How to Plant Broccoli
In comparison with the gardening experience of most people related to the cultivation of flowers, the specific details are as follows:
Broccoli is a biennial plant of the brassica rapa L. var. botrytis L. belonging to the brassicaceae family, and it is a type of vegetable. It is a variant of the same brassica oleracea family as the heading cabbage. Broccoli is also known as green cauliflower, purple cauliflower, tender stem cauliflower, Italian rapini, and stem cauliflower. It is a vegetable suitable for autumn and winter, preferring warm and humid climates, with a wide adaptability, easy to cultivate, and of high value. How to plant broccoli?
I. Methods for Planting Broccoli
1. Variety Selection
Broccoli is adaptable and can be planted throughout the year, but different varieties should be chosen for different seasons. For spring planting, varieties such as black green, six-year-old green, and baoguan are suitable. For summer planting, zhenglan shuizhong, xialu, green king, and green fragrance are recommended. For autumn planting, green ridge, qingnong 50 days, and wenxing broccoli are preferred. For overwintering planting, medium to late-maturing varieties are recommended.
2. Seedling Raising
Choose a plot of land that is fertile, loose, well-drained, and cool with good ventilation for the seedbed. Before sowing, deeply turn the bed soil, apply decomposed manure and a small amount of compound fertilizer, mix evenly with the bed soil, and spread a thick layer of diluted animal waste. After 2-3 days, loosen the soil, wet the bed, and sow about 10 grams of seeds per square meter. After sowing, cover with about 1 cm of fine soil, shade with a sun-blocking net, and water again. Thereafter, water as needed to keep the soil moist. After 3-4 days, most of the seeds will germinate, and semi-shade should be provided to prevent direct sunlight and rain冲击. As the seedlings grow, gradually uncover the sun-blocking net.
3. Seedling Management
After the seedlings emerge, it is crucial to thin and transplant them to grow strong seedlings. When the seedlings are about 10 days old, thin the overgrown ones, and do it again when the seedlings are a bit bigger, maintaining a spacing of 3-5 cm between plants. When the seedlings are about 20 days old, the original nutrient area is limited, and they should be transplanted once. The requirements for the transplanting bed are the same as for the seeding bed, with a row spacing of 7-10 cm. Shade with a sun-blocking net and water while transplanting. Keep the bed soil moist after transplanting to ensure the survival of the seedlings. Broccoli does not require much fertilizer in the seedling stage, just pay attention to watering to prevent drought. In the mid-late growth stage, if there is a lack of fertilizer, apply decomposed animal waste or a 0.2% urea or compound fertilizer solution 1-2 times to make the broccoli seedlings grow strong.
4. Land Preparation and Fertilization
Choose a fertile and loose plot of land, deeply plow and level it, and make it into narrow high ridges 1 meter wide or wide high ridges 2 meters wide, with 2 or 4 rows per ridge and a hole spacing of 40-45 cm for applying base fertilizer. Apply 3000 kg of decomposed manure and 20 kg of compound fertilizer per mu.
5. Transplanting
About 30 days after sowing, when the seedlings have 5-6 true leaves, the stem is 0.5 cm thick, and the seedlings are 12-15 cm tall, they can be transplanted to the field. If the seedlings are too old, the roots will be severely damaged during planting. If the seedlings are too small, their resistance will be weak. Therefore, in addition to paying attention to the cultivation of strong seedlings and mastering the seedling age standards, it is also necessary to choose overcast days or before and after the rain for transplanting. Thoroughly water the seedbed before lifting the seedlings, and wait about an hour before pulling them out to ensure the seedlings take more soil and have fewer root injuries.
6. Field Management
Broccoli likes humidity and requires a lot of water and fertilizer to obtain high-yield and high-quality inflorescences. To ensure this, there must be a strong leafy canopy. Therefore, after the seedlings have survived, apply 1-2 times of clear dung water as a top dressing, especially after entering the rosette stage, when the plants grow vigorously and require more fertilizer and water. Add 50-100 grams of urea and compound fertilizer to each load of animal waste and apply it 3 times. Broccoli likes water but is afraid of waterlogging. After the rain, it is necessary to drain the water, and during dry weather, it is necessary to water it. Apply heavy fertilizer during the bud formation stage to promote the development of the inflorescence and increase yield.
Bundling the leaves is an important measure to ensure the quality of broccoli. When the inflorescence first appears, gather the large leaves on the outside of the inflorescence inward to wrap the inflorescence and then tie them with straw.
7. Harvesting
The green, flat spherical inflorescence clusters produced at the top of the main stem of broccoli are compact at first and then gradually become loose, but at this time, the florets have not opened yet. Harvesting at this time ensures quality. If harvested too late, not only does the quality of the inflorescence decrease, but it also affects the growth of the lateral inflorescences. After the main inflorescence is harvested, the axillary buds on the main stem will grow into lateral branches, and the top of the lateral branches will also form inflorescence clusters, which can be harvested again when they grow to 20-25 cm. This can be done 2-3 times. After each harvest, apply a thin layer of fertilizer to promote the germination and growth of the lateral inflorescences.
II. Planting Time for Broccoli
In the southern regions, broccoli can be planted all year round, but it is mostly cultivated in autumn and winter. In warm regions, autumn broccoli is sown from mid-June to mid-July, in temperate regions from early June to early July, and in cool regions from mid-May to early June. In warm regions, winter broccoli is sown from mid-August to early September, in temperate regions from mid-July to mid-August, and in cool regions from late June to mid-July.
This article shares the methods for planting broccoli and the specific content of the planting time for broccoli. If it can help you, remember to visit the website often!