Cauliflower Alpha is a smart choice for early produce lovers!

Vegetable growing » Cabbage

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Kira Stoletova

Cauliflower Alpha is an early-ripening, high-yielding variety that has an excellent presentation. Due to its excellent taste and high content of nutrients, it is widely used for cooking.

Cauliflower Alpha

Full description of the variety

The description of Alpha cauliflower should begin with the fact that the vegetable is early ripening. It takes only 75-90 days from germination to technical ripeness. The plant develops quickly. It reaches a height of 30 to 50 cm. The rosette is compact and raised. The leaves are medium sized and blue-green in color. A waxy coating is present, but not pronounced. The shape of the leaf resembles an ellipse. It has slight blistering and a slight wave along the edge.

The head is formed weighing up to 1.2 kg. But if you believe the reviews, some gardeners manage to grow Alpha cauliflower weighing over 1.5 kg. The density of the head of cabbage is high. The appearance is presentable. The round, milky heads have a slight bumpiness. The outer leaves lightly cover the heads of cabbage, which also adds to the attractiveness.

The declared yield is 3.5 kg per 1 sq. meters. The variety is intended for cultivation in personal plots. It is recommended to use the fruits in the preparation of side dishes, vegetable dishes and home preservation. Also, Alpha inflorescences can be safely frozen for the winter.

Mid-ripening and late-ripening varieties

The health benefits and harms of cauliflower

These varieties, like the early ones, have a wide variety.

Cortez

Gives a late harvest. The weight of one head of cabbage is from 2 to 3 kilograms, the ripening period is 75 days from planting the seedlings in a permanent place. Cortez has the following advantages: high yield, and it also covers the heads on its own. Needs systematic feeding. Loves fertile soil very much. Calmly tolerates drops in temperature and withstands short-term frosts.

Snowball

The variety is mid-season, the ripening period of cabbage is 78-119 days. Harvest occurs in August-September. The heads of cabbage are round, slightly flattened, and lumpy. White inflorescences, which cover the leaves on top, fit tightly to each other. Weight can be from 500 grams to two kilograms.

It has a good taste without bitterness and stable yield, with timely care and proper watering. This variety is good for freezing.

Fractal

A fractal is a figure that consists of constantly repeating certain parts, changing in size. This is the principle of self-similarity. At all levels, fractals are identical to themselves, in any size. You can find many fractals in nature. A tree with trunk-like branches, only smaller in size.

Romanesco

It got its name because of its place of origin - a suburb of Rome. Romanesco literally translates as “Roman”. Very interesting appearance: large and small inflorescences in the form of a cone are arranged in a spiral. They have a bright light green color.

The taste is delicate, without bitterness, with a pleasant creamy nutty aftertaste. Very demanding when it comes to watering, especially during drought. Needs fertilizer from a mixture of manure (rotted) and mineral components.

purple ball

Medium ripening variety. It really needs systematic watering and fertile soil. It will not produce a harvest in acidified soil. The heads are round, purple in color. Each weighs up to 1.5 kilograms. The pulp contains a large amount of protein, minerals and vitamins.

Parisian

A recently bred hybrid with an average ripening period. Fruit maturity occurs 80 days after planting in the ground. Can be stored for up to 2 months. Used fresh, sealed and frozen. It is very moisture-loving and does not tolerate soil with high acidity levels.

Freedom

Has an average ripening period. 80 days after planting the young seedlings, the harvest can already be harvested. The heads are large - up to 2 kilograms, round, white. They have a medium-lumpy surface. Adapts well to unstable weather conditions.

What is the value of Alpha cauliflower?

Unlike many others, Alpha cauliflower has impressive cold resistance. This allows you to sow seeds directly into open ground, without fear of cold snaps. But the main value of the variety is represented by the following qualities:

• A high content of organic sugars, which increases not only the nutritional value of the crop, but also improves the taste.
• Amazing density of the heads, which has a positive effect on the duration of storage and on the cabbage acquiring an attractive appearance for buyers.
• High resistance to clubroot and blackleg, which can destroy crops even at the seedling development stage.
• Harvest stability and smooth ripening, allowing you to plan processing and/or sales in advance.

Pests and diseases

The most common pests are cabbage fly, aphid, moth, cutworm. Biological preparations, as well as a mixture of tobacco dust and wood ash, help in the fight against insects. It is necessary to remove weeds and plant residues after harvesting in a timely manner and follow the rules of crop rotation.

Alpha has strong immunity to blackleg and clubfoot. The greatest harm to vegetable crops is caused by vascular bacteriosis, a dangerous bacterial disease. Bacteria infect cabbage at all stages of development, from germination to ripening of the head of cabbage. To protect plants from such a disease, pre-sowing seed treatment is carried out: the seeds are poured with hot water (50°C) for 20 minutes, then immersed in cold water for 5 minutes. After planting the seedlings in open ground (after 20-25 days), the seedlings are treated with planriz.

Secrets of cultivation

In the fall, the bed for Alpha cauliflower needs to be fertilized with humus and ash. And before directly planting seeds or seedlings in the ground, it is necessary to water the soil with complex fertilizer. In this case, during the entire growing season of the crop it will be possible to do without fertilizing.

It is best to sow the seeds directly into holes using a 50x50 cm pattern. The seeds should not be buried, as this can delay germination or even significantly reduce the number of possible sprouts. It is enough to cover with a layer of earth of 1-1.5 cm. In this case, after 10 days, in favorable weather (air temperature about 15-17 degrees), friendly seedlings will appear and quickly begin to grow.

When planting by seedling method, growth inhibition can be expected after replanting. To prevent this from happening, be sure to use Heteroauxin solution when planting seedlings, which should have 4-5 true leaves. You can also treat the seedlings with any anti-stress drug that increases the survival rate of transplanted plants.

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From germination to harvest, Alpha cauliflower requires a lot of water. At the first stage of the growing season, water consumption is about 20 liters per 1 sq. m. In the second phase, when the ovary is formed, 1.5-2 times more moisture will be required.

Diseases and pests

Cauliflower puree soup
If crop rotation, agricultural practices, or bad weather conditions are violated, cabbage is susceptible to diseases.

If Alpha is attacked by insects:

Reviews

Anastasia, Voronezh I have been growing Alpha cauliflower for six years now. She doesn't let me down every time. After the May holidays, I sow the seeds directly into the ground. I water it three times a week. I weed and hill up as needed. A month before harvesting, I cover the inflorescences with burdock leaves and make sure that the cover does not slip. The harvest is always wonderful. Some heads grow up to 2 kilos, but more often about one and a half. You can freeze it and still eat it.

Victor, Nikolaev region In the south of Ukraine, it is a little hot for Alpha cabbage, but you can get a good harvest. The main thing is not to delay sowing. We need to do it in mid-to-late March, no later. Otherwise, due to the hot summer, the heads will not set. It is good to plant it in partial shade. If you keep track of this, the heads are full of water in the middle of summer. Can be recycled immediately. I also noticed that if you don’t rush to clean them, nothing is done with them: they don’t bloom, they don’t crumble. But you can’t hold it for more than two weeks.

Afanasy Ivanovich, Chelyabinsk region This variety has proven itself remarkably well. It does not require special care and grows very well in a greenhouse. My achievement is 1.3 kg. But if you consider that other varieties generally produce 500 g of heads of cabbage, I am very pleased with the result. Alfa cauliflower also showed excellent results when frozen. You cook it as if it were fresh. Very tasty!!!

A Brief History of Breeding

The variety has a centuries-old history of growth. It appeared in distant Syria back in the eleventh century and did not have today’s name. As seeds spread to European countries, the variety became popular first in Greece, Spain, Cyprus, then in France, Italy and England

It came to Russia in the eighteenth century and did not immediately attract the attention of breeders, as it was considered a heat-loving crop not suitable for cold climates.

The credit for the variety’s survival rate in Russia goes to agronomist Bolotov, who managed to develop the “Alpha” variety, adapted to the conditions not only of the southern and central zone of the country, but also of the northern regions.

Brief information about the variety (table)

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Harvest and storage

Heads of cabbage are cut as they ripen.
They should be dense, large and have a characteristic white color. If you are late with collection, the cabbage heads will begin to open, turn yellow and acquire an unpleasant odor.

Alpha does not store for long, so it is eaten within three to four weeks after cutting. The best conditions for preservation are a cool place, hanging upside down.

Growing problems

The Alpha variety is not problematic. It does not have such troubles as wilting leaves or not setting heads. But failure to comply with such rules of agricultural technology as infrequent watering or choosing a planting site that is too shaded can cause the formation of defective heads or rotting of the lower leaves.

To prevent this from happening, from the early stage of cultivation, observe the timing of sowing seeds, planting seedlings and adhere to optimal care, which consists of:

• regular watering;
• loosening;
• removing weeds.