When to sow cauliflower for seedlings: tips

Cauliflower is a tasty and nutritious vegetable that can be grown both in seedlings and in the open ground. However, most experienced gardeners choose the seedling method to get an earlier and better harvest.

Cauliflower is not found in the wild, so growing it will be a bit more difficult than, for example, white cabbage. However, OBOZ.UA has collected tips for growing this crop for you, following which you will certainly get tasty and healthy fruits.

When to sow cauliflower for seedlings

Seeds of early varieties can be sown in early March, about 40-50 days before planting in open ground. Two weeks later, sow medium varieties. Finally, sow late varieties a month later.

For cauliflower, soil consisting of 4 parts peat, 1 part mullein, and 1.5 parts rotted sawdust is good.

Sow the seeds to a depth of 0.5 cm.

Seedling care

Cauliflower should be watered moderately and regularly. From time to time, you should loosen the soil.

For seedlings to germinate well, the room temperature should be between 18-20 degrees. When the first sprouts appear, the plant should be moved to a well-lit place and the temperature should be lowered to 6-8 degrees. After 5-7 days, it is recommended to set the temperature at 15-18 degrees during the day and 8-10 degrees at night.

To prevent fungi, you can treat the plant with a pink solution of potassium permanganate.

How to plant cauliflower seedlings

Cauliflower is a rather capricious plant. It is not very hardy and light-loving, so it should be planted outdoors after the threat of frost has passed in a sunny area of the garden. The optimal temperature for growing cabbage is 15-18 degrees.

Plant cabbage in two rows, spaced 55-60 cm apart. There should be 30-40 cm between the plants.

After that, water the seedlings abundantly and loosen the soil.

How to care for cauliflower

It's important to make sure that the soil moisture content is 70-80% at all times. If the temperature outside is above 22 degrees, the soil must be constantly moistened as even a short-term drying out will spoil the harvest.

Once the head of cabbage begins to form, it should be covered from sunlight because it will begin to lose its white color and crumble in the light. You can even do this with its own leaves.

Fertilizing

The first time you should fertilize the soil before planting the seedlings. Then 60-100 grams of ash and a handful of humus are added to each hole.

Further fertilizing is carried out 1.5-2 weeks after planting cabbage. To prepare the fertilizer, you will need 10 liters of water, 1 kg of manure, half a tablespoon of urea and potassium chloride. One plant takes 0.5-0.7 liters of solution.

The next fertilization should be carried out in two weeks. The last should be with the appearance of a walnut-sized head of cabbage.

Harvesting

The harvesting period for cauliflower is quite short. Harvesting can be done 15-20 days after the start of head formation.

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