Cauliflower is a dietary and hypoallergenic vegetable. The crop is grown throughout Russia. Cabbage was brought to Russia from Western Europe 200 years ago. In terms of popularity, the culture is second only to white cabbage. Heads of cabbage can be white, yellow and even purple. Growing cauliflower in open ground is considered a simple process; you just need to follow the standard rules of agricultural technology.
You can prepare many dishes from the vegetable. Most often, the vegetable is pickled, fermented, baked in the oven and fried in batter. In addition, cabbage can be stored and consumed fresh.
Varieties and hybrids of cauliflower
At the moment, there are many varieties and hybrids of cauliflower. There are both early and late varieties. The vegetable can also be of an exotic color, for example, orange or salad.
The early-ripening crop has a short growing season. The heads are quite dense and surrounded by leaves. The leaves are slightly shorter than those of mid- to late-ripening cabbage.
The difference between mid-ripening and late-ripening varieties is in the length of the leaves of the rosette. In addition, the head can form at a temperature of +20 °C. The growing season for early varieties and hybrids is about 80-110 days.
Summer resident
The harvest can be harvested 100 days after the shoots appear.
The head has a white-cream color and a round shape. The average weight of a head of cabbage is approximately 1 kilogram.
Can be consumed fresh or processed. The variety is rich in sugars and ascorbic acid.
Amphora F1
This variety is an early ripening hybrid of cauliflower and Romanesco broccoli. The head of cabbage is dense, light green in color.
The average weight of the head is approximately 2 kilograms. Well suited for winter freezing.
Snowdrift
Cabbage ripens 96 days after seedlings appear.
The variety is productive, the heads of cabbage are round and dense, and do not lose their white color during storage. Average weight is about 1 kilogram. It is recommended to freeze the vegetable. The sugar and ascorbic acid content is high.
The growing season for mid- and late-ripening varieties and hybrids is approximately 120-135 days.
Purple
The variety is distinguished by its taste and low calorie content.
The culture is resistant to frost and disease. The heads of cabbage are purple in color and round in shape. The average weight of mature vegetables is 1.5 kilograms. The variety is stored for a long time and can be frozen.
Gregor P3 F1
High-yielding hybrid included in the State Register of the Russian Federation. The heads of cabbage have an unusual shape and weigh about 3 kilograms.
Cabbage is recommended to be consumed both fresh and processed.
Cheddar F1
The variety is considered early ripening and contains carotene and has excellent taste.
The average weight of a head of cabbage is from 1 to 2 kilograms. It is recommended to freeze Cheddar F1 heads for the winter.
Features of cultivation in different regions
Cultivation of cauliflower in different regions has its own characteristics - it depends on climatic conditions.
In outskirts of Moscow
Early and mid-ripening varieties are cultivated in this area. Late ripening ones often do not have time to ripen. Usually the seedling method is used, but sowing seeds directly into an open area is also practiced. Cabbage is sown no earlier than April, but no later than July, otherwise the crop will not have time to ripen.
The climate of the Moscow region is excellent for cultivating cauliflower. There are few hot days here; they do not have time to harm the knotting heads. The temperature throughout the growing season is favorable for crop growth. And thanks to frequent summer precipitation, cauliflower receives the necessary amount of moisture.
In the Leningrad region
This area is located closer to the north than to the middle zone. But here, cauliflower is also cultivated by seedlings and direct sowing. Many varieties have time to ripen, but it is best to give preference to early ones:
- Snezhane,
- Patriotic,
- Guarantees.
Otechestvennaya variety cauliflower is very well suited for cultivation in the Leningrad region
When growing cabbage in this area, you don’t have to worry about the cabbage heads becoming loose due to the heat. And thanks to the rains, it is possible to reduce watering.
In Siberia
Cauliflower adapts to the climate of many regions, including Siberian. The crop easily tolerates short frosts, but at -5°C its heads are often damaged. In this region, the summer period is too short to obtain a quality harvest. Therefore, cauliflower is cultivated using the seedling method, planting it in an open bed in early July, when the threat of frost has passed.
Many people use a cold nursery. To do this, you need to dig up a bed and place a box without a bottom on it, and cover it with glass or film on top.
In the Urals
In this region you cannot do without seedlings. It is important to choose the right variety of cauliflower. Frost-resistant and early ones are given priority:
- Opal,
- Amphora,
- Lilac ball,
- Cheddar,
- Helsinki.
Cauliflower variety Lilac ball is popular among summer residents of the Urals
Video: timing of sowing cauliflower in Siberia and the Urals
In the south of Russia
This region is generally very hot in the summer. Therefore, cauliflower is sown early to avoid scattering of heads due to high temperatures. Here the crop is planted by seeds in an open area. Early, mid-season and late varieties are cultivated.
Sometimes cabbage is grown as a winter crop: the seeds are sown in the fall and the harvest is harvested in the spring.
To harvest in the fall, cauliflower seedlings are planted in late summer, and the heads form as early as October. If a sharp cold snap occurs, then bushes with heads of cabbage about 7 cm in diameter are selected for growing, buried in the greenhouse and created shade. The temperature should be no more than 5°C, humidity - 85%.
In Belarus
The climate of Belarus is similar to that of the Moscow region. Therefore, the cultivation of many vegetables in these areas is practically the same. The customs of agricultural production are valued here; people happily work on their plots and grow almost everything. In this country they experiment with different varieties, and almost always manage to harvest a high-quality harvest.
Planting cauliflower
The soil for growing the crop must contain a normal level of acidity. Regular feeding is required. Wood ash is perfect in the spring, and dolomite flour or lime should be used in the fall.
In the fall, during the digging process, you need to add mineral and organic fertilizers. The composition of the soil may not be taken into account. The culture can grow in heavy, moist and humus-rich soils. However, podzolic chernozems and loams are considered to be the most suitable soils.
Successful predecessors for culture:
- Potato;
- Onion;
- Legumes;
- Tomatoes;
- Cucumbers;
- Beet.
You should not plant cabbage in the place where they grew before:
- Radish;
- Swede;
- Cabbage;
- Radish;
- Turnip.
The crop is grown both by seedlings and without seedlings. For the regions of the middle zone and the Moscow region, you should choose the seedling method, and for the southern regions, direct sowing into the soil is suitable.
Typical diseases of cabbage
Cauliflower in open ground may be affected The most typical diseases affecting cabbage are:
- Alternaria blight is a disease caused by a fungus. It appears in the form of dark spots and circles on cabbage leaves. The most rapid spread of this disease occurs at high air humidity and its temperature from +33 to +35 degrees. To get rid of this disease, pre-sowing seed disinfection is carried out using one of the following agents: Bordeaux mixture, copper sulfate, colloidal sulfur.
- Kida - characterized by the formation of small swellings and growths on the roots of cabbage, which lead to the formation of rot on the roots. As a result of this process, the plant cannot receive enough nutrients and dries out. This disease spreads quickly in acidic soils with high moisture. The disease can be prevented by constantly adding wood ash to the soil. It is also not recommended to plant cabbage for 5-7 years in areas where this plant disease has been established. A little slaked lime is added to the hole for the seedlings to be planted, and the soil is periodically watered with a solution of dolomite flour (1 tbsp per 10 liters of water).
- Ring spot is a type of fungal disease of cabbage. At the beginning of the disease, many small black dots form on the stem and leaves of plants. Subsequently, the dots increase in size and can reach a size of 2.5 cm in diameter. Concentric circles are visible around the spots. Gradually, the sheets acquire a yellow tint, and the edges become uneven. Humid weather with low air temperatures contributes to the appearance and rapid development of the disease. To combat ring spot, fungicide treatment is used, and after harvesting, plant debris is carefully removed.
- Wet rot appears when the water balance is disturbed. Dark spots form on cabbage heads and stems. The next stage of this disease is characterized by decay of the affected areas. Accelerated development of the disease occurs in humid weather conditions. It can also begin due to mechanical damage to the plant. To prevent the disease from spreading further, they are dug up, and in the spring they are treated with a 0.4% suspension of colloidal sulfur.
In addition to the above diseases, cauliflower can be affected by the following types of diseases: vascular bacteriosis, fusarium, black leg, perinosporosis, mosaic.
The plant can be affected by the following pests: cruciferous flea beetle, cabbage fly, aphids, moths. In order to prevent insect invasion, cabbage is treated with fungicides or folk remedies are used.
Growing cauliflower seedlings
The technique for caring for cauliflower is not fundamentally different from growing white cabbage seedlings. There are some growing features:
- Cauliflower has a poorly developed root system. Therefore, in containers in which seedlings are grown, 6 days before planting, the soil must be cut into squares so that the plant forms a branched root system;
- It is recommended to plant seedlings in individual containers.
Important! If you plan to plant seedlings earlier in open ground, then the seedlings should be older.
Watch the video! Cauliflower seedlings - subtleties of the process
Biological features of culture
Of all the types of garden cabbage, cauliflower is the most delicious, nutritious, healthy, dietary, and nature is not deprived of beauty. Why not a queen? Cultivation of cauliflower began in Russia in Catherine's times and just from aristocratic gardens. And the plant itself has a capricious character; not everyone can cultivate it.
To understand how to grow high-quality cauliflower, we suggest understanding some of the biological features of the crop and the subtleties of agricultural technology that arise from them.
- The plant has a one-year growing season. The product head, which is a crowded flowering shoot, if not cut off on time, will bloom and produce seeds in the same season.
- Unlike the white cabbage variety, it has a weak, fibrous root system. This determines increased requirements for the structure and mechanical composition of the soil and affects the type of moisture – mainly surface.
- Thermophilia is another characteristic feature. Seedlings grown in the cold are likely to shoot and not set a food head.
- This type of cabbage has a very narrow range of temperatures at which normal development of a head of cabbage is possible - not lower than 10⁰ C and not higher than 25⁰ C. With prolonged cold weather, the heads grow small, coarse-fiber, and in hot weather - loose.
- In relation to light, the plant is quite contradictory. In long day conditions, the head ties faster; in short daylight conditions, the head grows larger and denser. Therefore, the crop likes to grow in a well-lit garden bed, but to plant and grow the bud in the shade. Most often it has to be created artificially.
- The production organs of most types of cabbage are overgrown leaves, so they need nitrogen to grow biomass. The head of cauliflower is a modified flower shoot and for development it needs phosphorus and potassium, as well as trace elements - boron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum. In agricultural technology, this was reflected in the composition and regime of fertilizing.
This is interesting! Truly “colored” varieties are no less useful. The orange hybrid Chedar F1 has 25 times more vitamin A than its white relative. Violet Rosalind, Lilac Ball contains anthocyanins. Green Universal and Shannon are leaders in antioxidant content.
Planting cauliflower seedlings in the ground
The place for planting cabbage should be well lit. Seedlings should be planted on a warm, cloudy day. The soil needs to be fed first. This can be a mixture of peat, compost and humus at the rate of 10 kg per 1 m2; it is also recommended to add manure to the soil. Scheme for planting seedlings 50*25 centimeters. You need to add a handful of ash to each hole. The plant must be buried down to the first leaf. Don't forget to water the seedlings.
- For the first time, seedlings that have just been planted in open ground should be covered with film;
- For the first 3 days, it is necessary to create shade for the seedlings;
- After two weeks, the seedlings can begin to be hilled up and fertilized (liquid mullein);
- In order to protect plants from pests, it is necessary to sprinkle the ground with wood ash (one glass per 1 m2 will be enough).
Advice! Beginners should learn in more detail about how to carry out the process of feeding plants. Our video materials contain detailed descriptions of the preparation of solutions.
Harvest
The harvesting time is determined by the weight and size of the vegetable. Usually, cabbage harvesting begins in July. The average weight of the heads can be from 0.6 to 1.2 kg. The time to achieve the required technical ripeness suitable for harvesting for early varieties is 60-100 days, for plants with an average ripening period - from 100 to 135 days, and for late varieties it will take about 4.5 months.
The cabbage is cut with careful movements, and a couple of leaves are left near the head. Vegetables collected from the beds are immediately removed into the shade. The shelf life of the crop reaches 2 months. Storage takes place in the cellar. Cabbage heads are placed in plastic boxes and covered with film.
In apartment conditions, cabbage is frozen in the freezer, after washing and drying individual inflorescences. Cabbage can also be stored hanging. In this case, digging is done along with the root.
Sometimes the last harvest of cauliflower does not have time to acquire technical maturity, so it ripens in a cellar. It is dug up along with the roots and planted in the cellar in a box with garden soil.
Caring for cauliflower
The optimal temperature for seedlings to bloom is from +16 °C... to +25 °C. If the soil is too dry, the quality of the crop will be significantly reduced. To prevent the crop from blooming ahead of schedule, you need to create a shadow.
After the heads of cabbage appear, shady conditions must also be created for them. To do this, you need to break the side leaves of the cabbage so that they are next to each other.
Watering
Cauliflower requires timely watering. If there is a lack of moisture, then there is a risk of harvesting much less. In order to retain moisture in the soil for as long as possible, you should loosen the soil by about 6 centimeters or mulch.
Fertilizer application
Fertilizer application is one of the most important stages of agricultural technology. Many summer residents say that cauliflower needs 1.5 times the concentration of minerals. However, this opinion is controversial and in practice you can get a completely different result than was planned. It is optimal to fertilize cabbage one more time and leave the dose unchanged. Thus, the older the plant, the more fertilizing needs to be done. So, for example, if the seedlings are about 60 days old, then 4-5 feedings will be required, and if they are 30 days old, then only 2 will be enough.
First feeding
It should be applied two weeks after planting. Liquid mullein or mineral fertilizers are often used.
Second feeding
Needs to be done in two weeks. Wood ash (about a glass) and mineral fertilizers, for example, nitrophoska, are added.
Third feeding
This should be done when the cabbage head begins to form. What to use? Add ammonium nitrate (30 grams per 10 liters of water), 80 grams of superphosphate and 20 grams of potassium fertilizer (for the same amount of water).
Important! Cauliflower may be deficient in boron and molybdenum. If the crop does not receive them in the proper size, the head of cabbage may crumble and acquire a brown tint. In addition, the accumulation of nitrogen in cabbage leads to the fact that the heads of cabbage become loose and nitrates accumulate.
Growing by seedling method
It is quite difficult to grow good cauliflower seedlings. This culture is demanding on temperature and lighting. Seedlings should be grown in a bright and fairly cool place. This could be a loggia, balcony, veranda. On an apartment window, the plants will grow weak and pale: they are unlikely to produce a good harvest.
Planting seeds for seedlings begins with their preparation:
- Planting material must be calibrated by selecting the largest specimens.
- Then the seeds are disinfected in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate. You can also put them in hot water (50°C) for 2 minutes, and then in cold water for 30 seconds.
- Next, the seed material is soaked for germination: they are poured in a thin layer onto the bottom of any container and filled with water. So the seeds are left for 24–48 hours until they swell.
- After the seeds swell, they need to be hardened. The seed material is placed in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then left warm for the same amount of time and then again sent to the refrigerator for a day.
The root system of cauliflower is weak - this should be taken into account when choosing a container for planting. Seedlings do not like picking, so it is better to sow each seed in a separate container. Peat pots or seedling cassettes are well suited for this.
Planting cauliflower seeds directly into cassettes is good because you don’t have to injure the weak roots of the plants by transplanting them into separate containers
The culture prefers a loose, nutritious substrate. Make it better yourself from:
- humus (2 parts);
- rotted mullein (1 part);
- peat (7 parts);
- turf land (1 part).
To make the substrate lighter, you need to add rotted sawdust and river sand (1:1) to it.
The soil must have neutral acidity. If it is acidic, then you should add stove ash or dolomite flour: for 1 liter of earth 20 and 15 g, respectively.
Sowing seeds for seedlings:
- Seeds are sown in a prepared container and soil to a depth of no more than 2 cm.
- Substrate and dry steamed river sand are poured on top.
- To preserve soil moisture, it is recommended to cover the crops with film.
- Containers with plantings are left in a warm place (at a temperature of 20°C).
If everything is done correctly, seedlings should appear in 2–4 days. After the plants have 3-4 true leaves, they need to be fed. Use an infusion of wood ash (200 g per 10 liters of water) or mullein (1:10) + 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate. The next two feedings are carried out every 10 days.
In order for cauliflower seedlings to be strong, after 3-4 true leaves appear, they need to be fed
Grown bushes are transplanted to an open area when the threat of return frosts has passed. It is better to carry out work on cloudy days or in the evening. In dry and hot weather, plants do not take root well. Depending on the variety, seedlings are planted according to the following scheme:
- for early ripening: leave 30 cm between bushes, 60 cm between rows;
- for mid-season: 30 cm and 70 cm;
- for late ripening: 40 cm and 70 cm.
The different patterns are explained by the fact that later varieties are bushier and require a larger area.
You can add a handful of ash to each hole. The bushes are buried down to the first true leaf. When planting, it is important not to cover the apical bud (“heart”) with soil. The soil around the plants is lightly compacted, watered and sprinkled with dry soil on top to avoid the formation of a crust. It is recommended to cover the seedlings with non-woven fabric or film for several days.
Pest Control
The crop may suffer from fungal diseases. If signs of fungus are observed, then it is necessary to treat the seedlings with a special preparation “Fitosporin”. The drug is able to fight the pathogen directly. Caterpillars of cabbage whites and cabbage cutworms are also dangerous to cabbage. To combat such a parasite, you need to use the biological product “Enterobacterin”. An infusion of burdock leaves is considered to be an effective remedy.
To prepare the infusion you will need:
- 1/3 of a bucket of burdock leaves;
- water.
The infusion should stand for about a day.
General description and stages of development
Cauliflower is an annual plant; it can be sown both in the spring (spring version) and in early autumn (winter version). In one year, not only the head is formed, but also the fruits and seeds. The root system of cauliflower is not well developed, fibrous type, and is located near the soil surface. Harvesting cabbage is already possible 90–170 days after the sprouts appear; the seed material ripens in 200–240 days.
The stem has a cylindrical shape, its height on average is 0.15–0.7 cm, it all depends on the characteristics of the variety. Leaf blades can grow horizontally, straight, or positioned obliquely upward. They are often spiral-shaped. The color of the leaves varies, from light green to blue-green, and a waxy coating is also present. Their length varies between 15–90 cm. Narrow plates are oval, ovoid or elliptical.
There are varieties of cauliflower that consist of individual flowering shoots. In other varieties, the head is formed by twisting the apical shoots, which are highly branched and contain the rudiments of inflorescences. At the stage of formation of 9–12 leaves, the process of tying the head begins. Its shape can be round or flat-round. There are types of cauliflower not only with a white head, but also green, yellow, and purple. There are also specimens with different shades.
At the stage of full ripening, cauliflower begins to develop buds, flowers and fruits with seeds. They are formed in several shoots, in their peripheral part. Small flowers are painted white or yellow. The seeds retain their viability for three years.
Important! The storage period for cauliflower is 7–10 days, but only at a temperature of 0 °C.
Depending on the variety, there are specimens that bloom in the second year, and there are varieties that bloom in the first year of life. According to the ripening period, cauliflower is divided into 3 groups: early (90–110 days), middle (110–135 days) and late (160–170 days). Based on this characteristic, the appropriate time for harvesting cabbage is determined: the first days of June, the last days of July and the end of August.
Cauliflower in a greenhouse
In order to harvest an early harvest, you need to plant the seedlings in greenhouse conditions in early May. The greenhouse must have the same growing conditions as when growing seedlings in open ground. The optimal temperature is approximately +15 degrees. If there is not enough light for the plants, you need to create artificial lighting. To do this, use fluorescent lamps.
Since the air humidity in the greenhouse is quite high, do not forget about daily ventilation. Ventilation is necessary to prevent rot or other infection from forming on the plants.
In greenhouse conditions, seedlings can be grown for a second harvest. Seeds need to be germinated in containers, then after picking, the seedlings are transplanted into the ground. Before planting seedlings, you need to harden them off. During the daytime, you need to open the windows or doors to create a draft. If seedlings of other heat-loving crops grow next to cauliflower, then during the ventilation period they need to be covered with covering material.
In the fall, cabbage will also need space in the greenhouse. Those plants that did not have time to ripen in open ground need to be dug up by the roots and planted in a greenhouse so that they can ripen. It is important to monitor the temperature. The thermometer should not fall below +5 degrees. If frosts begin, the plants should be covered with film or other material.
Descriptive characteristics
Cauliflower is one of the varieties of cabbage. It is believed that it was bred in Syria for winter food. Back in the 12th century. it was brought to Spain, and from the next century all of Europe planted it. Currently, this plant is also planted on the American continent and in Asian countries.
Cauliflower a cylindrical stem. The stem grows from 15 to 70 cm in height. The horizontal leaves are often bent in a spiral. Their shades can range from green to bluish due to the presence of a waxy coating.
Cauliflower , which are massive flower stalks, are used for food They are picked in an unripe state. Such technical ripeness of the plant occurs approximately 90-120 days after emergence. There are varieties with a white tint, cream or even purple. The seeds are obtained from the pods. It can be grown either by seedlings or by seeds.
