ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY CAULIFLOWER - PLANTING AND CARE

Cauliflower is useful at any age, and therefore is loved by gardeners. And yes, it does look weird. You can't take your eyes off some varieties! For example, Modica Sicilian violet seems to be created in order to admire it. The inflorescences are spectacular, reminiscent of lilac flowers. Dishes from such cabbage and on the festive table will look bright and beautiful. For you to be sure of the environmental safety of your cabbage, I advise you to grow it using organic farming technology.

GROWING CAULIFLOWERS - IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SOIL

As a consultant to the organic farming club, I am often asked the question: how to get a good crop of cabbage? Previously, I answered it many times, having only theoretical knowledge. In my dacha, cabbage categorically did not want to grow, despite all my efforts. Everything changed when I moved to the village.

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Now not only cabbage, but also all other vegetable crops please with a harvest. However, it's not about the location, but the soil. And do not think that the soil in the village is better. Not! We got a vegetable garden on a plot of a field where corn and sunflower were alternately cultivated from year to year. Therefore, I actively took up farming, bringing theory to life. First of all, I broke the beds of V. Rozum, slightly changing them to the climatic conditions of our region (did not make tubercles).

She filled the beds with sawdust, fallen leaves and grass, added wood ash, a little rotted chicken manure, generously sprinkled EM-bokashi (a complex of beneficial microorganisms, about 1 kg per 4 meters of length), poured water and left for the winter. In practice, I was convinced that the warm beds of V. Rozum are an amazing thing. They are laid down once and for all (just make sure to fill it with organic matter!). There is no need to prepare compost, carry it, no need to constantly dig up, fertilize the soil. Everything is done at the same time: weeding, mulching, and green manure. And in the spring there is where to put the branches after pruning the garden, last year's leaves and weeds. The soil on my site came to life (you should have seen how many worms in it!) And gives a healthy harvest.

GROWING CAULIFLOWER SEEDLINGS - NOTHING SUPERB!

In March, I start growing cabbage seedlings - early white, Savoy, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, Beijing, red cabbage, kale and cauliflower. I sow white cabbage for the winter later.

This year I was especially pleased with the Modica Sicilian Violet cauliflower. This is an old Italian variety, highly valued in the province of Ragusa. The plant has good leaf coverage, which saves the delicate inflorescence from the scorching sun. The head is large, uniform and compact, saturated dark purple color. The variety has a stable yield and high quality products, so I grow it with great pleasure.

Brussels Sprouts Ideal Hilda
Cauliflower Modica Sicilian Violet
Winter Bremen kale
Savoy cabbage variety Oberrwil

I lay out the cauliflower seeds in plastic containers (I have them in the form of cups with screw-on lids), pour in a solution of hydrogen peroxide (1 teaspoon per glass of water) and leave for 6-8 hours in a warm place. I close the cups tightly, because the cabbage seeds, bursting when swollen, explode (with a bang!) And jump out of the dishes. Then I wash the seeds well, return them to their original container, pour (barely covering the contents) with a solution of emochs (1 tablespoon per 1 liter) with the addition of growth stimulator HB-101 (2 drops) and also close tightly. I put containers with seeds on the windowsill, if necessary, add the mentioned solution.

When the seedlings have a good root and two cotyledon leaves, I transplant them into disposable cups (180-200 ml) with the prepared soil mixture, pour abundantly with root solution and transfer them to the windowsill again. If necessary, I illuminate the plants with a phytolamp. I water as needed, but plentifully. In good weather, I harden the plants - I take them out into the street, gradually increasing the time spent outdoors.

Seedlings of cauliflower - the subtleties of the process.

PLANTING A CAULIFLOWER SEEDLING

Under the cabbage I take an open sunny place. No penumbra! Before planting on the beds, I water the seedlings with mycorrhiza-forming fungi (Muso Apply). When the threat of return frosts has passed, I plant the seedlings on the Rosum beds in two rows on each side, in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 1 m.

Using a special planter stick, I make holes in the soil, and then I transfer the seedlings so as not to damage the root system. I weed the rows and mulch them with the same weeds. I water as needed, our site is equipped with a drip irrigation system. Cauliflower, unlike head varieties, is very responsive to both organic matter and wood ash. It is important not to overdo it with ash - 1 liter jar per 1 m² quite enough.

I do not treat plants for diseases, because they do not get sick. But just in case, I always have emochki and phytosporin on hand. From pests, too, I do not process, they do not attack! When I weed the beds, be sure to leave the weeds on which the aphids sit! Weeds are tastier for aphids than our vegetables! And if you do not take away all the weeds from her, then she does not climb vegetables! I also have slugs, but they feel quite comfortable on well-groomed paths between beds sown with lawn grass, so they don’t touch cabbage and other vegetables.

In August, I stop weeding the beds, I let the weeds grow, because they no longer interfere with the plants, but, on the contrary, they block the heat and protect the cabbage from butterflies. The seeds of weeds no longer ripen, and they will do their job no worse than green manure.

I remove the cauliflower selectively, as it becomes technically ripe. The inflorescence should be very firm and dense. It is important not to overexpose the cabbage in the beds, otherwise it will outgrow, become loose and light.

My cabbage grows without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. Mycorrhiza-forming fungi fill the plants with all the necessary microelements, and cabbage becomes even healthier and tastier. And if someone tells you that with organic cultivation, the vegetable harvest is worse, do not believe it. Try it - and see for yourself!

Reference by topic: Eco-friendly potatoes on organic farming technology