Growing broccoli outdoors

Broccoli is grown for its high nutrient content. It contains a lot of vitamin C, carotene, proteins, various minerals. This is a dietary product that is recommended for people after major operations and for baby food. In addition, broccoli helps to eliminate radionuclides.

The s started growing this type of cabbage not so long ago, but the vegetable has already become popular. Broccoli, the cultivation and care of which is not difficult, has also settled in gardeners’ beds. A healthy vegetable can be harvested several times a season. Broccoli can be grown in a greenhouse, outdoors, and even on a balcony.

Interesting about broccoli

Broccoli is a relative of cauliflower. It also requires good lighting, so broccoli does not need to be shaded, and high humidity. It can grow at low temperatures, tolerates frosts up to seven degrees without complications.

Broccoli is grown on loose, fertile soils with a slightly alkaline environment. On acidic soils, not only the yield decreases, but also the taste of the vegetable.

When choosing a place for growing broccoli, preference should be given to areas where potatoes, carrots, peas, beans, and lentils grew last year.

Broccoli cauliflower is interesting in that after cutting off the head, the plant does not die, the vegetative process continues. As proof – the appearance of new heads on stepchildren. The vegetable grows quickly, small heads have time to ripen. As a rule, cabbage can be grown through seedlings or direct sowing of seeds in the ground. Planting and care will bring pleasure to vegetable growers.

Peculiarities of growing

s most often prefer the seedless method of growing cabbage. How to plant broccoli with seeds in the ground, how to care for plantings, we’ll talk about this.

Soil preparation

The technology for growing cauliflower and broccoli involves autumn soil preparation. It is dug up, roots, weeds are removed. It is advisable to make compost before digging the earth for broccoli. Ridges for vegetables are not leveled so that after the snow melts, the water is well absorbed.

In the spring, when the soil warms up, it is again dug up and leveled about a week before sowing the broccoli seeds so that it settles a little. It is advisable to add superphosphate and ammonium nitrate, as well as wood ash, before digging the ridge. It protects planting all types of cabbage from the black leg.

It is not difficult to understand that the soil is ready to accept broccoli seeds, just pick it up and squeeze it. If the soil does not form a lump, but crumbles, cabbage can be planted.

A feature of the agricultural technology of growing broccoli is that a well-lit place is selected for the plant. The sun should be in the area for at least six hours.

Seed preparation

Planting broccoli seeds in open ground is a convenient option, because you do not have to mess with seedlings. But the most important plus is that the plant will not have to experience stress when transplanting, which means that the cabbage will grow faster and give a rich harvest. Of course, with this planting method, broccoli varieties with short ripening periods are used.

If you purchased cabbage seeds in granules, then they can be sown immediately. Ordinary planting material requires pre-treatment. It is needed primarily for the destruction of spores of fungal diseases.

Processing instruction:

1. Cabbage seeds are sorted, unripe are selected, soaked in a pink solution of potassium permanganate, then washed with clean water.
2. In order for the broccoli seeds to sprout faster, they need to be heated in hot, up to 55 degrees, water for 20 minutes, then quickly cooled with cold water.
3. Seed hardening is carried out in the refrigerator, placing the seeds for a day.
4. To stimulate growth and resistance to pests, before growing broccoli, seed is treated with such preparations:

• Agate-25;
• Albite;
• El-1;
• Appin.

If you follow the agricultural technique of preparing for planting broccoli, then the result will be excellent. Your cabbage will look like in the photo.

Video about how gardeners prepare broccoli seeds:

Seed sowing

Planting broccoli in open ground in each region of Our Country is carried out at different times. Usually this is the end of April, the beginning of May. If a greenhouse is used to grow cauliflower, then the temperature of the earth and the environment does not really matter.

How to plant broccoli seeds in open ground? Let’s look into this issue.

Firstly, it should be borne in mind that more seed will be required than with the seedling method. Secondly, planting broccoli will have to be thinned out.

And now directly about planting seeds:

1. The soil before sowing cabbage seeds is shed with hot water with potassium permanganate. Markings are made on a wet ridge: a distance of at least 60 cm between rows, holes at a distance of 35 to 40 cm. With this step, the plant will have enough space for development, and caring for vegetables is easier.
2. Seeds are sown to a depth of 1 cm, 2-3 grains in each hole. Make sure that the seeds do not end up at great depths or on the surface of the soil.
3. After sowing, the soil is lightly rolled and gently watered.
4. A large plastic bottle is placed above each well, unscrewing the lid, as in the photo.

Subsequent watering is done through the neck. On cold nights, the lid can be closed. The shelter-greenhouse is removed after the appearance of 3-4 leaves. By this time, there are no frosts.

Video about the rules for planting seeds in open ground:

Cultivation technology

As we have said, broccoli is a picky vegetable. If you follow the features of growing broccoli, you can get more than one crop per season.

Planting seeds is the first and easiest part of growing broccoli. The main thing is to organize proper care.

Watering

First of all, you need to monitor the soil moisture. All types of cabbage are demanding for watering, but they do not tolerate the marsh state of the earth. In a too damp environment, pathogens and pests begin to attack the plant, and can lead to death.

Growing cauliflower and broccoli involves moderate watering, but the soil must not be allowed to dry out. In the heat, you can organize the spraying of water over the plantings.

Loosening

The beds need to be constantly loosened so that oxygen enters the roots. During loosening, weeds are removed. They also have no place in the beds.

Feeding

Planted cabbage responds well to top dressing. They are held for the season at least three.

Broccoli is fed for the first time two weeks after germination. The most commonly used mullein. He is insisted for several days. You can add chopped herbs or nettles. It is diluted 1: 1, that is, to obtain 10 liters of solution, take 5 liters of water and mullein each. Some gardeners add urea (large spoon).

For the second top dressing, when the leaves on the broccoli begin to curl, nitrophosphate (2 large spoons) and boric acid (2 grams) are used. The components are dissolved in 10 liters of water. Under each plant pour 2 liters of fertilizer.

The third top dressing can be carried out again with mullein, it is diluted 1: 4.

When growing cauliflower and broccoli, experienced vegetable growers sprinkle wood ash between liquid dressings before watering.

Video about the rules for feeding broccoli during the growing process:

Diseases, pests of cabbage and methods of control

Most often, cruciferous vegetables suffer from keel. In the people, the disease is called the black leg. So that healthy plants are not affected by the disease, broccoli should be planted in a site where cabbage relatives have not previously grown. In addition, watering with a solution of potassium permanganate and adding ash helps to destroy black leg spores.

When caring for planting broccoli in the open field, you need to protect the plants from a horde of pests:

• slugs
• cabbage butterfly caterpillars;
• aphids;
• snails;
• cruciferous flea;
• cabbage fly larvae.

All these pests cause damage to the leaves, and fly larvae to the roots.

You can save yourself from slugs, snails with the help of egg shells, crumbling it under the plants.

Cabbage does not like the smell of tomatoes, marigolds. They are planted in the garden between vegetables. If you sprinkle cabbage with a solution of valerian, then butterflies and cruciferous fleas do not fly up to the plantings. Snails, slugs and caterpillars must be removed by hand.

Recipes of folk remedies

Every vegetable grower who grows broccoli must grow tomatoes. They have to stepchild, cut off the tops. No need to throw away this valuable pest control material. In the case, you can let the pods of bitter pepper, garlic. The resulting infusions are sprayed with cabbage.

Here are a few examples of infusions that will help when growing broccoli:

1. Chop the leaves of tomatoes and put them in an enamel bowl, pour boiling water over them.
2. Insist in a liter of hot water a few pods of bitter pepper (24 hours).
3. Grind the head of garlic, add chopped tobacco leaves, pour boiling water.

All compositions are environmentally friendly, do not affect the taste of cabbage. It is better to resort to chemical preparations, as a last resort. After all, pesticides are not so harmless.

In conclusion, we share secrets

Real gardeners always try to share the success of cultivating various vegetables. We will also reveal some of the secrets of growing broccoli in the open field.

1. When sowing cabbage seeds in open ground, you need to slap the ground with your palm so that the roots can strengthen.
2. Choose the sunniest spot.
3. If the cabbage grows a little, then it can be protected from cabbage with a fine mesh.
4. In the same place, cruciferous plants are planted only after 3-4 years.
5. Relieves broccoli from aphids dill. A few bushes of this branchy vegetable in the garden are enough.
6. Adding baking soda with pepper when planting broccoli gets rid of many pests.
7. Cabbage fly larvae are afraid of salt like fire. Add half a cup of this seasoning to a bucket of water and pour under the bush. 10 liters is enough for 20 cabbage bushes.

We think that our advice will help you get a rich harvest. We also hope that our readers will not keep the intricacies of growing vegetables, including broccoli, but will share little secrets with novice gardeners.