Content
Many beginning gardeners are often faced with the problem that the broccoli has not set and started to bloom. To avoid this in the future, it is necessary to study the possible reasons for its occurrence. Also, every gardener should know what to do in such a situation in order to minimize crop losses, and whether it is possible to eat this cabbage if it has bloomed.
Broccoli is demanding on care and growing conditions
Signs of cabbage going into color
Broccoli is native to the Mediterranean. It is also called asparagus cabbage. The vegetable is valued for its high content of carotene and other beneficial substances for human health. Therefore, many gardeners prefer to grow broccoli on their plots. Dense inflorescence heads with a petiole 10-15 cm long are suitable for food. However, they must be cut off in a timely manner, since broccoli blooms quickly if growing conditions do not meet the requirements of the crop. In this case, the value of the vegetable decreases.
Warning signs:
- the head of cabbage becomes loose;
- the inflorescences have acquired a light shade;
- yellow spots appeared.
If the broccoli is already blooming, as can be seen in the photo, you must immediately cut off the untied head. This will redirect the plant’s forces to the formation of side shoots. Otherwise, even the minimum harvest will not be possible.
Cut heads of broccoli may also bloom if the crop is not stored properly.
Why does broccoli bloom with yellow flowers?
There are several main reasons why asparagus cabbage does not set heads. All of them are associated with improper care of the plant and inappropriate growing conditions. Therefore, beginning gardeners should take into account that broccoli is more capricious than other types of crops. To get a good harvest, you must strictly follow the rules of agricultural technology.
Improper watering
This plant belongs to the moisture-loving category. Lack of water during the active growing season is one of the reasons why broccoli cabbage does not set heads. After all, this crop needs abundant watering throughout its growth. Moisturizing is especially important at the stage of forming the leaf rosette and tying the heads. Otherwise, you shouldn’t count on a good harvest.
It is recommended to water broccoli every other day during a long absence of rain, and during hot, dry periods - twice a day: in the morning and in the evening. The recommended water consumption rate is 6-8 liters per 1 sq. m at the stage of active growth and 10-20 l after tying the heads. When watering, it is recommended to alternate moistening at the root and sprinkling.
After each irrigation, it is necessary to loosen the soil at the base of the plants to maintain air access to the roots. Laying mulch at the base of the cabbage in a layer of 2-3 cm helps reduce watering during hot periods.This will reduce excessive evaporation of moisture from the soil.
To water asparagus cabbage, you need to use settled water at a temperature of +20 °C
Lack or excess of fertilizers
If your broccoli blooms with yellow flowers but the heads do not set, this may be caused by an excess or lack of nutrients in the soil. The problem arises when feeding the vegetable late or too much. Therefore, when growing broccoli, it is necessary to observe the timing of fertilizer application and their dosage.
It is recommended to feed the vegetable for successful head setting four times a season. The first time, if humus was not added at the stage of preparing the bed, fertilizers should be applied ten days after planting the seedlings in a permanent place. During this period, it is recommended to use urea or ammonium nitrate at the rate of 30 g per 10 liters of water.
Subsequent feedings are recommended to be carried out every two weeks. For the second feeding, it is necessary to use chicken manure 1:15 or mullein 1:10, and the third - 40 g of superphosphate, 20 g of ammonium nitrate and 10 g of potassium sulfate. Fertilizers should be used for the last time after cutting off the central head to stimulate the development of lateral inflorescences. During this period, you can use 20 g of superphosphate, 10 g of ammonium nitrate and 30 g of potassium sulfate.
Unsuitable temperature
If your broccoli produces yellow flowers, it may be due to inappropriate temperatures when the broccoli heads set.For this vegetable, a regime within +18-22 °C is considered favorable. Therefore, with a sharp increase in temperature, the setting and development of a head of cabbage does not occur. In this case, experienced gardeners recommend shading broccoli plantings during the hot midday hours and regularly spraying the plants with water.
Lack of sun
Good lighting is extremely important for this vegetable. Therefore, it is recommended to plant broccoli in open sunny areas. If there is a lack of light, the plant grows leaves, its shoots lengthen, and broccoli does not set.
To correct the situation during the formation of the head, it is recommended to collect the apical leaves in a bunch and fix them above the head of cabbage.
Error when choosing a variety
Broccoli belongs to the category of crops with a short growing season. The collection of its first heads of cabbage can be carried out 30-35 days from the moment of adaptation of the seedlings to a permanent place. Therefore, in order to successfully tie the heads, it is necessary not to delay the planting time. Otherwise, this may cause early flowering of asparagus cabbage.
Broccoli does not become head bound even if the variety is chosen incorrectly. Therefore, when purchasing, it is necessary to give preference to species adapted for a specific growing region. It is also worth considering the timing of crop ripening. Early and middle varieties are more suitable for all and even northern regions, while late varieties are recommended to be grown in the southern and central regions.
What to do if broccoli blooms
If the broccoli has bloomed and the central head has not set, then you can try to correct the situation. Folk methods and chemicals are suitable for this.But first of all, it is necessary to cut off the central inflorescence, since these methods are designed to obtain a harvest from the lateral shoots.
Traditional methods
To stimulate further growth of broccoli and set additional inflorescences, it is recommended to use nettle infusion. To prepare it, you will need to chop 1 kg of the green mass of the plant and pour in 10 liters of warm water. It is recommended to keep the mixture in a shaded place at temperatures above +22 °C. As soon as the fermentation process is over, the concentrate must be filtered and diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. It is recommended to use the resulting solution for watering broccoli at the rate of 1 liter per plant, which will improve the setting of heads. The procedure must be carried out in the evening.
Nettle infusion not only accelerates the growth of broccoli, but also improves its taste
Yeast can also be used to stimulate the setting of heads in asparagus cabbage. To prepare a nutrient solution, it is recommended to dilute 200 g of the product in 1 liter of warm water and leave for a day, stirring occasionally. After the waiting period, the volume of liquid must be increased to 10 liters. Use the resulting solution for watering broccoli at the rate of 1 liter per plant.
Chemicals
Using chemicals, it is also possible to stimulate the lateral heads of asparagus to set. For this, it is recommended to use boric acid. To use it, you need 1 tsp. Dissolve the product in 1 liter of hot water, then add 9 liters of cold water and stir. Use the resulting solution to spray asparagus cabbage.
Boron chelatin also helps correct the situation and speed up the setting of lateral inflorescences. To prepare the solution, it is recommended to add 50 ml of the product to 10 liters of water and mix.The resulting mixture should be used for spraying.
Prevention
To avoid a situation where broccoli blooms early and grows leaves excessively, but the heads do not set, it is recommended to follow simple preventive measures. They consist in following the rules of its cultivation.
Throughout the growing season, it is recommended to water broccoli regularly, but at the same time avoiding stagnation of moisture in the soil. The best option for the crop is loam. But it is also possible to successfully set vegetable heads when grown in sandy loam soil. However, at the site preparation stage, you need to add humus at the rate of 10 kg per 1 sq. m. m.
Fertilizers must be applied in a timely manner, but in doses. In the case of broccoli, it is better to have too little nutritional content than too much.
This crop cannot be grown for successful head setting next to onions and watercress. The best neighbors for broccoli are cucumbers, peas, dill, beets, and carrots.
It is recommended to plant seedlings in a permanent place at a temperature of +18-20 °C, which guarantees their full development in the future. You need to cut off the knotted heads when they are dark green and tightly compressed. At the same time, you should not wait for their maximum size, which is indicated in the characteristics of the variety on the seed package.
It is better to harvest smaller fruits than to wait for maximum yield
Can you eat broccoli if it has yellow flowers?
You can eat flowering broccoli cabbage, as it retains most of the beneficial components. However, the vegetable becomes tougher and its petiole becomes fibrous. This negatively affects the consumer properties of asparagus cabbage. The same is noted if the broccoli inflorescences have turned yellow, but have not yet had time to open. Therefore, many gardeners use overripe vegetables purely for technical purposes to feed poultry and animals.
Conclusion
If the broccoli has not started growing, this is not a reason to completely uproot it. If you follow certain rules of agricultural technology, you can get a vegetable harvest if you remove the central inflorescence in a timely manner. In this case, the asparagus cabbage will begin to actively develop side shoots, which will be able to set heads, but of a smaller size.
