Cabbage is a popular vegetable crop with a thousand-year history. Its advantage is the high content of nutrients that are perfectly preserved during cooking and long-term storage. This is a cold resistant plant. This property allows you to grow this valuable vegetable crop in many climatic zones. Cabbage is versatile and multifaceted. It is represented by many species that have their own characteristic features. By right, the most popular is white cabbage. Varieties are distinguished by maturity.
Early ripe cabbage
Early vegetables are a good help. Among all the vegetable crops that will please early production, cabbage is no exception. Different varieties of white cabbage early ripening have a vegetative period of one hundred to one hundred and twenty days.
In order to accelerate the production of the first heads of cabbage, cabbage
seedlings are used. Seedlings of white cabbage when planting in open ground should have an age of forty-five to fifty days.
Seeding time
Before choosing a method of growing planting material and starting sowing, determine the timing when to sow cabbage for early seedlings. They are not difficult to calculate. To solve this simple arithmetic problem, two parameters are needed:
- the date of planting of seedlings of white cabbage on the beds;
- age of planting material.
If favorable weather conditions allow and seedlings are planted on the first days of May, the sowing should begin in the middle or end of March. As you can see, the formula is simple. We take forty-five or fifty days from the date of planting of plants on the beds. Thus, we get the desired number - the date when to sow cabbage for early seedlings.
The timing of the first heads of cabbage
Assuming an estimated harvest time is easy. We decided on the sowing dates. The desired result of the first production depends on the individual characteristics of the varieties of early cabbage. Consider a few of them. Varieties of early white cabbage vary in maturity. The period from seedlings to technical maturity is:
- 92–100 days - “June”;
- 102-110 days - “Golden hectare”;
- 120 days - “Gift”.
Thus, if we grow seedlings of early cabbage for 45 days and plant it in early May, the first heads of white cabbage of the June variety will be obtained in early June. It should be borne in mind that the seedling planting depends on the climatic zone. When early cabbage is planted, steady warm weather should already be established. In different areas, this period does not coincide. Therefore, seedlings are planted taking into account local characteristics. Also use film shelters that can protect plants from short-term frosts.
Methods for planting cabbage seeds for seedlings
Getting a good crop of vegetable crops directly depends on high-quality planting material. Seedlings can be purchased. But at the same time, quite often, in due time for harvesting, disappointment occurs: plants infected with diseases die or a different kind of cabbage ripens. It is better to grow planting material yourself.
Planting early cabbage on seedlings is necessary to obtain a temporary run, which will allow you to collect a good harvest of earlier products. There are several ways to grow planting material . For this purpose, heated and film greenhouses or hotbeds are used. In their absence, it is possible to grow and plant seedlings of cabbage at home. There are several options: growing plants with a pick and without it.
Seed preparation
Planting early cabbage seedlings begins with seed treatment. After a variety of early white cabbage is selected and seeds are purchased, they should be prepared for sowing. This event will allow you to grow a healthy and strong planting material. Begin processing with sorting the seeds. Grains with a diameter of at least 2 mm are considered to be full-weighted. During selection, damaged and small fractions are removed.
Then they are placed in a saline solution, which is prepared at the rate of fifty grams of salt per liter of settled water. Dense seeds are lowered to the bottom of the tank. Pop-up seeds are removed. After sorting, the seeds are washed. Next, heat treatment of the selected seed is carried out. Processing time is twenty minutes. The disinfecting solution is water, heated to fifty degrees. It will be useful to treat the seeds with trace elements. A universal remedy can be water tincture of wood ash. It is prepared based on:
- wood ash - 200 g;
- standing water - 10 l.
Processing time is four hours. The temperature of the water should be strictly maintained. After processing, the seed material is slightly dried. Pre-sowing treatment can be continued by soaking and germination. However, you can skip these events and start sowing.
Seedling tanks
Planting early cabbage on seedlings at home is carried out in small containers filled with soil. It can be plastic pallets or wooden boxes. This method involves picking plants. Also, planting early cabbage for seedlings is made in plastic cassettes or cups. Peat or coconut briquettes are often used. In this case, picking is not required. It is not excluded the use at home of containers for seedlings, which are made from improvised materials. It can be plastic or cardboard bags, all kinds of boxes, plastic bags, newspaper or paper cups. In any case, one should not forget about the drainage holes. Stagnant water can lead to plant diseases.
Soil preparation
The rules for growing and planting cabbage seedlings include the use of specially prepared earth mixtures. Do not use garden soil as soil. It can be a source of dangerous diseases for cabbage. Also in this soil can contain all kinds of pests and earthworms. The components for the preparation of the earthen mixture are prepared in the fall. If this work has not been completed in advance, you can purchase soil in a specialized store. When purchasing ready-made earthen mixtures, you should pay attention to their composition and date of manufacture. Planting early cabbage on seedlings is made in specially prepared soil, which is easy to prepare at home. You can use several options for such an earthen mixture.
Composition No. 1 has a ratio of 1: 1: 1:
Composition No. 2 has a ratio of 1: 1/4: 1/4:
- wood ash;
- lime;
- coarse sand.
Composition No. 3 has a ratio of 1: 3: 1/4:
- turf land;
- peat;
- coarse sand.
Fertility, air and water permeability - these are the fundamental qualities of the soil for growing seedlings of early cabbage. The listed compounds will be able to provide them. These mixtures can be prepared in advance and stored before use in a cold room. Before sowing the seeds, the soil is heated or steamed with water vapor.
This measure will reduce the risk of infection. Tanks for growing seedlings are filled with finished soil. When reusing plastic containers, they are treated
with a solution of potassium permanganate. The same solution can be used to pour soil that has not undergone heat treatment.
Sowing seeds
Growing seedlings is a troublesome business. Seeds are processed, containers are filled with soil. Everything is ready for sowing seeds. They are sown in rows in seedlings or two seeds in cups / cells of cassettes. Seeding depth is five or ten millimeters. Deeper sowing affects seed germination. This parameter should be observed. With row seeding in seedlings between rows, a distance of three centimeters is maintained. Crops are watered and covered with a film. For good germination, a temperature of at least twenty-five degrees is required. Seedlings should be expected after three or four days.
After the appearance of these leaves, the temperature should be maintained in the range from 18 to 20 degrees during the day and 9-12 at night. During the growth period, good illumination is necessary. With a lack of light, the seedlings will be greatly elongated. For normal development, plants are illuminated with fluorescent lamps. The pick is carried out after the appearance of one or two leaves.
Further care for early cabbage seedlings consists in regular watering and observing the light regime. If necessary, plants are fed. Ten days before moving to open ground, seedlings are hardened.
Placing planting material in the garden
When favorable weather conditions occur in the evening, seedlings are planted.
When early cabbage is planted, try not to damage the
root system. Plants deepen into the soil on the first true leaf. Do not fall asleep growth point. The soil around the cabbage is slightly compacted and watered well. Early cabbage is planted in rows. The distance between them is from 50 to 70 cm. Between the early bushes, 35 or 40 cm will be enough.