How to grow broccoli

I would like to talk about my last year experience in growing broccoli at a later date. This happened by chance due to the fact that in bags with seeds turned out to be another type of cabbage - colored.

Broccoli Tonus gained, but not completely

When the seedlings rose, it became obvious: in broccoli, the leaves closer to the base of the leaf have a “cuff”, and in color cabbage - not.

I was ashamed: how will I be without broccoli when I love her so much, and in recent years she has become one of the main vegetables in the nutrition of our family.

Upon learning of my sadness, a friend offered me 20 bushes of early Tonus broccoli. From past experience, knowing that this is not the best option, I still took it - at least in the summer we will eat. The seedlings presented to me were less in age than mine. And the heat has already begun. How to plant, so as not to burn tender plants?

Seated in 200 ml plastic cups, set in diffused partial shade for “survival”. Then landed in two rows at a distance of 60 cm from each other, and the grade Tone

fed us early production. His head is 200-300 g, then the shoots grow together, which are better cut before flowering.

Come what may!

But this did not completely solve the problem, because I try to procure juicy heads for the winter. May was already drawing to a close, and I did not have a good grade broccoli seedling. Something urgently needs to come up ...

In the seed stores, I looked for the Fiesta F, tested and beloved by me, and the Russian size F, but they were not. Eventually, it acquired two new hybrids: Green Magic F, (Japan) and Batavia F1 (Holland) with heads in 1-1,2 kg.

After calculating that after planting the seedlings the harvest was promised already in 70 days, that is, it takes three months, and there are still 30-40 days left, decided to grow the broccoli of your dreams at a later date.

Features of sowing late broccoli

For several days I thought about how to plant these seeds. Go straight to the holes in the permanent place? But already there was a burning heat. 31 May, I finally decided to sow them in plastic cups with the capacity of 200 ml.

The garden land mixed with humus 2: 1, added vermiculite and a little river sand. Vermiculite I add more for even mixing of the mixture, although it is very good in that it contains the necessary trace elements and has the ability to absorb moisture exceeding its weight, and then gradually gives it to the plant.

Poured the ground in the cups with a weakly-rozed solution of potassium permanganate, made holes with a depth of 1 cm. Broccoli seeds of these varieties are encrusted, so do not require soaking. Spread the seeds on 2-3 in 40 cups. Sprinkled dry, sifted through a fine sieve, mixed with river sand (1: 1), a layer of 0,5 cm.

Covered with a film, put in a half-shadow on the shelf of the walled greenhouse. Through 4-5 days sprouts appeared. The germination capacity of the inlaid seeds is almost 100% and it did not immediately remove the extra seedlings, the culling of the plants produced later, already at the permanent site of planting.

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Reference by topic: Growing cabbage broccoli seedlings and seedlings

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Summer dangers for cabbage

Planted in place 25 June, that is, twenty-day young seedlings, but with a good root system according to the scheme 60 x 60 see. Broccoli plants are powerful, the leaves are closed. The wells were filled with humus with river sand (handful-other), making them in-depth, but planted on the level of the earth in cups. Later, when they got stronger and matured, they spent their hilling. The heat, meanwhile, continued.

Usually, a cruciferous flea annoys the whole cabbage at this time, in the heat it is very active, so young broccoli plants were pollinated with ash after watering. A week after planting, I applied Fertika-Summer fertilizer. Twice I sprayed broccoli from a cruciferous flea with Sumi-alpha. A chemical drug radically stops its invasion, but in the phase of a young plant the flea is very dangerous, it is so aggressive that it can completely destroy the cabbage.

I periodically poured broccoli with humic fertilizers, 1-2 drops per bucket of water. I fed Fertika once again, because in the phase of head formation, broccoli consumes a lot of phosphorus and nitrogen. And she needs boron and molybdenum just like cauliflower.

Grow broccoli in this way it turned out!

By the end of August, the heads of Magic had already begun to form. I must say that when broccoli knots the head, its further growth is rapid. Hybrids differ from varieties with high homogeneity of heads and amicable maturation. They also tolerate high temperatures (and low temperatures, by the way, too), with good watering and care the heads reach larger sizes than declared in the annotation of the variety, and can retain them for a long time without loss of consumer qualities. Medium and late varieties are absolutely resistant to color.

By September 10, the early-ripe Magic broccoli hybrid scored heads up to 25 cm in diameter, and after eating the Tonus, I began to cut them off. Batavia at that time was just beginning to form and enlarge the heads, which by the end of September had reached the same size. Completely removed the "Batavia" by October 10. These were high-quality fine-grained dense heads, much more than the declared kilogram.

Although hybrids have good adaptation to stressful conditions and can be grown in almost any conditions and regions, they are characterized by high yield and plasticity, yet it should be remembered that this crop is demanding for soil fertility and is better managed on heavy and medium loams, floodplains, places. Sandy soils, as a rule, fail. They must necessarily be structured, that is, improved.

After cutting the main head, broccoli hybrids produce 5-7 additional shoots with small heads with a diameter of 7-10 cm. But since my landing was late, I got one cut of the main heads.

This season I plan to pre-root broccoli seedlings from a gardening bed in a plastic cup for a week so that it does not “hurt” or “bake” when planted in the heat. And the heat in May-June has already become a sustainable phenomenon.

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See also: Growing broccoli - tips for gardeners

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Disadvantages of market broccoli seedlings

When I shared this experience, my friends said: why was it impossible to buy seedlings in the market? I would not do it now. I proceed from the fact that the average seller of seedlings will not massively use sufficiently expensive hybrid seeds, but will take cheap varieties - the notorious Tonus and Vitamin, so you can get more profit. If you are sure that this is not so, then take a chance. I will try to give a hint based on my previous experience in previous years. Seedlings of early broccoli simple varieties grows curved even in open ground, not to mention boxes. But the seedlings of hybrids in boxes and cups have always been smooth, even without twisting.

For early-ripening broccoli, maturation is typical in 75-80 days after germination, that is, after 45-50 days after transplanting.

For broccoli hybrids:

• early ripening - 65-70 days after transplanting;
• mid-season - 75-80 days after transplanting;
• late ripening - 80-90 days after transplanting seedlings.

So, the conclusion: safely plant proven Dutch hybrids Fiesta, Batavia, Japanese - Green Magic, our Russian Size. If you don’t find it, then Caesar, Curly head, Calabrese -Available varieties that gave me good results.

For the 2015 season, I purchased new varieties of hybrids F ,: Dutch Lord, Ironman, Lucky, Japanese - Partenon, Marathon, Heracles. Let's see how they behave. I hope for an excellent result.

© Elena Sergeevna KUZMINA, Samara region, p. Stroykeramika

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