On everyone’s beloved white cabbage, popularity has somewhat declined, and all because new varieties of no less tasty cabbage have appeared. Take, for example, Chinese cabbage: it is also rich in vitamins and nutrients, it makes very tasty salads, it goes well with other products. Many people mistakenly believe that Chinese and Beijing cabbage are one and the same. In fact, Peking, which happens to be leafy, half-rolled and headed, is just a kind of Chinese cabbage, but this also includes Pak-choi (petiole cabbage). One rarely has to hear about the latter, but Beijing cabbage has become an important, and most importantly, pleasant, food product for many of us. It is worth noting that any Chinese cabbage has similar qualities. Growing after it is far from the most difficult process, although with some of its tricks. Today we’ll talk about how to grow Chinese cabbage on your site. It should be noted right away that this culture is fast-growing, so in one season you can harvest two, or even three, crops.
Peking cabbage likes growing at an average daylight and a temperature of 18-20 C. It is hard to tolerate temperature drops, just as it does not like intense heat. That is why it is best to plant Chinese cabbage either in the spring, when the weather is warm, or at the end of summer, when the main heat will decline, and the day will become a little shorter. When growing cabbage in the spring, it is advisable to initially plant seedlings. Cabbage, the cultivation of which seedlings have taken place, will give an early harvest. Sowing seeds for seedlings can be done both in greenhouse conditions and indoors. For these purposes, you can use glasses in which they plant two or three seeds. When they germinate, they leave one, the strongest sprout. You need to carefully plant seedlings in open ground, as Beijing cabbage takes root very poorly. It is not necessary to plant seedlings at all, Peking cabbage, the cultivation of which began immediately with sowing seeds in open ground, will also yield a crop, but much later. Planting seedlings and sowing seeds is carried out at a distance of 40-50 cm between rows and a distance of 35-40 cm between the plants themselves.
8-10 days after transplanting seedlings in open ground, it is necessary to fertilize with nitrogen fertilizer, and then slightly loosen the row-spacing soil. Beijing cabbage cultivation loves one that is well provided with moisture. Especially it needs moisture when heads of cabbage begin to form. It is necessary to water it every day in the event that it rarely rains. So that the moisture does not evaporate so quickly, the cabbage can be overlaid with dry grass, which will simultaneously protect the plants from weeds. It is important to ensure that the Beijing cabbage is not affected by various pests. It is necessary to deal with them in a timely manner.
Many vegetable growers faced such a problem when Beijing cabbage did not head out. Having rummaged in useful literature, you can find such advice: when the leaves grow well, they must be collected in a bunch using a ring cut from a plastic bottle. The ring will not allow leaves to develop freely, which will begin to head out. Many vegetable growers also claim that they love Beijing cabbage along with cucumbers. To do this, it must be planted on a cucumber bed. Cucumber tops will protect it from heat and direct sunlight, which will allow the cabbage to gain strength. True, the fact of how such a neighborhood affects the growth of the cucumbers themselves is not completely established.
Do not forget that in different climatic zones, the technology for growing Beijing cabbage will be slightly different, so the recommendations described above often have to be independently adjusted.