A Detailed Explanation of the Key Technical Points for Scientific Broccoli Cultivation
As broccoli grows more and more popular in the vegetable market, the number of people growing broccoli will keep rising along with broccoli sales, but the quality of vegetables in today's vegetable market varies greatly. If people want to eat truly green and healthy vegetables, or to help improve their quality of life and let everyone eat green and healthy vegetables, then growers need to make the effort.
Scientific Broccoli Cultivation Techniques
1. Preparation before planting
For the seedling bed soil, artificially prepared nutrient soil is preferable. Nutrient soil is generally made up of garden soil and organic fertilizer in a ratio of 2:1. The garden soil should preferably be soil that has not previously grown vegetables, as this kind of soil carries fewer pathogens; the organic fertilizer must be thoroughly decomposed. A small amount of superphosphate or compound fertilizer can be added to the nutrient soil. Artificially prepared nutrient soil has good soil structure, is fertile, has strong water-holding capacity, good aeration and few pathogens, and is conducive to cultivating strong seedlings.
2. Cultivating high-quality strong seedlings
After all the water in the seedling bed has drained away, first scatter a thin layer of sieved fine soil, then evenly broadcast the dry seeds over the surface of the bed. Immediately after sowing, cover with sieved fine soil; the covering thickness is generally 5 times the thickness of the seed (about 0.5 cm). The covering soil should be even in thickness, and 3-4 grams of seed are sown per square meter. Immediately after sowing, cover with black shade netting to prevent heavy rain from washing the seeds away. When the seedlings grow to 3-4 leaves, transplant them for spacing; by promoting the small ones and controlling the large ones, the seedlings are made to grow uniformly.
3. Transplanting techniques
Timely transplanting is very important. The transplanting density varies from region to region, but generally about 2000-2200 plants per mu is suitable. For the base fertilizer at the transplanting site, apply 1250 kg of decomposed chicken manure per mu. Before transplanting, splash 1000 kg of human and animal urine and manure, and scatter 50 kg of vegetable-specific fertilizer. Make deep furrows and high beds, with a bed width of 1.3-1.5 m. After the land is prepared, draw furrows on the bed surface according to the row spacing (furrow depth 2 cm). After transplanting, water thoroughly to settle the soil.
Growing Conditions for Broccoli
1. Light: Broccoli likes sufficient light. When light is sufficient, the plants grow robustly and can form a strong vegetative body, which is conducive to photosynthesis and the accumulation of nutrients, making the heads compact and dense, with a fresh green color and good quality. However, in midsummer, excessively strong sunlight is also unfavorable for growth and development.
2. Temperature: Broccoli has strong cold tolerance and heat tolerance. Within the range of 5-20 degrees C, the higher the temperature, the faster the growth and development. The optimum temperature for germination is 20-25 degrees C, for the seedling stage 15-20 degrees C, for the rosette stage 20-22 degrees C, and for head development 15-18 degrees C.
3. Water: Broccoli requires a relatively large amount of water during its growth process, especially during vigorous leaf growth and head formation, when it must not lack water. However, too much rain during the seedling stage or excessively high soil moisture can easily cause black rot, black spot and other diseases. During head formation, the soil moisture should be 70-80% of field water-holding capacity.
4. Soil: Broccoli is suitable for planting in loam and sandy loam with good drainage and irrigation, deep plow layer, loose and fertile texture, and strong water and fertilizer retention. The pH range is 5.5-8, with 6 being the best. Throughout the entire growth process, the N, P, K ratio is 14:5:8.
Planting Time for Broccoli
The planting time for broccoli is usually to start sowing in autumn, grow through winter, and normally come onto the market and onto the table after the Spring Festival; in spring it begins to flower, and the seeds mature in April and May. For summer and autumn seedling raising, seedlings are raised during the high-temperature season within August to October. At this time the temperature is generally above 25 degrees C, sometimes with high temperatures of 30-35 degrees C, and in addition there are hazards from heavy rain and hail, so shade netting is used to raise seedlings in the open field. The seedling age is generally 35-40 days. Sowing or direct hole sowing can be used, with the seedling stage averaging about 30 days, and 80-90 days from transplanting to harvest. It has somewhat strong winter habit; when the seedling stem is 10 mm thick, it can be affected by low temperature and complete the vernalization process.
Harvesting Broccoli
Broccoli is best harvested when the head at the top of the plant is fully swollen and the flower buds have not yet opened; harvesting too late easily causes the head to loosen and flower. When harvesting, cut off the head together with about 10 cm of the lower stalk. After the terminal head is harvested, the axillary buds of the plant sprout and quickly grow side branches, and heads, namely side heads, form at the tips of the side branches. When the side heads grow to a certain size and the flower buds have not yet opened, they can be harvested again. In this way, generally 2 to 3 continuous harvests can be made.
After planting broccoli, no matter what the market conditions are at the time, growers must first think of the quality of the broccoli, because under any conditions quality is the final magic weapon for winning. For the sake of high-quality broccoli, every stage of cultivation requires growers to put in a great deal of thought, but when harvest time comes, they will certainly not regret it.