Beijing cabbage in Russia has already caught up with its distant cousin, white cabbage, in popularity and has become a leader in some respects. So, it is not necessary to plant seedlings, you can get by with seeds, which greatly simplifies the cultivation of Beijing cabbage in the open ground. The second important advantage is that it forms heads much faster, that is, you do not need to wait for autumn to harvest. The third wonderful quality of this vegetable is that it can be used for salads, and for hot dishes, and for pickles, which have already been appreciated by thousands of culinary specialists. Usually, Chinese cabbage is not capricious, but instead of forming heads, some gardeners throw out only unnecessary inflorescences. What is the matter here? What secrets do you need to know to get a good harvest?
Beijing or Chinese?
Growing Beijing cabbage in the open ground, subject to several simple conditions, can be done even by beginners in gardening. Some difficulties may arise only at the very initial stage - the purchase of seeds, because sometimes on bags sold in all specialized stores, you can see different names and the same picture of the vegetable.
Everyone knows that Beijing is the capital of China. Therefore, it is logical that Chinese cabbage and Chinese are one and the same, however, there are two varieties of this vegetable. One is lettuce or bok choy, the other is heading out or pet sai. Bok-choi does not form heads, only leaves formed by a rosette around the main kidney. For the sake of these leaves, which are unusually useful from the standpoint of medicine, they cultivate it. In Russia, it is bok choy that is most often called Chinese cabbage, and pet sai - Beijing. It is also good for health. So, it contains many vitamins A, C, B, PP, there are carotene, citric and ascorbic acids, proteins that are important for the human body.
Biological description
So that the cultivation of Beijing cabbage in the open field does not bring unexpected surprises, we will get acquainted with the appearance of this vegetable. If all the rules of sowing and care are met, the crop is a loose oblong head of cabbage up to 35 cm long. At the base, each leaf has a large fleshy central vein, whitish in color. Its shape is most often triangular, and the dimensions are such that they make up about 20% of the sheet or more. The rest of it is quite delicate, pale green, rarely green or deep green, slightly convex, with uneven edges. In the context, the head of cabbage has a yellowish-green color. The seeds of Beijing cabbage are small, similar to tiny balls. This vegetable loves moisture, light and heat, but is able to withstand frosts on the soil up to -4 degrees Celsius. This does not apply to young shoots of Peking cabbage, which need to provide a plus temperature.
Growing Features
Peking cabbage has many features. One of them is very fast germination. Therefore, growing Beijing cabbage in open ground from seeds is considered the most convenient way to cultivate it. The main condition that must be observed is the temperature regime. The fact is that Beijing cabbage gives full-fledged heads only in the air temperature range from +13 to +22 degrees Celsius. In cooler weather, this overseas vegetable actively forms arrows, at higher does not tie good heads and also throws flower stalks. Planting periods in each region should be oriented to climatic conditions, taking into account the fact that the seeds germinate no longer than a week at an ambient temperature of up to +5 degrees and about 4 days at a temperature of +13 degrees. On average, in spring, cabbage is sown in open ground from mid-April to mid-June, but experienced gardeners advise sowing at intervals of about 2 weeks in order to have a long crop.
How to sow seeds
Growing Beijing cabbage in the open field in spring is the most convenient way to get a high yield. For beds, a well-lit place with light neutral soil is allocated.
Seeds are placed in the soil to a depth of not more than 2 cm, and preferably from 1 to 1.5 cm. Very large lower leaves grow on Beijing cabbage before the formation of heads of cabbage, which subsequently die off, but interfere with each other during the growth process. Based on this, the distance between future cabbage should be at least 30 cm. It is almost impossible to maintain it, sowing small seeds, so in the future, seedlings must be thinned out. To seedlings appeared faster, and also to protect them from possible frosts, it is desirable to cover the crops with a film.
Further care
Growing Beijing cabbage in open ground is rarely a problem. After emergence and thinning, the correct irrigation comes first in importance. Peking cabbage loves moisture and, with its lack of good cabbage does not form. However, with an excess of water, it begins to rot. It should be watered abundantly, but so that the water does not stagnate, and arrange irrigation with rain on their plants on especially hot days. It is also important for cabbage and weeding weeds, as well as shallow loosening of the soil. This vegetable is fed 2 times a season with a solution of slurry or mullein.
Seedlings
Not only seeds, but also seedlings are practicing the cultivation of Beijing cabbage in the open field at home. This is done for earlier ripening of the crop or to obtain several crops per season. Engage in seedlings of Beijing cabbage begin in the second half of April. This plant does not like transplants and picks, so each seed is immediately placed in a separate cassette or in a peat pot (tablet). You can sow 2-3 seeds as well, so that after germination leave the strongest seedling, and remove the rest. As soon as the shoots hatch, the containers with seedlings are transferred to a well-lit, but not hot place (ambient temperature - up to +18 degrees) so that the sprouts do not stretch very much. Otherwise, landing them will be problematic. Seedlings are planted on a bed with a lump of earth, without injuring the root system.
Wells are made 25-30 cm from each other. Half a glass of ash and a pinch (up to a teaspoon) of complex fertilizers are added to each. Sprouts are ready to move to the open ground, when 5-6 leaves appear on each. In the first days after planting, young plants must be covered with a film from sudden temperature changes at night. Harvest can be harvested after 3 weeks.
Summer cultivation
Since Peking cabbage ripens very quickly, its crop can be harvested twice per season, sowing seeds again from late July to mid-August. In June, it is not sown, which is associated with the length of daylight, which for the formation of heads of cabbage should be no more than 12-13 hours. Growing Beijing cabbage in open ground in July is not much different from the spring process.
The only thing that gardeners should additionally do is to artificially shorten the length of daylight for their cabbage, covering the plants with lutrasil. It is also necessary to ensure sufficient watering and prevent drying of the soil. To obtain seeds, cabbage is planted in the months when the sun shines for more than 13 hours. It doesn’t matter how high the air temperature is.
Peking cabbage shooting
Almost all gardeners planted Beijing cabbage for the sake of heading out. But sometimes, instead of forming heads, plants begin to throw flower arrows, and the crop does not work. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to comply with all norms to grow Beijing cabbage in the open ground. The photo below shows what the rows should look like before the last thinning. With this method of planting, excess plants are not thrown away, but used for cooking.
Arrows may appear:
- when the daylight is too long;
- thickening of landings;
- lack of nutrients in the soil;
- insufficient watering in hot weather.
Sometimes cabbage is capricious when transplanting it. This happens when gardeners, thinning out the plants, try to save the extra plants, replanting them to another place.
Pests and diseases
Growing Beijing cabbage in open ground in a country house or in a personal plot usually takes place without difficulty. Important: it is undesirable to plant this crop after other cruciferous plants (radish, radish, mustard), which reduces the risk of diseases characteristic of these crops. Among pests, fleas are most likely to attack cabbage, which can completely destroy the seedlings. To combat insects, the bed must be sprinkled with ash. They love to feast on cabbage leaves and slugs. If they are spotted on the site, special traps are arranged for them. Another pest is cabbage, laying eggs on the back of the leaves. If such masonry is found, they are destroyed manually.