How to grow cauliflower in the open ground

Not everyone practices cauliflower cultivation in open ground; some gardeners, after an unsuccessful attempt, stop planting it. This is a hypoallergenic vegetable that pediatricians recommend one of the first to be introduced into complementary foods for children. To provide yourself and loved ones with useful inflorescences, it is important to know the secrets of growing cauliflower in the open field.

Growing conditions

Important stages in the cultivation of cauliflower – timely sowing and compliance with planting conditions

This vegetable loves moist, humus-rich soils. Good predecessors for growing cauliflower in the open field will be: onions, tomatoes, legumes, potatoes, cucumbers, beets.

It is not recommended to grow a crop in the place where they previously grew: radish, turnip, cabbage, radish, swede.

In order for the culture to grow and develop well, the ambient temperature should not exceed + 15 … 22ᵒС. In hotter climatic conditions, the beds are recommended to be shaded.

When to plant cauliflower outdoors

Immediately into the ground, cauliflower is sown in early May. By this time, the threat of frost is gone, and the soil warms up to the required temperature.

Cabbage can give the first shoots at a temperature of + 5ᵒС.

How to plant cauliflower seeds outdoors

Most gardeners prefer to grow this vegetable crop in seedlings. In the southern regions, early-ripening and mid-ripening varieties can be sown directly in open ground.

Soil preparation

The beds intended for growing cauliflower are dug up from the fall on a shovel bayonet, after distributing top dressing over them, per 1 m²:

• potassium chloride – 15 g;
• superphosphate – 30-40 g;
• compost or manure – 4-6 kg.

Soil for growing a dietary product is prepared in the fall

Before sowing seeds for each square meter, it is also recommended to apply fertilizers:

• nitrophoska – 15 g;
• superphosphate – 20 g;
• wood ash – 200 g;
• urea – 25 g.

3-5 days before sowing the seeds, the bed is heated by pulling a spunbond or black plastic wrap.

seed Processing

Pre-sowing seed treatment includes several stages. Compliance with each of them is the key to a good harvest when grown outdoors.

Calibration

Large seeds of the same size are selected. To separate unsuitable for sowing, they are placed in a jar of salt water, stirred. Watch in a few minutes. Those seeds that float to the surface should be discarded.

Heat treatment

Heat treatment can be carried out in two ways:

1. Cabbage seeds are poured into a sieve, scalded with boiling water.
2. Planting material is placed in a thermos. Pour hot water (temperature + 50ᵒС) and leave for 15 minutes.

Regardless of the method of heat treatment, the seeds should be cooled for a minute in cold water. A similar procedure saves the planting material from viruses that hide under the shell, and cabbage from shooting.

Zamachivanie

Seeds can be soaked in clean water before planting in open ground. But experienced gardeners recommend using Fitosporin solution.

Cold heat treatment

When the seeds hatch, they are thoroughly washed and placed in the refrigerator. For 24 hours they are kept at a temperature of +5ᵒС. To increase the stability of the seeds, they are placed in heat for a day, then the procedure is repeated with a refrigerator.

The scheme of planting cauliflower in open ground

Planting cauliflower in open ground with seeds is carried out according to the scheme 35×50 cm. The first size is the distance between the crop bushes, the second is the row spacing.

Depending on the variety, the scheme for planting a vegetable crop in open ground may vary – 25-35×60-70 cm

How to care for cauliflower outdoors

The technology for growing cauliflower in open ground is practically the same as white cabbage. She also needs to ensure timely watering, weeding, fertilization, and treatment from diseases and pests. Only in this case, all manipulations are performed more accurately and carefully.

Watering

When grown outdoors, cabbage requires regular soil moisture. Watering is carried out every week. If precipitation has fallen, the soil has been soaked to a sufficient depth, it is better to refuse the procedure. Excessive moisture can provoke the development of fungal diseases.

Loosening and hilling

The next day after watering, the soil should be loosened without driving the garden tool too deep. It is recommended to combine the procedure with weeding, while simultaneously removing weeds from the beds.

During the vegetative season, hilling the vegetable is carried out three times:

1. If cabbage is grown in seedlings, the first hilling is carried out 10 days after planting in open ground.
2. The procedure is repeated a week later from the moment the inflorescences begin to tie.
3. The third hilling is optional. It is necessary if the cabbage bush collapses.

Shading

Although cauliflower belongs to light-loving plants, the heads are denser if they grow in the dark. The culture is shaded with 2-3 plucked lower leaves, or several leaves are collected above the inflorescence, tied together.

The breeders managed to ensure that the leaves closest to the head lay on the inflorescence and completely covered it from sunlight. This relieves gardeners of the need to shade plants when growing a dietary product in open ground.

Additional fertilizing

Outdoor cultivation requires 3-4 feedings per season:

1. The first procedure is carried out no later than 20 days after transplanting seedlings into open ground. It is recommended to use a solution of mullein. 0,5 l of the composition is dissolved in a bucket of water. Under each bush pour 0,5 liters of solution.
2. The second feeding is carried out after 10 days. The solution is prepared according to the same scheme, but add 1 tbsp. l. complex fertilizer Kristalin. This time, 1 liter of solution is poured under each cabbage bush.
3. For the third time, the culture is fed during the period of active head formation. Most often, mineral fertilizers are used. For example, if it is Nitrofoska, 10 tbsp is dissolved in 2 liters of water. spoons. Feeding consumption – 6-8 l / m².

The fourth time fertilizers are applied 1,5-2 weeks after the third, using any mineral complexes.

Protection against diseases and pests

Growing cauliflower outdoors is associated with high risks of developing a viral or fungal disease.

The vegetable is attacked by pests, affected by viral, bacterial and fungal infections.

In open ground, most often the plant is affected by such diseases:

1. Mosaic. The disease is manifested by lightening of the veins on the leaf plates. Later, the leaves become wrinkled, and a dark border is visible around the veins.

   

2. Downy mildew is characterized by the appearance of depressed spots. If the weather is damp outside, the leaves gradually become covered on the outside with whitish dots.

   

3. Fusarium penetrates the vascular system of cauliflower, after which the leaf blades turn yellow-green, then completely fall off.

   

4. Vascular bacteriosis. Progresses when grown outdoors during prolonged rains. There are signs of wilting on the leaf plates, black rot on the heads.

   

5. Kila. With this disease, bumps form on the root system of the cauliflower, which lead to decay. Plants cease to receive nutrients from the soil, the culture dries up.
6. Alternariosis is manifested by dark brown and black spots on the leaves.

   

To reduce the risk of diseases when growing outdoors, experts recommend observing crop rotation, strictly observing the distance before planting cauliflower seeds. If it was not possible to prevent the plant from being affected by fungal or viral infections, treatment should be started in a timely manner, after removing the affected specimen from the garden, and treating the rest with fungicides.

Pests that most often affect cauliflower when grown outdoors:

1. Cabbage moth, scoop and whitefish – the caterpillars of these parasites bite into leaves and inflorescences, leaving only veins from them.

   

2. Cabbage aphid – not only sucks juices from cabbage, but also infects it with viral diseases.

   

3. The cabbage fly lays its eggs at the bottom of the head and in the ground. The larvae develop rapidly, infect the root, after which the plants die.

   

4. Cruciferous fleas eat the leaves of young plants.

   

Pest control when grown in open ground is carried out with folk and chemical means. It all depends on the degree of damage to the culture.

Secrets of growing cauliflower outdoors

To get a good harvest of cauliflower, you should take into account the features of its cultivation in open ground.

5 secrets for growing a dietary product in your beds:

1. Variety selection. Experts recommend choosing varieties that are resistant to most diseases. These are hybrid forms marked F. The most popular of them are Malimba F1, Baldo F1.
2. Compliance with deadlines, the right choice of a place for growing. The culture prefers sunny areas, it is possible to place beds with a light shadow. Of no small importance is the observance of crop rotation.
3. Watering. Lack or excess of moisture will also not benefit cauliflower. To protect the root system from overheating and rapid loss of moisture, the beds are mulched with lawn grass.
4. Timely application of top dressings. The lack of nutrients adversely affects the yield of cauliflower.
5. To make the heads white, gardeners use leaves for shading, fixing them over heads of cabbage. Cabbage does not like direct sunlight.

It is not recommended to skip the harvest time. If the vegetable outgrows, the inflorescences darken, become loose, lose their presentation.

Conclusion

Growing cauliflower in open ground is within the power of gardeners of any skill level. The main thing is to strictly follow the recommendations, to correctly conduct pre-sowing preparation of seeds, to competently organize plant care.