Fertilizing Brassica Varieties

When discussing brassica varieties like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussel sprouts are all heavy feeder crops. In other words, this means they need more nutrients through fertilizer applications than other crops in the vegetable garden.

Cabbage

When planting cabbage we recommend injecting around 1.2 pounds of the 20-20-20 per 100 feet to help encourage root development. Then, we will apply 1 pound per 100 feet of Chilean Nitrate at two and fives weeks after transplanting to encourage a straight nitrogen source to the cabbage plants. Cabbage also likes a boron supplement as a micronutrient in the garden. To fulfill the needs of the cabbage we use Micro-Boost to ensure all the nutrients are available for the plants. The cabbage varieties Travis plans to grow this fall is Charleston Wakefield, Cheers, and Rio Grande Red.

Broccoli

To fertilize broccoli it is best to inject one pound per 100 feet of the 20-20-20 garden fertilizer. Then, the Chilean Nitrate with 1 pound per 100 feet at three and five weeks. Another recommendation that Travis mentions is to hit the broccoli with some calcium nitrate once the heads reach about a quarter size and it will do wonders for your plants. Just like cabbage, broccoli needs boron as a micronutrient, so applying micro-boost every one to two weeks will help in the vegetable garden. The two varieties of broccoli Travis plans to grow this season is Arcadia and Green Magic.

Cauliflower

To grow cauliflower the garden needs to contain healthy soil that is full of organic matter. The ideal soil range for these brassica varieties is a pH of 6.0 to 6.5. Almost identical to growing broccoli, cauliflower needs one pound per 100 feet of the 20-20-20 and one application of Chilean nitrate at four weeks. The three main micronutrients that cauliflower needs are boron, magnesium, and molybdenum. Our micro-boost will take care of all three micronutrients, so apply it weekly to the cauliflower plants to encourage strong growth development. Travis is planting the Flame Star, Snow Bowl, and Graffiti Cauliflower varieties in the vegetable garden.

Brussel Sprouts

In order to grow, Brussel sprouts in the garden we need to have cooler weather conditions. Out of all the brassica varieties, Brussel sprouts can be the toughest to grow in the vegetable garden. Since Brussel sprouts take around 100 days to grow, you may experience insect problems such as flea beetles or worms. The ideal time to plant Brussel sprouts is in the fall, but you can plant them in late winter too. The fertilizer requirements for Brussel sprouts is 2.5 pounds of 20-20-20 per 100 feet and 1.5 pounds of calcium nitrate every 4 weeks. The two varieties of Brussel sprouts we have started growing is Jade Cross and Red Bull in the vegetable garden.

Show and Tell Segment

On the show and tell segment, the guys are filling up the greenhouse with transplants for the Fall growing season. Travis has varieties of broccoli, cauliflower, beets, mustard, cabbage, turnips, collards, and a little bit of it all planted currently. While Greg has decided to direct seed his mustard and turnips in the vegetable garden. The guys discuss the most popular item for transplanting seeds which is our seed starting trays. Travis is happy to mention that his sweet corn is growing fast in the garden. Greg still has time for cover crops in the garden before fall. He currently has Buckwheat, Sorghum Sudangrass, and Mustard planted and will have plenty of time to turn them back into the soil.

Viewer Questions Segment

On the question and answer segment this week, the guys answer questions if the silage tarp becomes a mosquito breeding ground during rainy periods and whether our seeds are only sold for the southern states or can they be grown in the northern states too. Travis mentions that the tarp does hold a little bit of water after a heavy rain,