How to grow cauliflower

Cauliflowers are one of the main vegetables in the cabbage family (known scientifically as cruciferous plants). It is an interesting crop, which cannot be missing in a good organic garden, also because these cabbages do not fear the cold: cauliflower can occupy the garden plots even during the autumn months, when the varieties that can be planted decrease.

The plant has a two-year cultivation cycle, forming a deep taproot that serves as a support for the stem, at the top of which a ball-shaped full-bodied inflorescence will form. The latter is called corymb and it is precisely the part that is eaten.

Cauliflower is distinguished from other cabbages by the white color of its flowers, which earned it the nickname cabbage flower. The leaves are also edible as cooked vegetables, especially the younger and tender ones, which are often used to put them in soups.

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Choose the right place: the terrain and the weather

As we have said, cauliflower is a plant that does not suffer from the cold, while on the contrary, the heat makes this cabbage suffer. A little cold is also necessary to stimulate the formation of the inflorescence.

At ground level, it needs fairly moist average soil. Cauliflower definitely fears drought, especially when the seedling is still small and therefore the root is shallow. Therefore, it must be grown in soils rich in organic matter and nutrients, for which it is advisable to fertilize with humus or mature manure during the preparatory phase of tillage.

Start cultivation: sow or transplant

Plantation of cauliflower. Sowing usually takes place in summer, but there are different varieties with different cultivation needs and times. For this reason, cauliflowers can be sown from April to September depending on the cultivar chosen. It is wise to find out when buying seeds or plants when the best time period is for the variety you are buying. Instead of sowing directly in the field, it is better to sow in the nursery and let the seedlings grow in a protected environment. The seed is one centimeter deep, which ensures that the soil never dries out during the period of germination and seedling development.

Transplant this cabbage. Transplanting should usually be done about 40 days after sowing. The ideal time for transplanting depends on the variety chosen, where the climate is very hot it is generally better to avoid putting young plants in the garden during periods of great heat and drought.

Sixth floor . Cauliflower is a fairly demanding plant in terms of space, so seedlings should be spaced 50/60 cm apart. Also because of these distances, it is preferable to resort to transplanting: otherwise, in the garden, for each seed that does not germinate, a lot of space is lost, leaving space between the rows.

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