From planting to harvesting cucumbers. cucumbers
Hello, dear readers!Any experienced or novice summer gardener passionately desires to get a rich harvest of tomatoes, which, in addition, will also have an exquisite taste and beauty of shape. But not everyone understands how meticulous the work from planting a seed in the ground to the fruiting of an adult plant can be.
There are many nuances to cultivating tomatoes. Entire books are being written on this topic, where secrets are revealed and various methods for breeding healthy samples are discussed in depth. But, as they say, “you can’t know the peak without studying the base,” so every gardener should first learn the basics, and only then succumb to the general boom in breeding rare varieties.
In this article we will look at how long tomatoes grow, how long a tomato needs in each phase of its growth to form into a full-fledged, generously fruiting bush.
How long does it take for tomato seeds to germinate?
The choice of seed affects many things. If you are a beginner, then under no circumstances buy rare, unique varieties. They, as a rule, require special growing conditions, and to begin with, it is worth considering the option of unpretentious tomatoes.
Do not think that their unpretentiousness lies in the fact that they do not require care, it’s just that undemanding tomatoes are not capricious and allow you to carefully familiarize yourself with agricultural technology.On the package with seeds you can read about the height of future tomatoes and their resistance to diseases.
In order to understand when to sow seeds, you need to know how long it will take for the seedlings to develop to the desired state and size suitable for planting in a permanent place.
There is no clear answer here. Dry seeds usually germinate in about 10 days, and if they are soaked in advance in the correct solution of epin or and germinate in gauze, they will sprout 2 times faster.
The age of the planting material also matters. For example, three-year-old seeds most often sprout a week after planting, but the same variety from a year ago will sprout already on the fourth day.
In order to speed up germination, you need to soak the seeds only in a warm solution, sow only in warm nutrient soil, water only with warm water, and keep them under a film until germination, that is, in a warm place. The box with the crops should be in a room where the constant temperature is between 23-25 degrees around the clock.
How long do tomato seedlings grow?
Ready-made plants from the store will save your time and effort, but this is a big risk and you never know for sure what kind of harvest these strangers will produce. Most often, purchased seedlings are of poor quality and have low immunity.You can grow healthy seedlings yourself, providing them with all the necessary nutrients in good soil.
The seedlings need to be 25cm or so in height before it is time to plant them in the greenhouse or open ground. This way she will survive the transplant more easily than if she were shorter or taller than normal height.The correct age of seedlings is 50-65 days, during which time they will have time to get stronger and the threat of May frosts will have passed.
The right conditions for tomatoes
When preparing the soil mixture for seedlings, we mix the turf soil with humus, for which we take two parts of soil and one part each of peat and humus. It is advisable to prepare the soil in the fall, but it can also be purchased in the spring at a supermarket or flower shop.
When planting seedlings in a permanent place, wood ash is poured into each hole, and then watered well.Some tomato growers bury the shoots right down to the leaves - this allows the tomato to put down lateral roots and develop a good root system, and with strong roots, tomatoes grow, as they say, “by leaps and bounds.”
Tomatoes prefer relatively dry air with moist soil, so tomato beds are often mulched to retain moisture in the ground and avoid evaporation. Excess moisture provokes late blight fungus on plants. Water the tomatoes twice a week with warm water at the root.
During the period of active fruiting, approximately 30 days after, watering the tomato beds is increased by one and a half times. Usually they increase the volume of water supplied to the beds, but you can simply add another watering day per week, that is, increase the frequency of watering.
Growth phases
Different stages of tomato development require different care. During the adaptation period - the first 10 days after planting, you should not carry out any procedures with tomatoes, it is not even recommended to water them. They must get used to new conditions, and if they are disturbed, young plants may weaken and become sick.
It is best to produce in the third week after transplantation and form no more than two trunks, unless your tomatoes are cherry varieties.When a month has passed, the tomatoes are tied up, since even a short period of lying on the ground can lead to fungal diseases or attack by pests from the soil.
If all the minimum measures for the favorable development of the plant are observed, then approximately forty days after planting the seedlings in the ground, the tomato will begin to bear fruit, and another 20 days after the ovary, the tomato fruits will begin to turn red.
Full maturation before wilting of a tomato as a plant will occur approximately on the 90th day if your tomatoes are of an early ripening variety and on the 110th day if they are of a regular variety. In general, the entire life of a tomato from sowing to full ripening lasts a maximum of 140 days.
But these are the plants that we are used to growing on the ground, and if we talk about home or indoor tomatoes, then by choosing the right variety, this plant will grow for up to five years and constantly delight you with its harvest.
With a virtual trainer "Rich Harvest" growing tomatoes is much faster, and you won’t mind throwing an unsuccessful harvest in the trash, because you can’t eat it anyway. But you will be able to see your mistakes in order to prevent them in the future and grow excellent vegetables.
Tomatoes grown in a hydroponic greenhouse should receive a nutrient solution up to 3 times a day, and with this care, the tomatoes grow for about 70-80 days, but hydroponics implies completely different growing conditions and intense daylight hours.More on this in another article.
Happy harvest and see you soon!
Sincerely, Andrey!
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But before you get a harvest, tomato seedlings need to be well looked after. Over the years, I have determined the main rules for myself, I always follow them and get a good harvest.
CHOOSE SEEDS
There are a great many varieties of tomatoes. But, probably, every housewife chose 3-4 favorite varieties for herself. Some are better for canning, while others are better for salads and juices (for example, Ox's heart and Isabella yellow).
My favorite varieties are Salut, Giants, Pepper-shaped, Bottle, Carrot. The varieties of these tomatoes are suitable for salads and for any types of preservation. I also sowed such unusual varieties as Bottle, Gorekonus, Gorkiye-super.
PREPARATION FOR SOWING
Sowing dates. I plant tomato seeds in early March, on the 1st-3rd. I prepare the container and soil in advance.
What to grow in. I use plastic pots and wash them well from the previous year. In principle, you can use any container, but you must make drain holes at the bottom. Some people are afraid for their window sills and don’t do them. This is a mistake! There must be holes in the container for seedlings (be it a plastic pot or an iron pan)!
Earth. The soil for seedlings should be loose and fertile. Soil with stones and debris from a city flowerbed, of course, will not work! Dark-colored chernozem, without sand, is the most suitable soil for seedlings. I add a small amount of fertilizer to this black soil. You can buy fertilizer at the store or use manure from domestic animals (chickens, rabbits or sheep).
Disinfection. I pour boiling water over the container with soil to kill pathogens and small insects. And, believe me, there are a large number of them in any black soil.
As soon as the water drains from the container for the seedlings, I let the soil stand and air dry for about one hour.
SOWING
When everything is ready, you can “hide the seeds in the ground.” Of course, you need to do this slowly and carefully.
I take a pencil and make small depressions in the ground at a distance of 2-3 cm throughout the entire container. After watering with boiling water, the earth is wet, so you should not water these depressions. And if you roasted the soil in the oven and the soil is dry, then you should pour a little water into each hole.
Immediately after this, you can plant one seed into the holes. Then fill it with soil and level the ground thoroughly. Then use a sprayer to moisten the soil from above. That's it, sowing is finished. We just have to wait for good shoots.
SEEDLING CARE
In a few days, green sprouts will begin to appear. And the main thing for them is light! You can keep the seedlings on the windowsill, but if there is not enough light from the window, then turn on the lamp.
And make sure there are no drafts on the window. Roots rot in cold soil!
After 1.5 weeks, it’s time to feed the seedlings with mineral fertilizer. I use Sudarushka fertilizer. I dilute a quarter of a matchbox with 2 liters of water and water it using a watering can with a narrow spout.
It is very important to monitor watering so as not to flood and dry out the soil.
Water only lightly, little by little, otherwise you can displace the sprouts on the ground and there will be a large amount of mold. And this absolutely cannot be allowed!
I don’t pick my seedlings, as I think it’s harmful to the roots. And if the seedlings have sprouted thickly, then I simply pull them through, removing the weakest shoots.
You can loosen the soil only after the seedlings have become slightly stronger and are 5-6 cm high. I loosen it with a fork (everyone has this tool in their house), shallowly, so as not to damage the roots.
When it gets warm, I periodically “walk” the seedlings outside (or on the balcony). I start the walk for 10 minutes, up to 1.5 hours, after which I bring it into the house again. The next day the same procedure.
So, the main rules for caring for seedlings:
Providing light and warmth,
Regular watering
Loosening,
Feeding (twice during the entire period of seedling growth)
Outdoor hardening.
WE'RE MOVING TO THE GARDEN
As soon as the seedlings are well established in the roots and the trunk is thicker, they can be planted in the garden. By this time the earth should be completely warmed up. And make sure there is no frosty weather, otherwise, as they say, “it’s all down the drain!”
I always dig my garden before winter, because the quality of the soil depends on it. In the spring, after plowing the ground, I pour a 2-3 cm layer of humus on top. I keep chickens, geese, and rabbits, so I use fertilizer from them. The manure rots in a heap all winter, and in the spring, after digging, I scatter it over the entire planting area.
It’s good if the planting day is cloudy, but if the sun is shining, then it’s better to wait until the evening and only then start planting seedlings.
I make holes 1/4 of a shovel deep over the entire planting area.
It is very important to first water the holes well so that there is a supply of water in the ground for good survival of the seedlings, and they do not wither in the sun.
I pour at least two buckets of water into one hole, as it is absorbed deeply. I pour this amount not at once, but in 23 doses. When the water goes away and the soil settles, I start planting.
I water the seedlings in the boxes, and then carefully, so as not to damage the roots, remove them from the box. A fork or narrow garden scoop will help.
After planting the seedlings, I water them again and always with warm water! I heat the water in the sun throughout the day.
In the future, I water every day, 3-5 days in a row, so that the seedlings take root well.
Soon the first weeds appear. I weed them with a small hoe, very carefully so as not to touch the stems. At the same time this is loosening.
PROTECTION AGAINST DISEASES
The main enemy of tomatoes is late blight. You can use different remedies for this disease, but sometimes the result is late. My remedy for saving tomatoes is Bordeaux mixture (copper sulfate). He always helps and I have good tomatoes!
After the first weeding (in June), the seedlings should be sprayed with a preparation against late blight. You just have to be late with spraying, and you can be left without tomatoes!
First, Bordeaux mixture must be prepared correctly. A 1 percent solution is recommended. Packaging varies, so read the instructions carefully.
The bushes must be sprayed from all sides: from the sides, from above, and from the underside of the leaves.
The main thing is to carry out the treatment in time, when the first cluster of flowers appears. When the fruits set, I no longer spray. Many people spray during this period, but I have a negative attitude towards it!
I have tried many different spraying preparations, but I still use the old, proven Bordeaux mixture, it helps my tomatoes.
WHY CUT LEAVES?
20-25 days after spraying, I begin trimming the leaves of the seedlings. If you do not remove the leaves, then the tomatoes will turn out small and will not ripen for a long time.
I always trim the lower leaves so that the roots do not rot, and I do not allow them to turn yellow, because as soon as the lower leaves turn yellow, others begin to turn yellow behind them. But it is enough to tear off the lower leaves, and the yellowing of the rest stops.
Many gardeners also tear off the top leaves so that light falls on the fruits. I never do this on my tomatoes. I tried it, but, according to my observations, I settled on the right experience of not cutting it off!
We are waiting for the tomatoes to turn red.
It is important not to forget that tomatoes need to be watered regularly, but if it rains, you can wait.
I always tie tomatoes to stakes. And this must be done on time. If you are late with the garter, the bushes will fall over and you will end up with a dense green forest.
FINAL - LET'S COOK LECHO!
We can our own tomatoes, make various salads, tomato paste, tomato juice and much more. But our favorite recipe is lecho.
First I prepare the jars. Containers of 0.5 l, 0.7 l and 1 l are suitable for lecho. I rinse the jars thoroughly and set each jar to sterilize for 34 minutes. Then I sterilize the iron lids (I prefer the Svetlana brand). The jars can be sterilized in the oven, and the lids can simply be boiled in a saucepan.
Lecho recipe. I always make it spicy as we are big fans of spicy food. But you can make lecho without pepper, and it will also be very tasty!
I pick ripe tomatoes (5-6 kg), wash them thoroughly and cut them into two parts (if the fruits are large, then I cut them into four parts). I pass it through an electric meat grinder or a juicer. I put this mass in a saucepan and put it on gas. I stir constantly.
I pass the softened mass through a colander. The skins that remain in the colander are thrown away into the compost. I pour the resulting pulp into the pan again.
There I add two tablespoons of salt and 500 g of sugar, 30 g of ground black pepper and (optional) two pods of hot pepper. I reduce the gas and continue cooking for another 20 minutes.
At this time, I remove the seeds from the bell pepper and cut it into 4 parts. I add pepper slices to the boiling juice. Cook until done for 30-35 minutes over medium heat. A few minutes before it’s ready, I taste it and then pour the lecho into jars. I don’t wait for it to cool down; I have to pour it in while it’s hot. I close the jars with a seaming key and put them “in the bathhouse” (that is, I wrap them in a blanket or towel). READY! Bon appetit!
Yu.V. Khramova,
Saratov region, Balashov, photo by the author
Many novice gardeners begin to use other crops too early, which ultimately leads to loss of harvest. And the point here is not only frosts, although, of course, they can affect the quality of plant development. The main question is whether the soil is ready for work. If you sow seeds or plant seedlings in soil that has not yet warmed up after winter or in damp soil, they simply will not take root and will not germinate.
Determining the readiness of the soil is quite simple. To do this, take a handful of soil in your hand, squeeze it to form a lump and simply “drop” it on the ground. If the soil has arrived and is ready for planting, then the lump of earth will fall apart upon impact. If the soil is not ready for planting, the lump will remain a lump.
If you really want to plant at least some greens (onions, parsley, dill), then choose a place in the garden bed, cover this place with film and wait until the excess moisture comes out of the ground - only then can you plant.
Proper planting of vegetables - how to choose the time?
Often problems with the emergence of plant sprouts also occur due to sowing too late, especially if sowing is carried out in the spring. So, in the spring, moisture leaves the soil quite quickly, and without it the seeds will not be able to germinate.
If you are late with the planting time, the plant seeds simply will not sprout. If you are still late, there is one way out - you need to water the garden as often as possible. If you don’t want to water manually, you can install an irrigation system on your site. Therefore, timing of vegetable planting is a very important factor for gardeners.
Rotation of crops is the key to a good harvest
Proper alternation of crops (crop rotation) is necessary work to obtain a high-quality harvest. Unfortunately, few people know about this, either forgetting about the importance of crop rotation, or due to their own ignorance.
If you always sow the same crops in the same area of the garden, over time the balance of nutrients in the soil will simply be disrupted - it will simply begin to deplete. In addition, this threatens a surge in diseases, especially if the plants you previously planted were seriously ill. Alas, it is quite difficult to completely remove pest larvae and many from the soil, even if you use the strongest medications.
It is advisable that the planting of vegetables in the garden in such areas should not be carried out at all for at least several years.
The importance of taking into account plant requirements for planting and care
Each type of tree, flower or any other plant has certain requirements for the time of planting, for the condition of the soil, and for subsequent care. These requirements cannot be ignored, since they determine whether the crop will take root on the site and how it will develop in the future and whether it will produce a harvest.
That is why it is advisable for you to study the basic requirements in advance so as not to make the mistake of not caring for your plants properly. So, for example, if you plant an ordinary radish and do not feed it or use other care methods, it will bear fruit only in the fall. If you want to enjoy a healthy radish harvest in the middle of summer, then you need to try, using, weeding the garden bed, choosing the most suitable ones.
Having a greenhouse on your personal plot, you can grow early, crisp, fragrant cucumbers. To do this, choose seeds specifically designed for growing in greenhouses, not hotbeds, since in a greenhouse growing occurs on a trellis, and in a greenhouse - on a spread, which often leads to rotting of the stem or fruit due to the wrong choice of variety from constant contact with wet soil.
Preparing seeds for sowing
Before sowing cucumbers, cull low-quality material. To do this, dissolve 10 g of salt in a glass of water and add seeds; those that float are not suitable for sowing. After this, rinse them in clean water 2-3 times.
Dressing is the treatment of seeds with potassium permanganate for 20-30 minutes. Then rinse again with clean water.
Soaking is a method that will speed up the process of seed germination. To do this, they are placed in damp cotton cloth or gauze. You cannot keep it in water, as this will only clog the seed shell and prevent air from entering inside. In this form, place the cucumber seeds in the refrigerator for 2 days so that they do not germinate and at the same time receive the necessary hardening to increase cold resistance.
Sowing
Cucumber seeds are sown in separate peat-humus cups filled with nutrient soil mixture, 1-2 pieces at a depth of 1-1.5 cm. If you sow seedlings in ordinary plastic cups, then you must make drainage holes at the bottom so that excess water does not accumulate . Water and cover with glass or polyethylene. Maintain at a temperature of 25-27°C. As soon as the seedlings appear, remove the cover and place it in a bright place; the seedlings will stretch out due to lack of light. For 3-4 days after emergence, the night temperature must be maintained within 17°C, then increased to 19°C. The root system of cucumber seedlings is well formed under significant temperature differences between day and night.
5-7 days after the emergence of seedlings, carry out a pick, removing weak seedlings. If necessary, add additional lighting and lower the temperature to 18°C. The growth time of seedlings before planting in a greenhouse is 4 weeks, by this time the seedlings should have 4-5 true leaves.
Cucumber seedlings are planted in a heated greenhouse in the 2nd decade of April, in an unheated greenhouse in mid-May, while cucumber seeds are sown in open ground only in June.
Preparing the greenhouse for planting cucumber seedlings
Let’s immediately make a reservation that it is necessary to prepare the soil in the greenhouse in the fall. Mix turf soil, humus and peat in equal parts. Check the acidity of the soil (pH 6.5-7). Before planting cucumber seedlings in the spring, add fertilizers (compost - 2 buckets per 1 sq.m., from minerals - urea 30 g, superphosphate 80 g, potassium sulfate 30 g), mixing with the soil. Then level the soil with a rake and water.
Planting cucumber seedlings in a greenhouse
The distance between bee-pollinated varieties of cucumbers is 30-50 cm, between rows - 50 cm. The distance between parthenocarpic hybrid varieties of cucumbers is 30-50 cm, between rows 1.5 m.
Before planting, cucumber seedlings are watered, the strongest and most developed specimens are selected and planted vertically in holes along with cups (peat-humus) at ¾ of the height. If the seedlings were grown in simple plastic cups, then only the plants with a clod of earth should be planted in the soil, carefully pulling them out, trying not to damage the root system. Overgrown seedlings are planted obliquely, covering part of the stem with soil. Pay attention to the cotyledon knee; it should not be covered with soil. After planting, cucumber seedlings are mulched.
In the greenhouse, you definitely need to prepare a wire trellis, to which after 3-4 days you will need to tie the cucumbers with a loose, non-tightening and even slightly sagging loop. For gartering, use twine, not wire, which can crush and injure the plants. Every week, as the cucumbers grow, the stem is tied up, wrapped around the twine. To do this, you can use a polymer mesh in the greenhouse, which protects to some extent from powdery mildew and allows you to harvest the crop without difficulty.
Forming lashes of cucumbers
Growing cucumbers in a greenhouse involves shaping the plants. It occurs differently depending on the species - bee-pollinated or parthenocarpic hybrids. If cucumbers grow on a vertical trellis, then the main stem is pinched only when the top of the vine outgrows the top row of the support and begins to fall down.
Bee-pollinated cucumber varieties needs to be shaped for improved development. To do this, female flowers and stepsons are removed from the axils of the first 4 leaves, and the side stems coming from the main stem are pinched above the 2nd leaf. The tops are tied to the trellis. Shoots that have passed the fruiting stage, as well as fading diseased leaves, must be removed.
Parthenocarpic hybrid varieties cucumbers are formed according to a different pattern. Remove the buds of new branches and flowers up to a lash height of 50-60 cm. In the axils of the next 5 leaves, starting with the 2nd, pinch the side shoots and remove all female flowers. In the subsequent axils of 5 leaves, starting after the 2nd, the stepsons are pinched, leaving 2 ovaries on each of them. On the next stepchildren, 3-4 ovaries are left and on the next 5-6. The remaining stepsons are removed. When the top of the cucumber vine outgrows the trellis, it is thrown down and pinched by the stepsons every 50 cm, leaving the main shoot.
Caring for cucumbers in a greenhouse
Temperature plays an important role in caring for greenhouse cucumbers. So, before the start of fruiting, it should be within 20-24°C, increasing to 28°C during the fruiting period, while the night temperature should not rise more than 20°C. The soil temperature should remain at 22-24°C. The increase or decrease in temperature should be gradual; sudden changes weaken the plants and become susceptible to various diseases. The air humidity in the greenhouse should be 80-90%. To increase humidity, use the method of watering all parts of the greenhouse, including plants in sunny weather with the greenhouse closed.
Remove thickening shoots and leaves. Carry out the pinching process separately from removing diseased parts of plants, then infection and spores will not be able to spread through the wounds.
Water greenhouse cucumbers with warm water (20-25°C) from a spray bottle every 2-3 days before fruiting and daily during fruiting at the rate of up to 10 liters of water per 1 sq.m. Water along the root furrows, excluding watering under the roots, which exposes the roots. For convenience, greenhouses often use a drip irrigation system. Lack of moisture causes cucumbers to become bitter. Ventilate the greenhouse regularly, but make sure there are no drafts.
Cross-pollinated varieties of cucumbers need help with pollination, otherwise under-pollinated plants will not form fruits and the ovaries will fall off. Bees can be used for this, but this is a labor-intensive and inconvenient method, or by hand, pick a male flower, remove the petals and combine with each female flower so that its pollen comes into contact with the stigma. To further understand whether the manual method helped in pollination or not, mark them by tearing off 1 petal from each plant.
Harvest as the fruit grows, without damaging the vines. Diseased or overgrown cucumber fruits are removed.
If few ovaries have formed, then lower the temperature to 18°C and add bird droppings. If there are a lot of cucumber ovaries, but the fruits themselves are not formed, then feed them with mullein solution.
Feeding cucumbers
Cucumbers growing in a greenhouse are fed with mineral fertilizer before and after fruiting. During the fruiting period itself, no fertilizing can be applied. Every 10 days, alternating root and foliar feedings.
2 weeks after transplanting the cucumber seedlings into the greenhouse, fertilize with nitrogen fertilizer (ammonium nitrate), then before flowering begins with phosphorus and finally with nitrogen-potassium fertilizer. Fertilizing is best done in the evening, combined with moderate watering. Then soil is added under the bushes. You can recognize mineral starvation or, conversely, an excess of substances in cucumbers by the characteristic signs on the leaves and the vegetative process as a whole.
Cucumbers respond well to foliar feeding. Spraying is carried out with a freshly prepared solution in the morning or evening, treating the lower part of the leaves well. For 10 liters of water, 2 g of potassium permanganate, boric acid and copper sulfate or for 10 liters of water, 10 g of urea, superphosphate and potassium chloride.
Kohlrabi - from sowing to harvest
The island of Sicily is considered the birthplace of kohlrabi cabbage; in addition, the crop has long been cultivated in many countries of Western Europe, as well as in China, Central Asia, Turkey and Transcaucasia. In Russia, kohlrabi is still more of a curiosity than an ordinary thing, and it is difficult to find it in a private garden. However, such an attitude towards culture in our country is in vain, because the pulp of this cabbage contains up to 5% sugars, a lot of vitamin C and biologically active substances that a person needs every day.
The crop is often cultivated as an annual, only to obtain an overgrown stem of pale green or darker color and only occasionally used to obtain seeds that are formed the next year.
There are a lot of ways to eat kohlrabi, in addition to adding it fresh to salads, its fruits are stewed and boiled, fried and stuffed. Kohlrabi is recommended for use in baby food, as well as in a variety of diets. It can be eaten by people suffering from gastrointestinal diseases.
Kohlrabi- The crop is not demanding, however, crop rotation must be observed. So the most optimal predecessors for kohlrabi are: all legumes, potatoes, beets, tomatoes and onions, but if in this place last year the root crops of radish, turnips, rutabaga, turnips or watercress were grown, then from planting kohlrabi seedlings on this area is worth abandoning.
Naturally, the best option for growing this type of cabbage is seedlings. At the same time, there are most often two terms for sowing seeds for seedlings; they are aimed at obtaining two harvests per season and are suitable for most regions of Russia.
In order to get an early harvest of kohlrabi in open ground, the seeds should be sown in the first ten days of April. You can sow both in heated greenhouses and in boxes that need to be placed on the windowsill of a south-facing window. Seedlings are usually picked at the stage of well-developed cotyledon leaves. It is better to plant in peat-humus pots, which can be planted directly with seedlings in open ground in the phase of two pairs of true leaves. The planting date in the southern regions is the first ten days of May, in the center - mid-May. The planting pattern is usually 30x25 cm. With such planting dates, the harvest in the southern regions can be harvested in early June, in the center - in mid-June.
The next seed sowing date is aimed at obtaining later harvests. The optimal period for sowing seeds for the southern regions is the third ten days of April, for the central regions - the beginning of the first ten days of May. In this case, planting seedlings in open ground in the southern regions of Russia should be done in the first ten days of June, and in the center - in the second. It is also convenient that by this time the first kohlrabi harvest has already been harvested. The second harvest ripens around the beginning of August.
It is better to plant seedlings in well-moistened and loose soil. If you do not use peat-humus pots, then be careful when replanting, try not to damage the root system and do not overly bury the seedlings; planting too deeply leads to lengthening of the stems.
After planting seedlings, even in moist soil, they should be watered by pouring about a liter of water at room temperature under each bush. After watering, it is advisable to mulch the soil, for which you can use dry soil or sawdust. After about a week, the plants should be fed; ordinary ash is suitable for this (50 g for each plant). Watering with mullein solution, after which the soil should also be mulched, will not cause harm.
In the future, on fertile soil, fertilizing is no longer necessary, but it is worth watering as the soil dries out, especially if there has been no rain for a long time. On poor soil, one more feeding is allowed in order for a full-fledged harvest to form. The second feeding is usually combined with abundant watering.
The kohlrabi culture itself is very early ripening; early varieties allow harvesting already 50-55 days from the date of sowing the seeds. Mid-season varieties are usually ready for harvest after 65-70 days.
By the way, harvesting kohlrabi should be done in a timely manner; you should not delay it for the simple reason that young stem fruits have a pleasant taste, but if they are overripe, the taste will change and not for the better. If you delay harvesting, the stem fruits will outgrow and become practically inedible - fibrous and very rough. In fact, timely harvesting is one of the important conditions for obtaining a high-quality harvest.
Typically, stem fruits are harvested when they reach a diameter of ten centimeters, but this is for mid-ripening varieties, while early ripening varieties are harvested when the stem fruit grows to a diameter of six or seven centimeters. Stem fruits are harvested by simply pulling them out of the ground right with the root, which is then removed along with the leaf mass by cutting it with a sharp knife. The leaves need to be trimmed because they can lead to the withering of the stem fruit and a decrease in its taste. For the same reason, the harvested crop should be immediately placed in a cool place.
Do not be late with planting and harvesting; remember that if the plants are frozen, the harvest will not be stored.
N. Khromov , Candidate of Biological Sciences
The stem fruit of kohlrabi is the most vitamin-rich cabbage
Kohlrabi is a stem-bearing cabbage. This plant of the cabbage family has an overgrown turnip-shaped stem that looks nothing like cabbage. The color of kohlrabi ranges from light green to dark purple. It contains many mineral salts, especially potassium, trace elements (cobalt, iron, magnesium), and vitamins. Due to its high vitamin C content, it is often called the northern lemon. One head of kohlrabi weighing 120 g provides the daily requirement of vitamin C. This vegetable is a good prophylactic against all kinds of infectious diseases and helps remove fluid from the body.
Fresh kohlrabi is firm and dense, and the greens are juicy. Young, ungrown heads are considered the most delicious. When storing, green leaves must be removed immediately. After this, kohlrabi is stored in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for more than a week. Kohlrabi is eaten raw in salads or served with sauce. It is delicious stewed, boiled and canned.
Kohlrabi is a very early ripening crop - only two months pass from sowing the seeds to harvesting the early varieties, and 4-5 months for the later varieties. It is better to use young and tender plants with small stems than to try to grow them. Kohlrabi is very resistant to adverse conditions. It is demanding of moisture; on dry soils, the stem fruits become smaller and coarser. Works well on fertilized and moist soils. But excess moisture can lead to blackleg disease. Tolerates light shade. It is often used as a compactor for crops of late cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, or is planted as a second crop after harvesting radishes, lettuce, and onions.
Soil preparation. Although kohlrabi is less demanding on soil, it, like all brassicas, prefers somewhat compacted soil rich in organic matter. In autumn, the soil is limed and manure or compost is added in an amount of 4-5 kg/sq. meter and dig up. In the spring, mineral fertilizers are applied per 1 sq. m: 10 g of ammonium nitrate, 15-20 g of potassium fertilizers, 15-20 g of double superphosphate or the corresponding amount of complex fertilizer. It is good to replace part of the potassium fertilizers with ash 100 g (glass). Plants should not be planted in freshly dug soil. Loose soil needs to be compacted somewhat.
Growing seedlings. Kohlrabi is grown by seedlings and without seedlings. To get an early harvest, the seedling growing method is used. Seeds are sown at the end of March and mid-May. Seedlings are planted in a permanent location after 4-6 weeks. The most typical and healthy specimens are selected. Overgrowth of seedlings is unacceptable.
Growing by sowing seeds in the ground. Kohlrabi is also successfully grown by sowing seeds in the ground. Seeds are sown from May to July. In the beds, kohlrabi is sown in two or three rows, and the seedlings are thinned out. To obtain central heads, leave 15-25 cm between plants, 25-30 cm between rows. For late varieties, the distance is increased.
Care and feeding. Seedlings are protected from birds. During the growing season, weeds are regularly pulled out and the soil is loosened, and 1-2 fertilizing is carried out. During drought, water generously. 1-1.5 weeks after planting the seedlings, do the first feeding: 1 liter of mullein per 10 liters of water. A liter of solution is consumed per plant. Fertilizing is also carried out after long rains. After fertilizing, the soil is loosened and the plants are lightly hilled.
Harvesting. The saturated stem fruits are collected when they reach a diameter of 7-10 cm, and even smaller ones - 5-8 cm - are collected from early ripening varieties. Overgrown ones become tasteless and rough. In autumn, the crop is harvested before frost.
Prevention of diseases and pests is the same as for other types of cabbage. Return to the old place in 3-4 years.
And some tips from experienced vegetable growers. In order to continuously receive fresh kohlrabi stem fruits throughout the season, starting from the end of March, a new portion of seeds is sown every 2-3 weeks. The deadline for sowing in open ground is the third ten days of June.
Kohlrabi can be grown in autumn in greenhouses and greenhouses. In this case, sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out at the end of July, and the seedlings are planted in late August - early September.
For early cultivation of kohlrabi, it is necessary to use varieties with a short growing season. The same varieties can also be used for summer harvest. But only autumn varieties are suitable for storage.
Kohlrabi can be harvested two times over the summer from one root. If, when harvesting in the summer, you cut off the stem fruit and leave the root, then 2-3 more new stem fruits will grow on the lower part of the stem. The remaining stalk should be watered daily and fed frequently.
As a rule, purple varieties of kohlrabi have a higher taste of stem fruits than white ones, but white ones ripen more quickly. In addition, purple varieties are less affected by pests, grow more slowly, and do not outgrow so quickly.
Kohlrabi seedlings must be planted shallowly, otherwise the plant will delay fruit formation, and sometimes it will even bloom. When planted correctly, the roots of the plant are located at the very surface and are only lightly sprinkled with soil. Plants planted too densely produce stem fruits much more slowly. It is not recommended to plant two plants in one hole for kohlrabi.
Kohlrabi has a short growing season; the main nutrition of the plants comes from quickly absorbed mineral fertilizers. In any case, the use of any chemical means of protection and nutrition must be stopped 30 days before harvesting the plants. Kohlrabi grown for storage is fed for the last time no later than the first week of September.
Kohlrabi plants dug up in the fall are stored in sand.
O. Krylova
