Broccoli Is The Queen Among Cabbages

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

It is not surprising that gardeners want to grow asparagus cabbage in their beds - it's broccoli. This valuable dietary product is not only distinguished by its high taste, but is also capable of producing several harvests per season from one plant - and this will also be to the taste of many! Let's take a closer look at this vegetable - under what conditions will broccoli delight summer residents with a harvest?

Broccoli on our tables

Broccoli is primarily known for its beneficial properties - anti-sclerotic properties, as well as a rich set of vitamins and minerals. No wonder she is called the green queen among cabbages! Twill cabbage is most useful and tasty when eaten raw on an empty stomach. Among other things, this vegetable inspires chefs around the world to create wonderful culinary recipes. It is boiled, fried, pickled, canned, used as an independent side dish or as part of a complex dish.

Soil requirements

Broccoli is less demanding on soil than its other congeners. It is grown on medium loamy and light soils. On acidic soils, the crop fails - it needs a neutral reaction. To achieve the necessary conditions, the earth is lime. The site is chosen well-lit. Since autumn, it is filled with compost, potassium salt, superphosphate. In the spring, 2 weeks before planting, it is recommended to add urea.

Sowing asparagus cabbage

Sowing of seeds is carried out at different times. To obtain an early harvest in early March, seeds are sown in greenhouses for seedlings. Broccoli is transplanted into open ground at the age of 40-50 days. It is necessary to calculate the sowing so that in the third decade of April the seedlings are already nesting in the beds.

Seeds are planted in open ground in early May. To feast on asparagus cabbage in the autumn months, re-crops are carried out in the first half of June. Planting is done in the same way as cauliflower. The holes in the seedling row are made at a distance of 35-40 cm, the row spacing is left about 60 cm.

When sowing seeds directly into open ground, the planting material is buried 1, 5-2 cm, 3-4 seeds per hole. When the seedlings break through, they must be thinned out, leaving two of the strongest ones. When 2-3 true leaves are formed in the sprouts, one plant is left on one hole - that which is better developed.

Planting care

Broccoli, like any other cabbage, is distinguished by its love of abundant watering. Top dressing will not interfere - 3-4 times in one growing season. To do this, you can use manure diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. As the asparagus grows, it needs hilling.

Ripening lasts 70-120 days - it depends on the selected variety. The crop is harvested in the morning or evening. Readiness is determined by dense coarse heads. If they become overripe, this will not only affect the palatability, but will delay the development of new lateral heads in the leaf axils. The crop is cut along with the stem (about 10 cm long). It is eaten immediately or processed or frozen. The remaining stems produce a small crop throughout the warm season.

How to collect seeds

In order not to waste every season, high-quality planting material can be collected from your own garden. For this:

1.not more than three heads are left on the testis;

2. the central shoots and stepchildren are cut out;

3. make sure that there are no other cabbage plants, weeds, mustard nearby in order to avoid cross-pollination;

4.by the time of flowering, you need to tie up the plants;

5. it is recommended to cut off the top of the inflorescence - there the seeds are formed later and do not always have time to ripen.

Before freezing, the testes are carefully freed from the garden bed and removed for ripening in the room. After 12-15 days, the seeds can be harvested.