Broccoli, cultivation and care - a unique combination of benefits and taste. Broccoli cabbage - growing seedlings and planting features

Broccoli stands out from a number of other cabbages with its beauty, exquisite taste, usefulness and demanding character. It is cultivated on all continents, but is especially appreciated in Europe. In Russia, the vegetable is only gaining popularity.

Broccoli loves rich, non-acidic soil. mineral nutrition, water and heat, but does not like heat. For a good harvest, seedlings should be strong, and varieties should be modern, preferably hybrid.

Preparing to plant broccoli

To enjoy broccoli all summer and autumn, and freeze delicious heads for the winter, you will have to tinker with seedlings. The first seeds are sown at home, in February and March. The next batch is sown in a greenhouse or open ground in April - June. If you sow varieties of different ripening dates at the same time, part of the cabbage will fall under the summer heat and will not form heads.

Growing broccoli seedlings allows you to:

• set up a vegetable conveyor;
• grow varieties that are different in terms of ripening;
• protect young plants from cold and pests.

Broccoli seedlings take root after transplantation and quickly catch up, and then overtake cabbage, planted with seeds in open ground. Moreover, the latter is often stunted due to damage caused by cruciferous fleas.

It is necessary to choose the right sowing time. Overgrown seedlings will form a small head, which will quickly crumble. Spring seedlings should be 40-50 days, summer - 30-35 days. Spring is planted in the garden in early May, summer - in mid-May, when the beds are freed from early crops. good seedling has 4-5 leaves, hardened, not elongated.

Broccoli seedlings love good lighting, but prefer short daylight hours. It can be grown in polycarbonate greenhouse on solar heating - there tender plants will have enough heat, light and moisture. In addition, in the greenhouse, young cabbage is protected from cruciferous fleas- malicious pests of seedlings.

Strong, hardened seedlings are planted in open ground. Landing is best done in cloudy weather or in the evening. A handful of humus and ash are brought into the wells.

Plants during transplantation are buried to the cotyledon. When threatened spring frosts the bed is covered with dense agrofiber.

The distance between plants for early and medium varieties is 45x60 cm. Late varieties form large and powerful leaves, so they need more space - 70x70 cm.

A bed of broccoli can be "diluted":

• cabbage;
• peas;
• bow;
• beans;
• beets;
• chicory.

Tomato and celery will scare away pests from broccoli.

Care

Caring for broccoli is almost the same as caring for cauliflower. The plant is in dire need of light and watering. Air must be supplied to the roots. For this upper layer the soil is kept loose. The bed is weeded every week. Plants are spudded at least once a season so that additional roots appear on the stem.

Early varieties set heads in 56–60 days, mid-season in 65–70. If the summer is cool, the ripening period is lengthened. In autumn, plants that have not had time to grow full-fledged heads can be dug up with roots and put in the basement, where they will ripen. With a slight autumn frost, vegetables can be covered with agrofiber or polypropylene bags.

fertilizers

Broccoli is demanding on the soil. Heads won't be big on sandy ground, but on loamy plants feel great. Fertile, structured, “living” soil is ideal for culture. Such soil does not require digging. On drip irrigation, it is possible to grow heads of record weight on it.

The best fertilizers for broccoli are organic. In autumn, ash and organic matter are brought to the garden: compost, mowed grass, chicken manure, fallen leaves. In the spring, organic matter will partially decompose, improving the structure and fertility of the soil. Cabbage does not like acidic soil - such soil needs to be limed or ash added in the fall.

You need to communicate with caution. Broccoli needs manganese. If you add a lot of lime to the soil, the element will go into an insoluble form and become inaccessible to plants. With the introduction of ash, such problems do not arise.

Nutritious and healthy, broccoli resembles cauliflower in appearance, but differs in color, taste and arrangement of inflorescences in the head. An excellent food product is easily grown on the farm with your own hands, the benefits for the body only increase if you do not stuff it with fertilizers and chemicals.

The broccoli variety is not a gift from nature, but is the result of the work of breeders as far back as 6-7 centuries BC in the countries of the Mediterranean. This asparagus species has been cultivated for centuries in Ancient Rome, falls outside the borders of Italy centuries after its importation to Byzantium, from where broccoli seeds are transported around the world. The name broccoli is taken from the language of the indigenous Italian people, which means " flowering branch cabbage." After spreading on a global scale, it is commonly called Italian asparagus, and the Germans give it the nickname brown head.

Beneficial Nutritional Properties

The nutritional value of the product puts it on a par with protein foods, such as meat. Complete proteins and a large amount of fiber, which are part of the cabbage, contribute to the rapid saturation of the body, the substances are easily broken down and absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. Thanks to high content of vitamin U, the product actively fights stomach ulcers, duodenal ulcers and colitis.

Broccoli has an antioxidant effect in the body due to its ability to bind free radicals and remove them from the human body. This feature makes the plant one of the well-known and sought-after products on the European market. The vegetable is gaining popularity as a complete component of a healthy diet.

• According to the content of ascorbic acid (vitamin C), broccoli occupies one of the leading positions among herbal products. The body receives the daily norm of the vitamin, if a person consumes only 100 g of a vegetable, this is enough to support the body's immunity.
• The high calcium content (4.5%) of the volume strengthens bone tissue, solves the problem with cramps, promotes active growth of hair and nails.
• Vitamin A improves vision and improves the condition of the skin, it is contained in cabbage 12.5%.
• Iron, which is contained in the product 4.5%, increases hemoglobin, reduces blood clotting, thereby curing vascular thrombosis.
• In addition to these important vitamins, broccoli contains vitamins B1, B2, B6, K, folic acid, and amino acids.
• Potassium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, selenium, iron, zinc, manganese and other trace elements make the vegetable a real champion among healthy foods.

Diet food

100 g of broccoli contains only 0.3 g of fat, this amount puts it in a number of diet products for weight loss. The vegetable does not contain saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated fats and cholesterol. The calorie content of the specified serving is 34.2 k / cal. Carbohydrates make up 2.2%, fiber is contained in an amount of 10.3%, proteins - 10.4%.

Boiled pickled, fried and salted, broccoli is becoming popular in various diets aimed at reducing body weight. With a vegetarian diet, it is included in various dishes. Due to the significant content of beta-carotene (provitamin A), the vegetable becomes indispensable for healthy nutrition, is used in cosmetology, as a beauty diet.

Caution in use

Doctors do not recommend cooking with broccoli for gastritis of the stomach with high acidity. An improperly functioning pancreas also does not accept this product, increased acidity of the vegetable causes an aggravation of the disease. You can not use a decoction in which cabbage is boiled for cooking, a certain amount of the harmful substance guanine passes into it, which causes mild poisoning of the body.

The unusual shape of broccoli, created by a large number of vegetable cones arranged in a spiral, makes it popular among consumers. Each variety of cabbage differs in color, density and yield.

Early varieties

Variety Vitamin refers to the early ripening, because the harvest collected for 75-92 days from emergence. Requires quick harvesting, as the heads of cabbage, overexposed in the garden, quickly loosen and become unmarketable. The variety is distinguished by a rich green color of the tops, the inflorescences tightly cover the stem. A ripe head weighs 120-260 grams, cutting off the central fruit does not end the yield, after which the heads grow on the side branches.

High yielding hybrid early harvest Laser F1. Large heads, weighing about a kilogram, dense, green. A very hardy variety, not afraid of bad weather conditions, it is possible to grow the species at low daytime temperatures.

Variety Curly head belongs to the early species, bearing fruit three months after germination on the surface. Differs in the increased growth of lateral heads after cutting of the first central fruit. good grade for growing in adverse conditions, staunchly resists the characteristic diseases of broccoli. Differs in duration of storage without spoilage.

Another early ripe Caesar variety with good yields. Perfectly stored after harvest, resistant to bad weather and caterpillar attack, dark green head weighs from 650 to 1000 grams.

TO early ripe varieties, in addition to the main common ones, include the names:

• Vyarus, color gray-green, has average density, bubble leaves form a horizontal rosette, has an excellent taste;
• Green Sprouting dense consistency, resistant variety;
• Imperator F1 matures on day 80, large heads dark green weigh up to 1000 grams and are dome-shaped;
• Comanche - a variety resistant to growing in heat and in cold weather, yields equally, regardless of the weather;
• Corvent F1 blooms very early and yields in 75-80 days, the heads of the variety are different in green with a shade of gray, unpretentious care, grows without weeding and thinning;
• Samme King, when grown in a cold climate, produces cabbage heads later, has a good yield;
• The Fiesta cultivar produces tasty fruit and does not develop side branches when grown in poor conditions.

Mid-season varieties include varieties of cabbage, ripening for 90-105 days after germination above the soil surface:

Late ripening broccoli

These include types of cabbage, the heads of which can be cut after 110-115 days of ripening, growing them is less common than early-ripening and mid-season varieties:

• late-ripening variety Continental with a bumpy dense head surface, bright green color, which weigh up to 550 grams, has a good taste;
• the late variety Lucky F1 brings a crop later than 110 days, fruiting lasts a long time, the plant tolerates bad weather well.
• Marathon F1 is distinguished by a large head, weighing up to 1 kg and a raised rosette.

Growing seedlings

For growing broccoli best time is the beginning of March. A vegetable is planted at several times, thereby forming continuous fruiting. If the planting time is mid-April or May, then the seeds are sown in the soil and do not use seedlings.

Before growing seedlings, pay attention to seed treatment. To begin with, sorting is carried out, separating large, viable samples. The seeds are soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate for one hour, re-soaked in a growth stimulator, then aired in the air until semi-dry. Treated seeds are characterized by increased germination, and young shoots develop better. In a separate spacious container, the seeds are buried in the soil by 1 cm. The seedlings are watered with dissolved fertilizers containing molybdenum and sulfur.

After the appearance of the fifth leaf on the broken sprout, the seedlings are carefully transplanted into the soil, by the time they are planted in the ground coincides with the beginning of May or the end of April. Seeds are planted in well-wetted soil. If there is a threat of spring frosts, cabbage will endure them with dignity, since almost all varieties are not afraid of growing. low temperatures. Plants are planted in a bed at a distance of up to 50-55 cm from each other between rows and 30 cm in the neighborhood.

Sowing broccoli directly into the soil

When sown in the ground, the seeds are spaced from each other at a distance similar to seedlings, without crowding the planting, crowding leads to a poor and weak harvest. Do not bury the seeds more than 2 cm into the soil, which is thoroughly moistened to a wet state. Each planted seed after watering is covered with a cropped plastic container up to 5 liters. They remove it when on each sprout grows 4-5 leaves.

Watering plants

All types of cabbage love moist soil and broccoli is no exception. The vegetable is watered every other day, if it is not possible to constantly be on the site, then the plant is thoroughly watered at least once a week. The most successful for growth is cloudy and rainy summer. Watering is carried out in the evening, when the sun hides behind the horizon, otherwise the leaves will burn. On cloudy days without sun, water or spray the plants during the day.

Feeding

Broccoli care involves two stages of fertilization for the entire growth period during the growing season. Top dressings are prerequisite growing a rich crop. Seedlings planted in the ground for the first time fed after 14-15 days, for fertilizer use a solution of manure (mullein). Take one glass or 200 grams of manure per 10 liters of water, add a teaspoon of urea. Plants grown directly in the ground are fed for the first time only 20-21 days after emergence above the ground.

The second top dressing is done with a solution of potassium-phosphorus fertilizers, diluted according to the instructions for the product. This stage of fertilization is not skipped, because due to the lack of phosphorus, the cabbage heads grow small. The second fertilizer is applied 15-21 days after the first. If they make another top dressing at the end of summer, then they try to add a minimum of nitrogen, remembering that the lack of phosphorus and potassium affects the yield. It is more convenient to purchase ready-made fertilizer in specialized stores.

Weeding broccoli

Shrub care requires constant weeding and loosening of the soil. After each watering without fail loosen the soil around the plant, simultaneously removing unnecessary weeds. Carefully remove all cruciferous sprouts, since cross-pollination of broccoli with other varieties of cabbage groups is not allowed. These include colza and shepherd's purse. A suitable temperature regime for excellent growth is considered to be 15-25ºС. If frosts occur, then their short-term course is allowed and the temperature does not fall below -5ºС. If there is a threat of a severe cold snap, then cabbage bushes are preliminarily, in accordance with the forecast, covered for warming.

Ripening and harvesting

The timing of cutting heads depends on the precocity of the variety, the time of planting and caring for the plant. Harvesting should not be delayed indefinitely. If the central fruit is not cut in time, then the side branches give barren extra heads, and flowers with the subsequent formation of pods (fruits with seeds). If the timing of cutting the central head is not missed, then new fruits of smaller diameter and weight are cut off after two weeks. It is impossible to store cabbage heads without cooking for a long time. They are set aside for a maximum of 10 days before cooking or frozen.

As a result, we can say that growing and caring for broccoli does not require much effort, especially since a very tasty, healthy and healthy vegetable is acquired in return.

Growing broccoli in the greenhouse and in the garden is becoming very popular with gardeners. It is quite easy to plant such cabbage in the country, but it is not so easy to follow all the recommendations for growing and caring correctly. In addition to the competent choice of seeds, it is necessary quality seedlings broccoli cabbage and regular care, allowing you to grow healthy plants and get a good harvest in the garden in the country.

Many people call cabbage of this species asparagus, and a photo of this annual vegetable plant from the Cabbage family, can be seen on most agricultural sites. You can grow such a plant in the garden under open sky or in a greenhouse. This cabbage grows equally well in open and protected ground, and broccoli should be cared for taking into account biological characteristics.

General information

Broccoli is a type of kale and the closest relative and genetic precursor of cauliflower. Distinctive feature represented by the fact that the edible part is not the leaves of the plant, but the unopened type of inflorescences of this vegetable crop.

To date, there are several varieties of broccoli, the differences of which are clearly visible in the photo:

• classic cabbage or Calabrian broccoli;
• red broccoli;
• broccoli stalks, having small scattered inflorescences.

Care different types has its own characteristics, and in addition, all varieties of broccoli differ in outward signs and taste qualities. Before planting such cabbage in the country, you should choose the right broccoli variety that will grow in specific climatic conditions.

Most often, the height of broccoli is no more than eighty centimeters, and the end of the stem is represented by many peduncles with dense groups of small buds. All buds are collected in one rather loose cabbage head.

The photo clearly shows that broccoli has an external analogy with cauliflower, but differs in the density of correctly formed inflorescences and the presence of smaller leaves with a corrugated surface. Removal of the head of the central stem part stimulates the formation of side shoots-stepchildren, which has a positive effect on the yield of vegetable crops and helps to extend the period of use. In the country, the method of growing from seeds is most often used.

Description of varieties

To make the right choice of seeds, you should familiarize yourself with the characteristics of some varieties of broccoli recommended for growing in the country in protected ground conditions. Most often, broccoli calabrese seeds are sown. Cabbage of this species is distinguished by the presence of a hard head of cabbage and dense inflorescences located on a very large stem.

A less popular variety is Italian or asparagus broccoli, which when grown from seed produces a large number of stems topped with small heads. Only the stalks, which taste like asparagus, are to be eaten.

• early ripening cabbage "Tone";
• early ripe hybrid "F1-Broccoli";
• early broccoli "Lazarus";
• varieties "Vitamin";
• varieties "Continental" and "Caesar".

When grown from seeds, you can get good results using the varieties "Vitamin", "Gnome", "Calabrese", "Continental", "Curly Head" and "Caesar", as well as hybrids "F1-Fiesta", "F1-Arcadia" , "F1-Lucky", "F1-Laser" and "F1-Monterey".

Landing methods

Particular attention should be paid pre-sowing treatment broccoli seeds. For this purpose, a short-term heating of the seed material is carried out in hot water followed by soaking in a solution of boric acid or potassium permanganate.

Grow broccoli in our weather conditions can be both seedling and seedless ways. The following sowing requirements must be taken into account:

• sowing of seed material is carried out from the first days of May and ends at the end of June;
• to grow broccoli in a greenhouse through seedlings, you need to sow seeds early varieties one and a half months before the date of landing on permanent place and a month before planting for late varieties and hybrids.

The standard thickness of nutrient soil for growing seedlings is ten centimeters, and the distance between seedlings should not be less than five centimeters. The bottom of seedling containers must necessarily have drainage holes. Planting soil must be thoroughly moistened and subjected to high-quality loosening, which will facilitate further care for vegetable crops and enrich the soil with air. The seed sowing depth is about five millimeters.

In the process of growing seedlings, care consists in maintaining the temperature regime and moistening the soil from a spray bottle.

Broccoli in the garden (video)

Planting grown seedlings in the ground is carried out in an ordinary way and assumes a distance between young plants of fifty centimeters. Landing is carried out on a cloudy day and preferably in the morning hours with abundant watering of transplanted plants. After watering, it is required to loosen the soil between the rows.

Features of care

Ridges for broccoli need to be filled with organic and mineral fertilizers in the fall, including potash and phosphorus components. For the full growth and development of broccoli cabbage, soils with neutral or slightly alkaline reactions are required. Such a vegetable crop is very responsive to autumn liming. Nitrogen type of fertilizer is applied to the soil in early spring and in the form of supplements.

Care for broccoli does not have significant differences from other types of cabbage and consists in loosening and hilling, weeding, watering and feeding vegetables. Hilling is necessary for the plant to stimulate the growth of adventitious roots.

The first top dressing should be done two weeks after planting the seedlings in a permanent place in the greenhouse. For this purpose, an aqueous infusion of mullein should be made with the addition of urea. Twelve days later, the next dressing of the vegetable crop is carried out with a solution of nitroammophoska.

Particular attention is paid to humidity indicators, which should not be lower than eighty percent. The optimum temperature in the greenhouse should not exceed twenty degrees.

Diseases and pests

Some of the most dangerous diseases that affect broccoli in a greenhouse include:

• black ring spot or viral mosaic;
• leaf spot or fungal alternariosis;
• downy mildew or fungal downy mildew;
• real powdery mildew;
• wet bacterial rot or mucous bacteriosis;
• vascular bacteriosis;
• blackleg;
• cabbage aphid;
• summer and spring cabbage flies;
• cruciferous fleas;
• cabbage moth;
• cabbage whites and turnips;
• scoop cabbage;
• naked slugs;
• tobacco and other types of thrips.

In what conditions to grow broccoli (video)

To protect plants from pests and get a full-fledged high-quality crop, the use of seed material treated with special disinfectants and biostimulants, as well as compliance with the technology of growing broccoli, allows.

Broccoli is a valuable food product. It contains a large amount of vitamins (C, K, A), as well as folic acid and useful trace elements (calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron). Few people know about the extremely useful features cabbage broccoli inhibit development cancer cells. In domestic cooking, it is rarely used, but it hit the tables of the inhabitants of the Mediterranean latitudes as early as the 6th century BC.

The appearance of broccoli and cauliflower speaks of common genetic roots. Outwardly, they are very similar, like close relatives. Both varieties are valued not for the leaves, as is the case with ordinary cabbage, but for the inflorescences that form on the stems - peduncles. Cauliflower tends to be white, while broccoli tends to be dark green. They are made up of buds. If the inflorescences of asparagus cabbage began to turn yellow, then they have already blossomed small flowers and the vegetable is not fit to eat. The shoots reach a height of 60 to 90 cm.

Growing broccoli - secrets and features

In general, growing broccoli does not require any complex techniques and approaches. Knowing the simple secrets of growing broccoli, you can grow excellent dark green sprouts. The main thing is to create suitable conditions cultivation of broccoli, which are to provide high humidity air and soil.

The soil should be 75% wet, and air environment- by 85%. As regards the temperature regime, best performance thermometer for asparagus cabbage - + 16 ° С - + 25 ° С. The culture is quite cold-resistant, therefore it is able to withstand even significant frosts when the thermometer drops to -7 ° C.

Soil requirements for planting a crop

The plant loves soil loose, with a slightly alkaline reaction or neutral. grows in different soils, but more good results can be achieved by planting broccoli in a site with a predominance of nutritious, black earth soil or in soil containing clay.

The best precursor crops are carrots, potatoes and all types of legumes. The worst option for broccoli would be if tomatoes, radishes, turnips, or any kind of cabbage grew in the area last summer.

Growing broccoli - methods and agricultural technology

The first thing with which the agricultural technology of broccoli begins is planting seeds for seedlings. For the conditions of the Russian summer, it is better to choose not late, but early or medium varieties, so that they have time to grow and give full-fledged heads of cabbage.

There are two ways to grow broccoli from seeds - seedlings and seedless. When using the first of these methods, broccoli is grown and then planted in unprotected soil. The second method is to plant the seeds directly into the soil when it has already warmed up enough.

Seedling method of growing broccoli

To be 100% sure that the plant has time to grow and heads to form, broccoli seedlings are needed: growing at home involves cultivating young seedlings in early spring.

The first thing you need to decide in order to grow broccoli from seeds in time: when to plant it on seedlings. Optimal timing in which broccoli is sown for seedling method the first two weeks of March.

The process of growing broccoli begins with the preparation of seeds. It includes several stages:

Soil preparation for seedlings

Now that the seeds are completely ready, it is necessary to prepare high-quality soil for them. It is composed of equal parts of peat, humus, garden soil and coarse river sand. All ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Then prepared soil disinfect. To do this, use a lightweight water solution potassium permanganate. It is heated and spilled with hot, disinfecting liquid soil. This procedure will help get rid of many infections and fungi that cause numerous diseases of broccoli, such as black leg.

Planting cabbage seeds

Further cultivation of broccoli at home is proper fit seeds.

First of all, you need to decide on the containers in which the seedlings will grow.

The best option is separate peat pots. When planting a plant in personal peat dishes, there is no need for further picking. This has a positive effect on the state of the root system, since during a dive it can be disturbed, which causes stress to the seedlings. The material from which the mini-pots are made also helps to avoid such consequences, as the seedlings are planted in a permanent place along with the container.

Seed placement rules

You can also grow seedlings in large boxes, but then you will have to pick them up later in separate containers. The height of the container should not exceed 25 cm. Drainage material is preliminarily laid out on its bottom, it is better to take expanded clay for this purpose. Then the soil is filled up and well moistened. Shallow grooves (1-1.5 cm) are made in it, the optimal distance between which is 3 cm. The grooves can be made using a regular school ruler, pressing on it until the desired depth is obtained. After that, the seeds are laid out, the earth is poured on top and rammed a little. Containers with planted seeds are covered with polyethylene and placed in a warm room, where the temperature is constantly maintained at +20°C.

Seedling care and picking

After a week and a half, the first shoots appear. Then the film is removed, and the temperature drops to +10°C.

In such temperature regime cabbage sprouts are aged for a week, after which the air must be constantly warmed up to + 16 ° С - + 20 ° С.

When 3 true leaves appear, broccoli dives from common boxes into separate dishes. This is done simply: using a disposable plastic spoon, a seedling is dug up and moved into a glass or other individual container. The soil composition is identical to that used for sowing seeds. It is well watered in advance, a small depression is made in it, a young shoot is planted, root system falls asleep to the level of dicotyledonous leaves, the earth around is slightly compacted.

Transfer to a permanent place

Ready seedlings are planted in unprotected soil during the last ten days of April - the first ten days of May. The main condition is that there is no threat of frost, and the air is already stably warmed up to + 15 ° С. Broccoli shoots have already grown strong by this time, their stem is stable, it has at least six true leaves. If the spring turned out to be cold, there is no need to rush and plant cabbage shoots on strictly specified dates. It is better to wait for warm weather, so as not to lose the seedlings.

Greenhouse cultivation of broccoli

In order to grow broccoli in a greenhouse, seeds are selected and prepared, seedlings are grown according to the method mentioned above.
The only thing to consider is that in the greenhouse it is possible to plant seedlings earlier, especially if the facility is equipped with heating, so the timing of planting seeds may be different. The main rule is to sow seeds 30-45 days before the finished seedlings need to be transplanted to a permanent place.

The land in greenhouses is prepared in advance, in the autumn. At this time, mineral and mineral fertilizers are added to the soil. organic origin. In the spring, before planting seedlings, the soil is fed nitrogen fertilizers. It is desirable that the composition of the greenhouse land and the soil in the seedling pots match.

Rules for growing in open ground

This is not to say that the cultivation of broccoli in the open field is too complicated. Knowing some rules of care and a few secrets that this healthy vegetable, you can easily grow green inflorescences in your area.

This culture loves moisture and hates aggressive sunlight. It is better to plant it in partial shade, where the sunlight is scattered. The soil should be nutritious and not acidic. Excessively acidic soil can be corrected with lime or chalk. Powdered eggshells are another great remedy.

Transplanting in open soil

Seedlings are placed in well-watered pits, about 20-30 cm deep. The distance between the bushes is 35-40 cm. The seedling is deepened to the first dicotyledonous leaves, then the earth is filled up and slightly pressed down around the bush. After that, the transplanted shoots are mulched. Mulch will keep moisture from evaporating too quickly, help control weeds, and also save young plants from the "sunstroke" they might get in their new location.

This procedure is best done in the evening or cloudy weather to protect the seedlings from the hot sun, under the influence of which it can immediately bind. For the same purpose, the seedlings are provided with shading from the sun's rays for the first week. For this, buckets, spruce or pine "paws", burdock leaves are used.

Further care for asparagus cabbage consists in regular watering, fertilizing and loosening.

Varieties and types of broccoli

To date, about 200 varietal variations of broccoli have already been bred. It is gaining more and more popularity due to its excellent taste, useful properties and simple agricultural techniques. Broccoli has several advantages over its cousin, cauliflower. It is more cold-resistant, if cut, it lets out new shoots, therefore it is more fertile. In addition, it tolerates diseases well and does not lend itself well to pests. What varieties of broccoli have won the love of gardeners and gardeners today?

Variety Tonus

One of the first places in popularity is occupied by broccoli Tonus, which forms large inflorescences. Its central stem weighs 130-150 g, and the average mass of shoots on the sides is 20 g. Characterized high yield. The vegetative period lasts from 2 to 3 months. The heads are strong, the inflorescences are dense, dark green, with a slight bluish tinge. Its excellent taste makes it an integral part of many gourmet dishes.

Variety Caesar

No less attractive appearance and excellent taste characteristics have broccoli Caesar - a hybrid of Polish selection. The heads form quite large, weighing 350-450 gr. It ripens in medium terms - about 100 days pass from the release of the first two cotyledon leaves to full ripeness. The inflorescences are dense, bright, green, with the addition of light lilac shades. The central part in diameter reaches 13-15 cm, and reaches a height of 60-70 cm. After cutting the main part, it is capable of producing side shoots, their inflorescences reach a diameter of 5-6 cm.

Variety Fortune

The broccoli variety Fortuna belongs to the mid-season varieties. From the moment when the cultivation of Fortuna broccoli seedlings begins until the vegetable is fully ripe, 80-85 days pass. Heads of cabbage are formed of medium size (150-200 gr). They are rounded in shape. Painted in rich green color with a gray tint. The taste is pleasant, delicate. It has repair properties.

Variety Linda

The Czech broccoli variety Linda is characterized by an average harvest time. Full ripeness of dark green oval-shaped heads of cabbage occurs at 85-90 days. The inflorescences are not very dense, their total weight is 300-400 gr. Good, delicate texture and pleasant taste allows it to be used as an additive to salads, side dishes and first courses. About seven shoots with inflorescences are formed after the main shoot is cut off.

Many other varieties have become the favorites of farmers due to the combination of two important qualities - productivity and good taste. For example, early ripe broccoli Batavia F1 forms large heads, each weighing 1.0-1.5 kg. Heads of deep green color, dense, with small buds in inflorescences. This variety will please finished products 2 months later.

The broccoli variety Lord F1 is ahead of Batavia in terms of harvesting, as it belongs to the ultra-early group. Its massive heads will fully mature in at least 55 days - a maximum of 60. This hybrid is characterized by large-fruitedness: the main shoot weighs 1-1.5 kg, and inflorescences grow on the side, weighing about 200 grams. Broccoli Agassi F1, bred by Dutch breeders, is characterized by no less short delivery times and large heads of cabbage.

If the goal of the farmer is to get mid-ripe cabbage of medium size in 3 months, and with a uniform formation of the crop, then Gnome broccoli will come to the rescue, which will delight you with half a kilogram heads of cabbage, with grayish-green inflorescences.

If you need a variety that is resistant to adverse effects environment, then Calabrese broccoli will do just fine. No less high resistance to stress conditions is characterized by broccoli Marathon F1, which is characterized by high yield. Lots of useful information in this article:

Broccoli does not differ in any particular thermophilicity or increased demands for care - you can plant it both in the Moscow region and in Siberia. To get a good harvest of delicious buds, you will have to pay a little attention to the new crop and read how to grow broccoli in the garden.

When buying broccoli seeds in a store, you have to trust the manufacturer. But often the result does not meet expectations. Don't blame the seed producer alone for this: the plant has its own needs and the rate at which flower heads are set. To learn everything about broccoli, how it grows, about its capabilities in a particular region, you should try to cultivate several different varieties and then choose the best ones.

For the regions of central Russia, it is best to purchase early ripe and mid-early varieties. The varieties of culture are numerous, but it is broccoli (varieties and hybrids) that is recommended, reviews of which Russian summer residents leave on websites and in special print publications. You need to know the following:

1. Among the early varieties (70-90 days from sowing to harvest), the Vyarus variety is popular. The head of this variety has a cone-shaped shape with branches densely arranged in a spiral. Each of them has the same structure, and the whole plant as a whole looks very decorative. The mass of the main head reaches 0.5 kg, and from 1 bush you can get up to 1 kg of inflorescences. The color of the head is light green or green, the taste of the vegetable resembles cauliflower.
2. Variety Tonus has a classic-type head - with loose hemispherical inflorescences. The color is bluish-green, the mass of the central head is 200-250 g. About 80 days pass from sowing to the harvest of the first harvest.
3. In mid-early varieties, vegetation is slower and the time from sowing to harvest is 100-120 days. Among those suitable for central Russia are asparagus cabbage Gnome, Atlantic, Linda and hybrids Green Favorit F1, Monton F1, Arcadia F1, etc. They have dark green and gray heads with loose inflorescences.
4. Broccoli varieties Fiesta, Romanesco, hybrids Lucky F1, Marathon F1 and others should be dealt with by those who live in the southern regions of the country. Harvest of heads ripens in 135 days. But it is impossible to sow them in open ground, because they will not have time to grow over the summer.

Agrotechnics of all listed varieties is the same. In central Russia, in the Moscow region, in the Urals and in Siberian conditions, all types of broccoli in the country should be grown in seedlings. In the south of the country, for late harvests, you can sow early broccoli right in the garden.

Soil preparation for seedlings

Boxes with soil for seedlings are prepared in the fall. For all types of broccoli, you need to make a mixture of equal parts of garden soil, humus and sand. If there is a suspicion that the soil in the garden is acidic, then you should first prepare the site.

You can reduce the acid reaction of the soil by the following substances:

• building chalk, gypsum, alabaster can be easily purchased at hardware stores and used at the rate of 0.5-0.7 kg per 1 m²;
• fluffy lime is sold in horticultural firms, it is applied at 0.4-0.5 kg per 1 m²;
• dolomite or marble flour, ground shell rock are on sale in the same organizations and are used in the same proportions as chalk.

Having scattered the fertilizer over the surface of the soil, the cabbage plot is dug up, mixing the acidifier with the soil. After that, you can collect land for the preparation of the soil mixture for seedlings.

Equal parts of sand and humus are added to garden soil. If not humus is used, but peat, then wood ash (0.5 parts) should be added - so that peat does not increase the acidity of the soil. The components are thoroughly mixed and filled in the boxes. Before sowing, they must be stored on the street or on a cold balcony so that the soil freezes and pests die in it. A few days before sowing, the boxes must be brought into the room so that the soil thaws and dries a little.

Preparation and sowing of seeds

Before growing broccoli from seeds, treat them with a hot solution of potassium permanganate. This simple procedure allows you to destroy the fungi that cause root collar disease (blackleg). For processing, a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate in water with a temperature of +40 ... + 45 ° C is prepared.

Pour the broccoli seeds into the solution, mix and soak in it for 15-20 minutes. The floating seed is not viable, it must be thrown away, because heavy and suitable for germination immediately sink. After disinfection, the water must be carefully drained (strained through gauze or a sieve), and the seeds dried. They should become crumbly again.

Seeds can be planted in furrows 1.5 cm deep. The distance between them should be 3 cm. Carefully water each furrow warm water and plant broccoli. Planting seeds is carried out at a distance of 1.5-2 cm. Then the seeds are again abundantly moistened with water and covered with dry soil.

Cover the boxes with glass or foil and put in a warm place (+25°C). Shoots will appear in 2-3 days. It is not necessary to water crops until sprouts appear.

seedling care

When the first sprouts appear, the glass from the box where the broccoli seedlings are located must be removed. As almost all the seeds sprout, transfer the box to a cool place (on the windowsill). The temperature should not fall below + 10 ° C at night, and + 15 ° C will be enough for cabbage during the day.

Watering of young sprouts is carried out 1 time in 3-4 days. IN warm water be sure to add a little potassium permanganate (pale pink solution). You should not water the cabbage with cold water: it activates the spores of the fungus, and young plants can get sick with a black leg. To prevent the disease, pollination of the soil and root necks of broccoli is used. wood ash(immediately after watering).

When the seedlings have 2 true leaves, they dive into separate pots with a diameter of 5-7 cm or into a new box, observing the same distance between plants. When picking, dig a broccoli bush from below with a knife and remove it from the soil. You need to hold the plant by the cotyledon leaf (in the form of a heart). Then the roots are lowered into a hole in a new box and the stem is covered with soil to the level of the cotyledons. After transplanting, the seedlings are watered, and the box is placed on the windowsill.

Broccoli cabbage requires cultivation and care according to the rules common to all crops:

• 10 days after picking, fertilizing is carried out with complex fertilizer (Kemira-lux or others with molybdenum and boron);
• watering is carried out after the top layer of soil dries out by 1-1.5 cm;
• feeding is repeated after 2-3 weeks.

It is necessary to illuminate the seedlings if there is not enough natural light on the window. Shortage can be judged by the fact that the plants are elongated, have a thin stem and pale leaves.

Sowing time

Sowing dates depend on the desired harvest time. In central Russia, you can stretch the time for collecting heads by sowing seeds of early and mid-ripening varieties with an interval of 2 weeks. In the southern regions, sowing in open ground is used in late April-early May.

Growing broccoli outdoors is no different from seedling method. The only difference is that the sowing is carried out directly on the ridges and the seedlings do not dive. For optimal distance between the bushes (40 cm), the crops are thinned out as the cabbage grows, leaving the strongest plants.

Planting broccoli seedlings is carried out after the frost ends (early May). You can plant until mid-June, focusing on the readiness of the sown later cabbage. When planted in the ground, the bush should have 5-6 true leaves. If you sow the first batch in mid-March, then by the time of landing, all early views broccoli cabbage will have time to reach the desired condition. Late varieties are best sown 2-3 weeks earlier.

Care and harvest

Care consists mainly of watering and fertilizing with complex fertilizer every 2 weeks. The irrigation regime should be such that the cabbage does not lack moisture in early dates development. Then the main head will grow larger, and the next ones will be laid in larger quantities.

2 weeks after planting, the bushes need to be spudded so that they do not fall when they reach a height of 50-70 cm. This should be done after rain or good watering. Under the ground, additional roots will begin to develop on the stem.

Heads are collected at the stage of budding. When the cabbage is ripe, it looks dark green or light green, depending on the variety. Having cut off the head, the whole plant should not be removed: the side shoots are also edible, they can be collected as they grow.

You should not wait until the inflorescences turn yellow. Broccoli in this phase loses its tenderness and taste, and the amount of vitamins and minerals decreases. When the bush stops releasing lateral heads, it is removed from the garden, feeding the rest of the greenery to poultry.

Causes of crop failure

The main factor that matters for broccoli when growing and caring for the Moscow region and Siberia is the lack of moisture in early summer. Immediately after planting, seedlings need abundant watering and high humidity. But precipitation at this time falls irregularly. How to grow broccoli and get a good harvest?

Ensure development strong plants succeed with the help drip irrigation. If it is not possible to install the system in the garden, then you need to water the cabbage daily. The rate of water consumption per 1 bush is 1-2 liters before the start of stem growth. After that, watering is increased by 2 times if there is not enough natural precipitation. Under well-watered cabbage, the soil dries out only to a depth of 1 cm during the day.

Caring for broccoli is no more difficult than caring for white cabbage. But because of her early maturation great importance acquires the amount of moisture at the beginning of plant growth in open ground. For early ripening varieties, the presence of well-fertilized soil in the fall is also important.