosporin, Entobacterin, Iskra or Aktara. But judging by the reviews of gardeners, if you fight weeds in time, observe the crop rotation and fertilizing regime, then troubles with growing cauliflower can be avoided.
Note
A week before planting cauliflower seedlings in open ground, it must be hardened. To do this, cups with plants should be taken out for several hours on a veranda or balcony. And 3-4 days before planting, reduce watering and leave the seedlings in the open air.
Variety “Snowball 123” is suitable for cultivation by direct sowing in the ground. The procedure can be performed already at the beginning of May. 2-3 seeds are placed in the holes on the prepared beds, and at the moment when the sprouts reach the phase of two true leaves, weak specimens are plucked out.
If there is still a threat of frost in the region, it is necessary to install arcs over the cauliflower bed and fix the covering material on top: film, spunbond, lutrasil.
In order for the plants to be stable, they need to be hilled once a month.
Feed the culture three times a season:
- After 20-30 days of growth in a permanent place, at the time of head formation.
- One month after the first feeding.
- 20 days before harvest.
The first top dressings are made with mullein, chemical fertilizers containing boron, manganese and magnesium and boric acid. The last fertilizer is carried out foliarly. Cabbage heads are sprayed with potassium sulfate in the proportion of 1 tbsp. l. substances on a bucket of water.
Conclusion
Reviews of Snowball 123 cauliflower say that this variety is very easy to grow. Knowing and observing the rules of agricultural technology of a plant, any gardener can get a good harvest. The vegetable is useful, contains many vitamins and minerals, recommended for use by people of all ages. It is often used in baby food and for the preparation of dietary dishes.