Step-by-step guide on how to grow broccoli at home correctly

Broccoli, or asparagus cabbage, is 2-3 times higher in vitamins and minerals than other types of cabbage. It has a mild taste and is used in baby and dietary nutrition. In this article we will tell you how to plant and grow broccoli at home, and what will help you get a bountiful harvest.

Is it possible to grow broccoli at home?

An unpretentious annual crop does not require special care and grows even at home. Cabbage is grown under roof all year round.

Heads of cabbage in open ground weigh from 300 to 1200 g; when grown on a balcony or at home, their weight will be halved.

Create a suitable environment for broccoli. The main conditions are lighting, sufficient humidity, optimal temperature and properly selected soil.

Temperature

Cabbage is a cold-resistant crop that can withstand frosts down to −5°C. It is resistant to heat and reacts calmly to temperatures above +25°C. For abundant yields, maintain from +15 to +20°C.

Humidity

The moisture-loving plant is watered once every 3-4 days. Lack of moisture will make the heads of cabbage small and hard, and excessive watering will lead to rotting of the roots. Soil moisture within 70% and air moisture at about 85% will provide the gardener with a harvest of strong and juicy heads of cabbage.

Lighting

Broccoli loves full sun and does not require shade. When growing in winter, additional lighting devices are used during the day.

This is interesting:

The best ways to freeze white cabbage for the winter at home.

How to prepare dried cabbage and where to use such preparation.

Variety selection

It is important to choose the right variety. Early greenhouse species are suitable for home cultivation.

Popular:

1. Stromboli. The ripening period is 60-70 days. The weight of a dark green head of cabbage is about 400 g. It easily tolerates summer heat.
2. Kezzie. Ready for harvest in 70-80 days. This variety is resistant to diseases and has impressive head sizes - about 1 kg.
3. Vitamin. Small, 300-400 g heads of cabbage are distinguished by a high content of vitamins and protein. The harvest is harvested after 75-85 days.
4. Quint. Ripening time is 80-90 days. Heads of cabbage weighing 900 g. Cultivated at home at any time of the year.

Choosing a place to grow

A window sill, balcony, or glassed-in loggia are suitable for growing cabbage. It is advisable that the windows face south or east - this way the sun's rays will provide the right amount of light.

If the balcony is not glazed, take into account the seasonality of planting. In winter it will not be suitable, but in spring and summer the conditions will be closer to natural.

Preparation of planting material

To grow broccoli at home, first treat the seeds:

1. For 20-25 minutes. immerse in hot (50°C) water, then for 1-2 minutes. - into an icy one.
2. Soak them in a solution of potassium permanganate (1 g per 1 liter of water) for 8-10 hours.
3. Place in a two-day infusion of wood ash (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water) for 6-8 hours.
4. Rinse with clean water and leave on the shelf on the refrigerator door for a day.
5. Dry on a clean cotton towel.

Store-bought seeds are already processed and do not require soaking.

Tara

For the cultivation of cabbage, two types of containers are prepared: for seeds and for growing seedlings after transplantation:

1. Seeds are sown in boxes 50 cm long, 30 cm wide and 25 cm high. Drainage is placed at the bottom of the container. Before use, treat with a pink solution of manganese.
2. Pots measuring 45*45 cm, boxes 40 cm deep or old buckets are used as containers for growing adult plants.

The soil

The substrate in which the seeds are germinated differs from the mixture for the constant growth of cabbage. It consists in equal proportions of:

• garden soil;
• sand;
• humus;
• peat;
• wood ash.

Two days before sowing, the prepared substrate is watered with a dark purple solution of potassium permanganate.

You can buy ready-made soil for replanting seedlings or mix it yourself. For this you will need:

• garden soil - 10 kg;
• ash - 1 kg;
• lime - 200 g;
• sand - 200 g.

To disinfect the soil, it is calcined in the oven at +100°C. The procedure is carried out two weeks before using the soil. This interval is necessary to restore the microflora.

Cabbage loves loose, light soil with neutral acidity. The day before planting, the soil is moistened, nitrogen fertilizers are applied and loosened to saturate it with oxygen.

Sowing technology

At home, cabbage is grown by seedlings. Initially, the seeds are sown, then the seedlings are transplanted.

Sowing seeds

Sowing order:

1. In the substrate in prepared boxes, grooves are made at a distance of 5 cm from each other with a depth of 1-2 cm.
2. The treated planting material is sown at intervals of 2-2.5 cm.
3. The boxes are covered with glass and placed in a bright place at a temperature of +18...+20°C.
4. After 5-7 days, as soon as the shoots appear, the glass is removed and the air temperature is lowered to +10...+12°C for a week. Then they raise it to +16…+20°С.
5. Water the seedlings every other day in small amounts.The soil is kept moist and loose.
6. After the appearance of the second leaf, the sluggishly growing sprouts are fed with a solution of ammonium nitrate, superphosphate and potassium chloride - 20 g per 10 liters of water.

Seedlings are kept on well-lit window sills; daylight lamps are added if necessary. The desired level of humidity is maintained by spraying.

Important! Once every three days, turn the boxes with different sides to the sun and change their places - this will help to avoid the sprouts being pulled out.

After two weeks, the seedlings are thinned out, removing weak specimens. This will provide additional food and space for the others.

Transplanting seedlings

From sowing to the day of transfer of seedlings, 35-45 days pass.

Plants are ready to move to a permanent location when they have 5-6 leaves.

Transplant procedure:

1. Deepenings are made in the prepared containers. In long boxes the distance between the holes is about 35 cm. In pots and buckets - in the center.
2. Sprouts with a root ball of soil are removed from pre-moistened soil.
3. Make a pick and pinch off the main root.
4. The seedlings are placed in the recesses, sprinkled with earth to the bottom sheets and the soil is slightly compacted.
5. The containers are placed on trays with water, the reserves of which are regularly replenished.
6. As they grow, the pots of broccoli are moved apart so that they do not shade each other.

Further care for broccoli

After transplanting, broccoli is cared for like an ordinary houseplant: watered, fed, and monitored for moisture.

Watering

Water the seedlings with a moderate amount of water in the root area. The soil is moistened 15 cm deep. Frequency: 1-2 times a week, in the morning. In the hot summer, cabbage leaves are sprayed with a spray bottle in the evenings.

Broccoli is a moisture-loving plant.If there is insufficient watering, the heads of cabbage will grow small and bitter. But constantly damp soil threatens to rot the root system. The optimal level of humidity is achieved using trays with water.

Top dressing

Two weeks after transplantation, the plants are fed. For the first time, dilute 2 tbsp. l. urea in 10 liters of water. Apply 700-900 ml of product per plant at the root.

The second feeding is carried out 15-20 days after the first. Take 100 g of chicken manure per 20 liters of water and leave for 2-3 days. The volume and method are the same as for the first feeding.

At the beginning of the formation of inflorescences, mineral fertilizers are applied in the following composition:

• water - 10 l;
• superphosphate - 40 g;
• ammonium nitrate - 20 g;
• Potassium sulfate - 10 g.

Watering rate is 600-800 ml per plant.

After the first harvest, the fourth fertilizing is applied. It stimulates the formation of new inflorescences at the site where the central part is cut. 30 g of potassium sulfate, 10 g of ammonium nitrate and 20 g of superphosphate are diluted in 10 liters of water. 0.5 liters per plant is enough.

The appearance of plants determines the lack of nutrients. Lack of nitrogen slows down the growth of broccoli, the lower leaves turn yellow and fall off. If the leaf blades have turned bronze and the edges have begun to dry out, this indicates low potassium content. Reducing the amount of boron makes the stems thin and weak.

Loosening and hilling

After each watering, the soil is loosened to a depth of 8-10 cm. Additional saturation of the soil with oxygen will help avoid waterlogging. The stems are earthed up a day after feeding. Remove sprouted weeds.

Protection from diseases and pests

When grown at home, broccoli is less susceptible to pests than when grown in the garden. For prevention, dill is planted along with cabbage to repel cabbage aphids.Celery growing nearby will save you from whiteweed and flea beetles. Peppermint will prevent whitefly caterpillars from appearing.

If pesticides are used, they do so no later than three weeks before setting inflorescences. The formed heads of cabbage are sprinkled with wood ash mixed with ground tobacco.

The main disease that threatens plants at the seedling stage is blackleg. It occurs with excessive watering. Blackened stems are removed, the soil is watered with a pink solution of manganese (3-5 g per bucket of water) or “Fitosporin”. Afterwards, the seedlings are not moistened for about a week.

Downy mildew – another common cabbage disease. Light yellow spots cover the leaf blades, and a white coating appears below. The seedlings are sprinkled with a mixture of sulfur and lime or treated with Topaz solution.

If all stages of processing and planting are followed, the risk of disease is minimal.

Read also:

The best ways to preserve cauliflower for the winter at home.

Preparing for future use: is it possible to freeze Chinese cabbage for the winter?

The best ways to freeze white cabbage for the winter at home.

Harvesting

Formed heads of cabbage are harvested in the morning. They are then the juiciest. Cut off the central shoot before the flowers bloom. Readiness is determined by the density of the inflorescences - they become a little loose. Opened buds are not suitable for food.

Attention! It is recommended to cut off the green head, not the blossoming one.

The part of the stem near the inflorescence, up to 10 cm, is also quite soft and suitable for consumption.

After cutting off the main shoot, broccoli sends out side shoots. The subsequent harvest will be smaller in weight, but the taste and benefits will remain unchanged.Heads of cabbage are collected from one bush 3-4 times.

Conclusion

Broccoli grows productively at home. Subject to temperature and watering conditions, processing and planting rules, even novice vegetable growers will get good results.