Many gardeners will probably be interested in growing on their private grounds Brussels sprouts. After all, in stores it is sold only in frozen form. It is the youngest vegetable culture of the cabbage family. If other varieties of cabbage have the form of cabbage, Brussels sprouts are presented in the form of a long stem with a fluffy top. Throughout the length of the stalk is studded with small headdresses no more than four centimeters in diameter.
Brussels sprouts: planting, growing and grooming
Since Brussels sprouts are planted with seedlings, it must be grown in advance. In late March - early April, seeds are sown. For their cultivation, a glazed balcony or a heated greenhouse is suitable to provide the optimal temperature level (at night - 6-8 degrees, in the daytime - 18-20 degrees). While the seeds have not yet germinated, the ambient temperature should be 2-3 degrees. Already on 3-4 days you can see the first small sprouts.
For sowing seeds, you can use special peat pots or cubes. If you plant seeds in a box, the distance between the rows should be at least 6 cm, between the seeds - at least 3 cm. At the same time, they are closed to a depth of not more than one centimeter.
Seedlings should be regularly watered, fed with mineral fertilizers (urea, superphosphate). It is also important to regularly ventilate the room where the seedlings are located.
Forty-five days after planting the seeds, the plants are dived.
How to grow Brussels sprouts?
The cabbage will grow best in loamy, weakly acidic soil, which must be well enriched with organic. In acidic soil, it will not develop.
Before you grow a Brussels sprout, you need to prepare the ground. Usually it is done in the autumn. In the place of the supposed sowing of cabbage, the soil is heavily loosened, digested, and organic and mineral fertilizers are introduced: superphosphate, potassium fertilizer, manure or peat. In the spring, the soil is loosened again and fertilized with urea. After that, the soil must be moistened. And only after that you can start to form beds.
If you did not have time to make fertilizer in the fall, you can do it in the spring, when you need to dig holes. Sprouts of Brussels sprouts are planted in the open ground in early May. The following planting scheme is used: three to five leaves in a 60 to 60 cm section.
Since the Brussels cabbage has a long growing season (160 days), then in the aisle you can plant other vegetables, for example, cucumbers or tomatoes.
Once a week, the plant is fed with a fertilizer containing nitrogen and phosphorus in equal proportions.
Brussels sprouts need regular watering, preferably well water.
Since cabbage has high shoots, several times it will need to be bored. Also, to provide air access to the roots
Collect the harvest can be in October and until the fall. To do this, begin to break out the lower largest kochanchiki, while the upper ones still ripen.
In early November, the entire remaining crop is finally harvested. As soon as the frosts become permanent, it is necessary to cut down the plant at the root neck, remove the leaves and the apical bud. Adult and not yet assembled kochanchiki should be torn together with the stalk, because they can last longer (up to four months).
Brussels sprouts is an unpretentious plant. Therefore, caring for her will not cause trouble. It is by force to grow even a beginner gardener.